Burnin' Ring of Fire

We had a fun time relaxing by the fire and making S'mores with the Gillespies on Friday night. It was the virgin voyage for our new fire pit! I love eating charred marshmallows! I guess I'm just not patient enough to sit and wait until it's nice and brown. I just get it in there, catch it on fire and enjoy! I know that the kiddies had fun, too! Eden said, "You're the best Mom in the deep blue sea! You always do fun stuff with us... Great stuff!"

Grandma and Grandpa Boardsen Visit

Dad and Ellen (Grandpa and Grandma Boardsen) came over on Friday afternoon to see me and the family for my birthday! They gave me a gift card to Target, where I pooled the rest of my money to buy a fire pit for our back yard! I've been wanting one forever!!! Thanks! The kids were crazy while they were here! We chatted for a while and Ollie wrestled around with Grandpa a bit! Don't forget the "cup" next time, Dad!

Jaren with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa and Jaren

Buckeyes

While Dad was golfing, he found these Buckeyes on the ground and brought one home for each of the kids. He said they are good luck! Ollie and Eden each picked out theirs and Jaren got the last one.

*Buckeye Nut Folklore: nut is considered a good luck charm (put it in your pocket), relieves pain of arthritis and rheumatism, resembles the eye of the buck deer.

Random Pictures of the Kiddies

I found this onesie at Goodwill! How cute!

Eden and Jaren just chillin'.

I love the look on Jaren's face!

Jaren and Eden

"Snug as a Bug in a Rug"

Eden and Ollie wanted to be swaddled just like Jaren!

"Well... It's my birthday too, yeah!!!"

Yesterday afternoon, we celebrated Haylie Nai's 4th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. We happen to both have the same birthday, September 26th! I remember when we celebrated our birthdays together on her one year birthday! I'll have to find a picture of us together! I think we both had on party tiaras!

The kids had a blast playing the games and getting to see Chuck E. Cheese in person! It was madness when he came out to see all of the kids! The kids were practically flopping all over each other to get to him! It was hilarious!

Ollie and Eden got their picture taken together in one of the new game booths that they had there! It was a sketch drawing of them together.

We'll have to go back soon, because we still have some tokens left over! It will be a good indoor winter activity!

Happy Birthday, Haylie!

"They say it's your birthday!!!!!"

So, yesterday was my 29th birthday! My mom took me out to lunch at Culvers during her lunch break from school. We had Jaren with us and so many people were commenting on how cute he was! We think he is as well! :)

Later in the day we had an early dinner at my favorite place, Las Margaritas. I had a yummy Chicken Chimichanga, beans & rice and of course... chips and salsa. It's so easy to fill up on the chips before the main entree comes, but I managed to cram most of my food down the ol' gullet. It's sooooooo good! I figured I'd splurge since it was my birthday! We met my mom and Chad there, as well as David and Janine, Ed's parents. It was a very nice dinner. I was waiting to be crowned with the sombrero, but no such luck! :)

After dinner, we went to Ed's parents house for cake and ice cream. My mom had gotten me an Autumn themed birthday cake this year and we had Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream to go with it! YUM! We were waiting for the arrival of David's sister and her husband from Washington state. It was nice to have them there to help celebrate my birthday.

The kids put on the candles and there were only 24 in the pack so we just imagined 5 more on there. I couldn't believe how much smoke billowed out and about the dining room after I blew out the candles! CRAZY! The kids also got a little crazy with the party hats!

I was very grateful for all of the cards and phone calls from family and friends. It feels good to be loved! Thanks to everyone who made my birthday a special day! By the way, Ed got me a massage... I'll be cashing that in tonight! I've never had a professional massage and I'm really looking forward to it! YEA!!!

