palmers and friends

we have hippies living in our backyard

2012-01-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Our once quiet life in Itacare has turned very very very loud. Yesterday there was a full blown rave 20 feet from our house. The town is buzzing with tourists from all over the world. The once beaches we used to go with the kids where no one was ever there, is now packed. To make matters even more interesting the owner of our house decided to make our backyard into a campsite. The hippies who sell their jewelry in around the town are camping in our backyard. There are probably 30 people out and 8 tents at any given time. Yesterday a new group came of mimes.

Our kids are not happy with this arrangement and totally want to camp outside too. Other than the constant second hand pot smoke it's fine. All the hippie kids have cool names. A couple days ago was Agatha Vida (Life)'s Birthday. They had a full on party with party favors and everything. Our kids went and loved it. Enzo has been trying to convince me to get in the jewelry making business and travel around in groups and live out of a tent. Tempting but not really.

We also have a clothes store and a travel agency below our house. The clothes store I could do without. The travel agency is awesome. He's given us tons of deals and we've gone on lots of trips with my mom and cousin, like boat rides, and rafting.

It's interesting living in a tourist town and seeing the cycle of high and low season. As an anthropologist Christian definitely has his plate full, that's for sure.

9 Years Together!!!

2012-01-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

I wanted to put our picture at the bottom, but I don't have time to redo it and don't know how to change it. Anyways, we go to Tahoe almost every December for our Anniversary. We love it there!!!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T06:46:00.001-08:00

We are still in Oklahoma. We are having a fun time. I have some good pictures from my real camera to post when we get back. We are excited for 2012. Adam is coming to visit, Kaity is having a new baby, we are having a new baby, Pammy is coming to visit, Noelle is coming home, Austin and Kristian are getting married, we are going to Hawaii, Tony's brother is moving to Utah ... And that's just the first half of the year!

Happy New Year sweet family

2011-12-30T08:35:00.001-08:00

Hi

2011-12-23T06:51:00.000-08:00

Enzo and Maria made a movie for their secret santa pen pals, Minami and Gwyn. They made a list of some of their favorite things to do and we turned it into a movie. The mail service was on strike so a card was not going to reach Minami and Gwyn. I sent the movie to Minami and Gwyn yesterday but decided to put it on the blog as well, so you can see what our typical day looks like these days. We wish Minami and Gwyn were here to play with us and we wish you were here too.
Merry Christmas everyone.

Engaged!

2011-12-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

I asked Kristian to marry me, and she said..

YES!

How to Best Spend a Wisconsin Winter

2011-12-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! We've had an awesome two weeks in Hawaii. We're looking forward to another 4 more! The kids love the beach, shave ice, and hanging with the cousins. Jesse is fulfilling his quota of projects at both Pam's and Adam's. He's also working on a conference presentation and a textbook. I've finally decided to apply to grad school. Due Friday. Nothing like a deadline to get the blood flowing. Not to mention all the Christmas projects. Speaking of which, I only took 5 photos of the reunion this summer. Ooops. If any of you could send me photos of my family, kids, husband from Utah, that would be great! I need them by Friday. More deadlines, I know. Love you all. Wish you were here with us!

Christmas card

2011-12-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post Mariah's address in case anyone wants to send her a Christmas card:

Sister Mariah Hunt

Aichi ken, Okaza kishi

Tatsumi higashi 3-5-5

sky hills 4A

444-0878

Japan

oi

2011-12-06T14:20:00.001-08:00

It's so weird that it's December but it feels like June. The town is buzzing with end of the school year parties. Enzo's last day is on Friday which means he did Kindergarten in 3 months. hahaha. It's so great being this age when school doesn't really matter.

We've been enjoying hanging out with one of my best-friends from high school, Thais, and her husband Ale and little daughter Sofia. Thais lives in Italy now so I don't get to see her very often. Last time I saw her was when she was doing a Yoga Teacher Training in Santa Barbara. She's super sweet, always has been, and it was so great having her near by. They spent Thanksgiving with us, which was fun and then the past two weekends we went and hung out with them.

Sofia turned two on Sunday. Maria and Sofia became total buddies, it was really cute.

Sofia even let Maria blow out the candles on her cake, and Enzo too. She's a very nice 2 year old :)

Like most, actually all, of my friends from High School Thais is a gazzilionair. Her mom rented a mansion in this resort for 15 days. There was a pool in the backyard and Maria and Enzo never wanted to leave. We also went to the Resort's pools which were equally fun.

I wish I had taken pictures of the rental because it was seriously cool. It had a short banana tree inside the dining room, that was planted on the ground not in a pot, and the fun part was that it had bananas, so you could be having dinner and then reach out and grab a one.

Enzo is getting so big. When we went out to eat he dressed himself. I told him he would be too hot in his long sleeve shirt and then he told me "I know but it looks stylish" and then asked me to help him roll up his sleeves. He's so funny. Of course this is because Christian and I are super stylish people. Either that or Iris is having an influence on him.

Next week my mom arrives with my uncle and then my cousin comes for 2 weeks. Gabriel is back and he and his dad are planning a trip out here too. Then in February we're expecting one of my former students, Juliana to come for a couple of months. We're looking forward to the summer heat and our visitors.

P.S my uncle Jesse and aunt Sonia got to visit with Pammy and crew and as always they loved it. Thanks Pammy! They even sent me some cute pictures of pregnant Kaity. I'm excited for 2012 and our new family additions. Keep us updated on what is going on with you.

More Thanksgiving

2011-12-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

after dinner walk

Hilltop view

local bougainvillea

Cedar with Kai and Christina

Tricia and Dave heading home

Martinez Walk

2011-12-03T00:21:00.000-08:00

local pomegranates

nearby home

local charm

with Musi

angel trumpets

looking back

Thanksgiving at S & S (Steve & Shelley's)

2011-12-02T23:17:00.000-08:00

"It's all good"

Mimi made rolls, cranberry jello salad and yams with apples

We talked her out of making pies and there were definitely more than enough

sisters and cousins
Vanessa, Tricia and Rainbow

the growing g's

serious prep

christina's salad with pomegranates
(we did have bunkerville pomegranate salad too)

siblings and christina

pammy has inspired me to take up the guitar again

suzelle and her famous kale salad
(vanessa's corn loaves were also very popular)

Happy December from Utah!

2011-12-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

On the day after Thanksgiving, we had to go up to Salt Lake, so it was the perfect chance to see the lights at Temple Square. Bo loved all the Christmas lights and didn't seem to mind the cold at all. He would not sit in his stroller though, so the little prince got carried the whole time. He's been very particular lately. He says "my do it" for just about everything that he wants to do all by himself with no help. It makes everything take a lot longer and some things nearly impossible. He throws fits about changing his clothes, changing his diaper, or putting shoes on. We've tried potty training, but he is very resistant. Right now, he is running around naked and refuses to put any clothes on. I try to let me have his independence as much as possible, but do have to force him to do some things. Several times I have let him go outside without shoes in freezing temperatures. After a few minutes, he asks to put shoes on.

Right now, he's running around the living room with a blanket around his neck like a cape, saying "I a Super Why Nakey."

In pregnancy news, I'm 28 weeks and feeling great, besides being incredibly tired from about 4 pm on (especially on the days when Bo takes no nap or a short nap). We talk a lot about "baby brother" and Bo uses his doctor kit to listen to the baby's heart and give me "shocks" (shots) in the belly.

We miss you all! Everyday we think about how much it would be if we all lived closer!

Love you,

Sienna, Tony, and Bo

Hi

2011-11-29T09:59:00.001-08:00

Oi

2011-11-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hi family. Hi friends.