***This was a post on one of my best friend's blogs for my birthday!***

"Happy Birthday Stacy!
So these are ten memories I have with Stacy, I have about a million more, but these are good.
1. When we were sitting on your couch while going through the cards to song burst 1980's I think. We were laughing so hard we were crying. It was so much fun.
2.Eating Burek and almost dying with it hanging out of my mouth. But hey garage sales are totally worth it.
3. Endless of nights of scrapbooking.
4. Ollie puking all over both us because of eggs, HMM I guess he is allergic to eggs.
5. Going on double dates to Cedar Rapids, with Ed wearing his bright orange vest telling everyone just how special he was.
6. In Nauvoo, trying to take important pictures and Ed and Garran only wanted to stand next to each other.
7. "Is it ok that Ollie is peeing on the couch", just checking.
8. Watching the ring" Oh yeah it's not that scary" Except for Meghan who is scared of everything! =)
9. Ahh Glorious Garage Sales!
10. Celestial Couple .... I still can't believe Danny and Silara won. They are not even married.
Happy Birthday Stacy !
I hope you have a great day!
Love Meg"

***Memories are the best gifts of all!***

TICKUPS

This is the cutest video of Jaren laughing so far! I think he was laughing and having the hiccups at the same time! Ed can tickle him by his neck and his chest and Jaren will just giggle for him. I'm still trying to get him to laugh. So far, only Great Grandma, Uncle Bryan and Daddy can make this little man laugh!

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your GARDEN Grow?

Last Saturday, September 22nd, we went to the Arboretum with Meghan, Cullan and Kael Gillespie as well as Mandy and Isaac Williams and her mom, Pauletta! It is located right next to Hawkeye Community College, so it's not too far away.

The day we went was gorgeous! It was sunny and about 65 degrees I'd say, maybe 70 degrees. It would have been perfect had the little black bugs not bitten us the whole time we were there! Those things hurt! We enjoyed ourselves anyway!

I would suggest going in the spring or summer, when the flowers are in full bloom! We went a little too late in the season, but we had fun digging in the sand and seeing the fish in the pond! The best thing about it is... it's FREE! And, I like just being outside! Especially on such a beautiful day! In mid September, they have a Butterfly Release, Scarecrow Contest, Games, Mazes, etc. We went last year and it was fun! They had such cute and imaginitive scarecrows on display! We'll definitely go next year!

ABOUT US - Tagged Again!

ABOUT US, mostly about my husband...

What is his name? Edward Jay Palmer
How long have you been together? We've been married for 7 years
How long did you date? Well, we dated from February 4th, 2000 until February 29th, 2000. We were engaged from February 29th, 2000 until we were married on May 5, 2000!
How old is he? 29
Who eats more? Um... Ed
Who said I love you first? I don't remember.
Who is taller? Ed... he's 6'0 and I'm only 5'3!
Who sings better? I'd say me...
Who is smarter? Ed is definitely smarter when it comes to gospel doctrine and literature. I'm smarter when it comes to useless knowledge and trivia!
Whose temper is worse? That would be mine. Ed brings me back down again!
Who does the laundry? Both of us
Who does the dishes? Both of us
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me
Who pays the bills? Ed
Who mows the lawn? Both of us
Who cooks dinner? Usually Ed
Who drives when you are together? Me. Ed hates driving.
Who is more stubborn? We both are kind of stubborn.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? That would be me... ya know... since I'm the one with the temper!
Whose parents do you see the most? Both sets, equally! We usually eat lunch on Sunday at my mom's and dinner that night at Ed's parent's house. I would like to see my dad more.
Who kissed who first? I can't remember.
Who asked who out? Ed did. I said that I was probably going to a movie, but then left it open when I said, "But, maybe not..." I knew he wanted to ask me out!
Who proposed? Me
Who is more sensitive? Me
Who has more friends? I would say me... since women are more social and need to have close friends!
Who has more siblings? Um... definitely ED! He is one of eight: Eric, Aaron, Janine, Kari, Jared, ED, Randy & Danny. I'm the youngest in my family. I have two older brothers, Bryan and Chad.
Who wears the pants in the family? Me... usually. We usually make decisions together, but he calls me the boss!

I TAG: Heidi, Rhonda & Connie

Let's Party!