I've been trying to take more pictures of my surroundings. It's part of my exercise to focus less on myself. I've been pretty self absorbed this couple of weeks. We almost got a baby and then we didn't and then we did again. Same baby. He's 3 weeks old. I spent an afternoon with him, and of couse fell in love. The mom decided to give the baby to her second cousin, which I felt was a good decision and was at peace. Then the cousin gave the baby back to the mom after a week. The cousin's husband never wanted the baby to begin with. Now the mom wants us to take the baby and of couse we want to so bad.

We spoke with a lawyer here and the whole process in Brazil will take about 6 months - 1 year. We were so stoked. Then we decided to talk to some lawyers in the U.S. I have to say it's mighty convenient to have friends who are lawyers and so generous with their time. David Bennion has been a huge help, so has another friend. Anyway, U.S law requires us to either do it through an adoption agency in the U.S which is not going to happen because we would of had to start the process while we were there and also because it costs more money than we'll probably ever have. The second option is to stay in Brazil. If we have custody over the child for 2 years than we can start the immigration process, similar to what we did when we got married and when my mom came to the U.S, so realistically 3 years at least. I understand why these policies are in effect and I think it's a good thing, but it's hard to accept that we won't be able to adopt this child that we want so much. Of couse I should have figured all this stuff out before I got so involved with the baby and the birth mom. I know, I'm dumb. I just thought it would of been easier since I'm Brazilian and never thought it would of been a problem bringing the child back to the U.S. If the child was biologically our own it would be no problem at all, just some paper work but that's it. Sad. Sad. Sad.

So yeah, I've been pretty sad lately.

But on a good note

We've been getting amazing weather. I feel so blessed that we live so close to the ocean, that we can play on the beach every single day. The kids are having so much fun here.
In less than a month Enzo will have his Summer break. It's kind of fun to have 2 Summer vacations in one year. It's always fun being in Summer vacation mode.
One of my best friends from High School, who now lives in Italy, rented a house in Itacare for 15 days. She has a 2 year old daughter as well. She arrives today. Fun!
In less than a month my mom arrives. I can't wait.
The kitty is adorable and no longer scared to play with the kids.
Christian's research is going well. We're amazed at how everyone makes time to talk to everyone else. It's so refreshing, and definitely a good/easy place to do fieldwork.
I just got hired by the website Inhabitots. This week I start writing for them. I'm really excited.
We're really excited about our trip around South America. Christian has been planning like crazy. Right now we're thinking about buying a car but if you want to join us we'll get a van instead. We leave in September of 2012 from Itacare and then drive around South America for 3 1/2 months. We'd love to have you along for the ride.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

We sure wish we could be in Martines or Hawaii with everyone else.

Mikolyski Update

2011-11-18T06:16:00.001-08:00

Lucas showing off his gorgeous eyes and grin.

Kadin loves playing with his Playdoh tubs more than the actual stuff inside. And he just learned how to use the mouse--gonna be a computer geek just like his dad!

Here's a video of them playing. Nothing really interesting so don't feel like you have to watch it, but for those of you that want to see how they interact now, here you go! I love that they can play together somewhat now.

We miss you all and wish it were easier to keep in touch across so many miles, but thank goodness for this blog, right?
Love, Robin, Scott, Kadin and Lucas

Professor Fashion

2011-11-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

So, every once in a while I feel like I shouldn't be wearing my beat up Vans to work in and like I should try to look a little more professorial. Of course, since I shop exclusively second hand, this can be a bit challenging. Anyway, so I googled professor fashion, how to dress like a professor, etc, and ran into some various blogs, advice forums, and this. The professor or hobo quiz. Check it out.

I got 8 out of 10.

Happy Birthday Little Sister

2011-11-14T22:55:00.001-08:00

oi

2011-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hi from Itacare,
here are some things that's been going on. Christian and I are making a website for the canoe association so that they don't have to use the travel agencies to book trips for them. The peak tourist season is approaching, we're expecting our quiet beach town to not be so quiet pretty soon. Yesterday we got to go on a canoe ride up the river. It was so way cool.

Enzo asks to go surfing daily. Yesterday his aunt Iris bought him a very cool present, his very own board.

Every time he's on a flat surface he practices getting up on a board.

In other news, we got a kitty cat!

I'm not an animal person at all but I kind of fell in love with this little kitty. Christian likes cats, and the kids were super excited so everyone was happy to welcome Cacau to our home.

He's just a month old and super freaked out by the kids specially Maria.

This is how she poses for every single picture. I can see why kitty is scared.

Kitty likes to hide under the stove so Maria has been hanging out by the stove a lot today.

The kids were so excited about the kitty they woke up and forgot to get Chris and I out of bed. They went straight to find kitty and Chris and I got to sleep in. I don't know how long the excitement will last but so far so good.

How are things with you?

Our Family in Huntington Beach

2011-10-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

We were all together before Mariah left, so I forced everyone to take a picture! I'm so glad! There are more, but I'm in a hurry, so we will post them another time.
Liz

Happy 2nd Birthday Sienna Rose!!!

2011-10-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

Church

2011-10-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

We made it to church today. It takes us an hour and a half to get to church. I know, I've said this already like a million times and whatever it's not THAT long. And really spending $100+ reais (about $60 dollars) each time we go is not THAT much. But for some reason I like to be whinny about it, maybe it's because we have to leave the house at 7:00am to get there in time. I don't like leaving the house to go anywhere at 7:00am, heck I don't even like to be awake at 7:00am. Oh and no matter what we're always late. Today Maria had to pee so we had to pull over on the side of the road so she could pee. It was her first experience peeing on the side of the road and it took forever.

Then there's the whole other issue that church is just hard, even if you live next door to a chapel there's no way around the fact that Sacrament meeting with little kids is the opposite of spiritual.

Our ward has no nursery and our primary has a total of 8 kids and for some reason it feels like there are 100 kids. They're not the most behaved. So I stay with Enzo and Maria because they're kind of freaked out by the other kids. There's never toilet paper in the bathroom. The children's hymn books are falling apart, literally falling apart. It seems like our chapel has been forgotten and left to rot. It's in a really sad state. Maybe we should spend an extra $60 and go there on a Saturday and clean it up. I should definitely at least bring some toilet paper on Sunday.

But I did get to go to Sunday School today, Iris stayed with the kids in Primary, and the sister who taught the class did a really good job. And when we we walked in Maria clapped her hands and said "friends" and knew exactly where primary was.

So I decided I need to be better attitude. Seriously, what the heck?! If I can't be positive about the most important thing in my life then it's going to be hard to be positive about anything else.

The primary president/teacher/music person tries really hard. I appreciate her effort. Today I told her I could help. I was reluctant to offer any help because, well no good reason other than doing nothing is so much easier. But Christian already reserved the car for every other Sunday until the end of the year so I told her we were coming to church every other Sunday and if she wanted me to I could teach a lesson or something like that. So after church she came to me and asked is I could teach the kids the songs for the primary program. I'm just as surprised as you are that we're having a primary program, but I guess we are. It's in December. She wants me to teach the kids the songs. She's a convert, mostly everyone in our ward is, and she only knows about 3 songs that are in the Children's hymn book, the same 3 songs that are in the church hymn book, so it's hard for her to teach them the songs.

So basically this whole long post is me asking you for help because I have no idea how to even approach this. Have you ever heard me sing? It's bad. How do I teach these kids the songs they need to learn for the primary program?

My baby is turning into a little girl

2011-10-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures of cute kids in costumes but I do have pictures of a cute girl who hates wearing clothes and loves wearing earrings.