The kids were invited to Nicholas Heinz's 7th birthday party today! Oliver was in the same Kindergarten class with Nicholas last year. He's a very nice little man. Eden was invited as well, because she is in preschool with his younger sister, McKenzie, this year! The kids played on their new swingset and played some team games together! Then they had fun trying to be the first one to break the pinata!

Oliver taking his turn! The pinata was really difficult to break! They all kept trying to hit the back windshield. Finally, Brenda took a whack at it and the trunk of the car burst open and candy flew everywhere!

Bird's eye view of the candy chaos!


Eden and McKenzie

I got a kick out of this picture where Nicholas was trying to open the present with his teeth!

After presents and cake, the kids had fun playing together on the trampoline!

Hope you had a fun birthday, Nicholas!

Walk a Mile or 19,980 Steps in My Shoes!

Ed has been a walking maniac for the last few weeks! He just bought a pedometer and has been keeping track of how many steps he's taking.

When Ed gets home from work, we usually take a walk with the kids around town. Oliver and Eden often ride their bikes while we push Jaren in the stroller. I haven't been going lately because I think I have plantar faceitis in my left heel. I feel a sharp pain whenever I walk on it. Heck, even when I'm off my feet it still hurts, although not as bad! He also walks around the house alot to soothe Jaren every night.

I guess there is a competition at work to see who can get the most steps from September 10th through December 18th. Everyone should be getting in 10,000 steps a day. Tonight before he left for work he had 19,980 steps and he was going to walk to Roy's house which is a jaunt! The last few days he's racked up 15,104 steps as well as 26,406 steps!

I'm very proud of him, but I think he's crazy sometimes! The other day he walked 5 miles to work. It took him an hour and a half. His car was there from the night before (I picked him up at work to go to the dairy farm and I forgot to drop him off to pick his car up). He also walks around town alot... every which way but loose!

On most Sundays, we will drive home from church and walk to my mom's house which is 1/2 mile. Then around dinnertime we will walk to Ed's parent's house which is about 8 - 10 blocks away. After dinner, we walk back home... about 6 blocks away. It feels good to get some exercise in! And... it's nice to be with the family as well! The kids LOVE riding their bikes, let me tell ya!

Today Ed walked with Oliver to the Courthouse downtown which is SEVERAL blocks away. During their outing Oliver said that he saw a walking stick. I had seen one once while working at River Hills School. They certainly are a sight to behold!

Keep it up babe! I'm proud of you... you crazy walkin' fool!!!

The Games That We Play

Krista had called and asked if we could watch Sydney for her while Anthony, Haylie, Tuione and Krista went down to the hospital in Iowa City for Haylie's appointment (she's only 3 and has kidney problems), poor little girlie! I said I'd watch her... I knew Eden would be excited to have a friend over during the week! (It's hard to see friends now that school is back in session!) So, Sydney rode home on the bus with Oliver.

We had a fun time together! The kids played outside for the most part and then they came in for some super-terrific tacos and an ice cream cone for dessert. We also played some games after we cleaned off the dining room table.

We found a new game called, "Pass the Pigs", where you roll two plastic pig "dice" and get points for the different positions that they land in! Sydney rolled a double snouter worth 40 points!!! I had to get a picture!

We also played "UNO Attack". The kids LOVE pushing the button and having the cards fly out! I got a funny picture of Oliver getting attacked by some cards! Oh... we have some wooden boards (as seen in the photos) with slanted divots sawed into them where the kids can place their cards during a game. Since kids have little hands, and can't always hold them all in their hands, this was perfect for our family! I first saw them when I worked at River Hills School. One of the teacher aides' husband makes them for the school. I had commented on how cool they were and the next day, I had three of them sitting on my desk at school! How nice was that!?! They are so awesome for our kids! We LOVE playing games together as a family... AND with our friend, Sydney!

Who Needs Therapy When You Have Visiting Teaching!?!

VISITING TEACHING - an assignment accepted by women of the church to serve our fellow sisters age 18 and up. This gives us the opportunity to teach the gospel and nurture relationships. It helps to meet each sister's spiritual and temporal needs. (excerpts from the book "True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference")

Usually a sister is assigned a companion, and the two sisters visit each sister in their care at least once a month. A different gospel message is shared each month. I serve with Jamie Jolley and we have 4 ladies on our list. We visited two sisters this week and it is always so fun to go over and share our testimonies and stories that help to lift each one of us up. We ALL have trials in our lives and it helps to know that we can be there for one another and that these trials are to help us grow and learn to be more like Christ. We can pray together and cry together when times are hard, but also laugh together. It is a great program and I love getting to know more of my sisters.

It's so funny because when we get together we just talk and talk and talk! Usually we spend about an hour or two with each sister. Tuesday we spent 2 hours with Keeley and when we left she said she looks forward to us coming! I drove Jamie home and we talked in the van for almost another hour. It's great to talk to people because it's very theraputic! Then last night, we visited Mandy and we were there for 2 1/2 hours. I stayed for another 1 1/2 after Jamie left... Mandy and I are good friends outside of church as well, so we can gab until the cows come home!!!

I love my sisters in the church and I love serving Heavenly Father in making sure that all of his children are taken care of and comforted in their times of need! I love this church and ALL that it teaches and I'm happy to be able to take a look at my life everyday and to change the things that I need to change in order to become more like Christ. I don't know what I would do without Him.

Garage Salin' Mamas!

Yesterday, Meghan called me and was telling me about some garage sales that had baby boy clothes and stuff. I told her to come on over and pick me up! Ed's mom was nice enough to watch Jaren for a bit so I could look around more easily.

I couldn't believe all of the sleepers and outfits that I found for Jaren. Most of them were 6 months - 9 months! Most things were 50 cents and I got some OUTFITS for $0.75 a piece! Some were $2, but they were BRAND NEW! Crazy! I was so excited! I bought a new wardrobe for him for the price of ONE outfit! LOVE IT!!! Meg found a Snuglee for him for 2 bucks! I had just asked to borrow hers before I bought one for Jaren, to see how he liked it!

Kael was in the back seat and all of a sudden Meg said, "Can you grab his bottle! The lid came off" I turned around quickly and and saw that he had milk ALL OVER him! He was soaked, but still happy!

For lunch I had taken Meg to a Bosnian Place and bought some Burek. It is a Bosnian pastry filled with sausage and man is it GOOD! My mom had brought me some about 2 months ago to try and it was delicious! Meg was surprised at how good it was! We were eating it in the car and some lady was driving over into our lane. Meg honked her horn and then said to me, " I DON'T WANNA DIE WITH SAUSAGE IN MY MOUTH!" Then she stuck a piece in her mouth and it was hanging out. I was dying laughing! We had such a fun day! We'll have to do it more often!

Eden's New Do

Yesterday Eden got her hair cut and she loves it!

Hopefully it will be easier to do in the morning!

Smell that DAIRY AIR!

Today Ed, the kids and I went to Hansen's Dairy Farm in Hudson with Shar, her three girls, Leah, Naomi & Emilia and Olivia and her two boys Viggo & Johan. I've been there two other times for Mom School as well as with Eden's Head Start class last year.

We took the tour of the dairy and traveled throughout seeing the different rooms where they process and package the milk. They also make ice cream, cheese and have their own "retirement program" for the cows... ground beef. The sights, sounds and even smells made for a "scent-sational" outing for us all! I think Naomi had her nose plugged the entire time!

We also went into where they milk the cows and they let us have a turn milking them by hand! The milk was really warm and our tour guide said that it is over 100 degrees when it comes out of the cow! I never even thought about that!

After that, the kids had a chance to whisk up some milk and feed the calves some milk from a bottle! Fran and Skylar were their names, and licking and drooling was their game! I had to try not to gag when I realized they were licking my pants and shirt and I saw a long string of frothy drool connecting us to each other! BLECH! The kids also had a chance to feed them some food, but Eden was not about to have that!