The hippies who sell jewelry love her and love making her pretty things.

we have a bike, and some other little updates

2011-10-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hi family (and friends),
just thought I'd give you a little update on our life here in Itacare. We bought a bike and we love it. All of the streets are cobble stone so it's not super comfy but oh well, at least now Enzo gets to school much faster. I love that we're walking distance to everything and love it even more now that we're a quick bike ride away to everything. Except for church. Arghhh, I hate that church is so far away. All I can say is that I've never appreciated the priesthood as much as I do now. Christian does a good job at blessing the sacrament and passing it out to us on Sundays. He also does a good job at making sure we're all spiritual enough. We wear our Sunday best, though lately we haven't been wearing any shoes to our Sunday home church.

I kind of look pregnant in the picture above though I can assure you I am not. As far as the adoption thing is concerned we're still just trying to learn more about the whole process. basically we're just asking a bunch of questions.

Speaking of babies, Baby Maria is a big girl now. She's saying all sorts of things, it's pretty funny. She's not feeling great these days because she's been sick with a stomach bug, the same one I had last week where I thought I was going to die.

Enzo loves school and he also loves not leaving the house. Last Saturday we went on a hike and he was complaining the whole time because all he wants to do is stay home. When he's home he wants to work on his workbooks, read books, or do math flash cards. I'm not really sure what to make of it. He misses his friend Junie a lot. He also misses Gio and Zeke. He always talks about Gio and Zeke. last week I made snickerdoodles and he really wanted me to save some for them. I was finally able to convince him that it was going to be impossible to save them snickerdoodles. Then I told him the story of how Kaity made the first snickerdoodles that I had ever had and besides Kaity is the queen of sickerdoodles, I'm sure Gio and Zeke get wonderful snickerdoodles from their mom. Then Enzo was sad and wanted wonderful snickerdoodles from Kaity.

In other news Enzo has another loose tooth which is always exciting.

Maria also really wants a loose tooth.

My mom is coming to visit us for a month, so is my uncle, and so is a bunch of other people. Yay! I haven't spent Christmas in Brazil since I met Christian, who showed me that Christmas in Hawaii is way better. We don't have any real traditions and my family doesn't do gifts. I'm not really sure how Christmassy our Christmas will look like but regardless I'm still excited to have my mom visit us for a month.

That's it for now.
Beijos
Da

Fall Update

2011-10-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

I know you guys don't need the play by play, but here we are at week 22 and a half. Austin snapped a few pictures of us today in the beautiful Fall light in our backyard. I have been feeling great for the most part. Yesterday we had a busy day of walking around since we went to the REI garage sale in the morning and then took Bo to the Hogle Zoo. I don't know if it was all the walking or what, but I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions all day. They weren't too painful, but quite uncomfortable and did not get me excited for real labor. Luckily, we still have a while to go and lots to do before then.

Getting nice and round. I think it's part-baby and part-Fall treats. A day doesn't go by when I am not tempted to make some kind of treat. Today we had leftover pumpkin cake that we made yesterday when we should have been making dinner, but decided to make a treat instead. I know it's at least part-baby since he kicks like crazy. I have actually seen my belly move from the force of his kicking (luckily, he's not big enough to start kicking my ribs).

2011-10-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I have another survey for you to take, its only 5 simple questions, if you have a minute to fill it out I would really appreciate it. Its about baby cribs again for my class.

https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_43gE2CQhCuV0Zla

Thanks

Austin

DC trip

2011-10-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Remember when I went to DC to shoot that recipe for Lactaid? Here is a link to the video.
I'll post about it tomorrow on my blog with some pics.

Today is Children's Day in Brazil. Good times. Wish you were all here.

One month of Bahia

2011-10-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hi family,
Sienna inspired me to post. Thanks Sienna. Those of you who are on my Brasil email list already got this update today. Sorry. Those of you who are not on my list and want to be send me an email at damarispalmer at gmail dot com and I'll add you.
xoxo

Hi friends, I thought I'd give a little update on our first month of Bahia.