We went over to a smaller pen and saw some wallabies. They were looking for a mascot for the dairy and their son just had gotten back from Australia and he suggested that they have it be a wallaby. Hence... the wallabies in the pen. They liked snacking on dandelion leaves so the kids would stick them through the fence for him to grab and chew on. Their claws are really long! The owner of the dairy was our tour guide and she went inside to grab a baby wallaby. It still lives inside and sleeps in a dog bed! So cute!

She gathered us up and led us back into the garage area where some tables were set up. We had a chance to try some milk and make some butter. That was really cool. Then came the best part, we got to take some samples of their ice cream home with us! Chocolate, Vanilla, Raspberry and Peach. Oh my! It was a really fun outing with the kids. Ed said that he learned alot as well! Fun fun! If you ever go, I recommend going in smaller groups, they do alot more with you!

Emilia, Leah, Oliver and Eden peaking in the window

where they hold the milk.

Oliver milking a cow.
Eden feeding "Fran".

Shar making sure the milk tastes alright!

The kids feeding the baby wallaby some dandelion leaves.

Oliver and Eden learning how to make butter.

Did you know that... ? (10 Random Facts About Me)

I was born breach? The doctor had to push my butt back in and then take my legs out one at a time.

I was chased by a camel during an outdoor concert at Clinton Riverboat Days? The petting zoo was too close to the speakers during the concert and the camel got loose and was running around the fair! Crazy times!

I've had gallbladder surgery, surgery to remove a ganglion cyst in my wrist and had my wisdom teeth out? I only had three wisdom teeth... I must not be as smart as other folk!

I'm afraid of tornadoes, spiders and childbirth? Childbirth I've gotten over, but I was sooooo scared of the unknown and the amount of pain I may be in. If I can do it... anyone can!!!

I've been in 4 wedding ceremonies other than my own? I was a flower girl in my Aunt Ann's wedding when I was in grade school. I was a pregnant bridesmatron in my friend Andrea Gibbs' wedding in 2002. I was a bridesmatron in my friend Meghan Gillespie's wedding ceremony in 2004. I was also a bridesmatron in my friend Meghan Horan's wedding in 2006.

I've found a cow tongue on a beach of the Mississippi River when I was camping in Bellevue, Iowa? Yeah... it was pretty nasty! Remember that Gramps!?

I got an A in my high school Pre-Calculus class? I was going to drop it after a week, but stuck with it! It was quite an accomplishment for me since I HATED math my earlier years.

I designed the jersey logo for my all girls hockey team my senior year of high school?

I passed out in front of my whole high school? I was in the bleachers during an assembly about drunk driving or something and I felt really dizzy and lightheaded. Some teachers came and sat by me and one of the principals quickly ran across the gym up to where I was sitting. Then the speaker said, "Is everything all right up there?" EVERYONE turned around and looked. Yeah... embarrassing! (A friend sitting next to me told me the story later on.)

I've had strep throat 7 times in one year, even in the summertime... and I STILL have my tonsils?

*** I TAG MEGHAN, KRISTA, RHONDA & HEIDI

Artsy Fartsy

"Darth and Yoda" by Oliver Palmer age 6

(Marker)

"Barbie Girl" by Eden Palmer age 4

(Crayon Rubbing & Marker)

"He-Man and The Masters of the Universe" by Oliver Palmer age 5

(Pencil & Colored Pencil)

"A Spider" by Eden Palmer age 3

(Crayon)

"Three Ninja Turtles" by Oliver Palmer age 5

(Pen & Marker)

"Eden in Mama's Belly" by Eden Palmer age 3

(Marker)

"Self Portrait" - Stacy Palmer - Senior in H.S. (Pencil)

"Barn" - Stacy Palmer - Senior in H.S. (Crosshatching in Black Ink)

"Portrait of Grandma, Margaret Young as a Teenager" - Stacy Palmer - Senior in H.S. (Pencil)

"Chicago Blackhawks Hockey Player" - Stacy Palmer - Senior in H.S. (Black Ink & Watercolor)

"Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Player" - Stacy Palmer - Senior in H.S. (Pencil)

"Baby Eating Corn on the Cob" - Stacy Palmer - Senior in H.S. (Rendering in Pencil)