Our first visitors just left and we wish they had stayed longer. Josh and Heidi (Christian's cousin and her husband) came to visit us and they were so much fun. They love food, which is always fun. They wanted to eat and try everything, so we pretty much ate and hung out at the beach a lot, my ideal way to spend time. They also brought us stuff that I had ordered online, a bigger mosquito net, some chapter books for Enzo, and washable paint for Maria. Thanks Heidi and Josh! It's amazing the stuff you miss.

Our house is feeling more and more like our home. Here are some pictures. We're also feeling more like we have a routine so it's easier to enjoy where we're at.

Enzo is going to Kindergarten here. He's getting the tail end of Kindergarten because the school year ends in the beginning of December. We're trying to get him caught up with his class and he's a good sport about it. It's fun seeing him learn how to read in Portuguese and figuring out where to put accents on words. In February he starts first grade and in first grade they only write in cursive. We'll have a lot to practice.

Maria is pretty much potty trained. During the day she only uses underwear but at night and during naps she still wears diapers. Diapers here are awful and super expensive, she was getting horrible rashes. I think we're all happy that for the most part she's diaper free.

This past week Christian and I went to an orphanage in Ilheus, the big town where stuff like orphanages exist. We got some more information on adoption and it's pretty complicated to adopt through the orphanages specially for the age that we want (under two). We don't care about gender or race but we do want a child that's younger than our two children. It doesn't have to be a newborn, but it does have to be younger than Maria. Christian talked to a local lawyer and she said the most common form of adoption is when someone gives you their kid. I know a lot of people who have adopted (my aunt, bishop, god-mother, and other close friends) and it's always because someone asked them to take their child. I'm kind of weirded out by this for various reasons, mostly because what forces people to do that in those situations are economic reasons which I find extremely problematic. Anyway I won't go into it too much but just wanted to share that we're really hoping we'll be able to adopt while we're here if it's the best thing we can do for a child and for our family. If it happens it needs to happen before March. We can't leave the country for 6 months after we adopt. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that if it's the right thing to do then it will happen.

Love, Da

Happy October Family and Friends!

2011-10-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Family and Friends!

Hopefully, people are still reading this blog even if the posts are rather sporadic. It's beginning to look a lot like October around here. We had snow yesterday for a minute, but mostly lots of rain. It's a fun change. It's also been really cold. We were too stubborn to turn on our furnace on October 6, so we've just been bundling up with jackets and blankets in the house. Bo got to wear his warm jammies that he has been asking to wear ever since I unpacked our winter clothes. I kept telling him they were "too hot" so now he takes them out of his drawer and asks to wear "too hot."

Bo helped us pick out a few pumpkins to decorate our porch. It was really funny cause we pulled up to the grocery store and there were a ton of pumpkins in a big pile outside the store and he goes, "Pumpkins! So cute!" He's very good at picking up what we say and copying. This morning he told me to "wait a minute" and the other night when I was trying to get him to take a bath, he kept saying, in a very sweet voice, "No thanks mommy."

I planted these cosmos forever ago and one is finally blooming right in time for the freezing temperatures.

In other news, I am 20 weeks pregnant and on Monday, we found out that we are having a BOY! We are super excited for Bo to have a little brother to play with.

We miss you all and hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Post when you get a chance, so we can feel not so far away.

Love,

Sienna and Family

New crib design

2011-09-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

I am working on a project for a class and I need parents to take this survey for me.

click on the link and fill it out, its pretty short and simple.

https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6YhcyDqBnja4Js8

Thanks

Austin

Our New House

2011-09-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our new house. There is a whole list of things I've done including installing a new shower, several new hinges, putting glass in the window, cutting down the palm fronds that were letting ants inhabit the roof, putting locks on some of the doors, redoing the clothesline, putting nets on the balconies and windows so the kids don't fall off and a bunch of other stuff. Through the process I've learned a bunch of new words in portuguese and that everything is easier if you have the right tools. We really like the light in the house. There is a wide varanda with big glass doors that open up letting in a nice breeze. The kitchen and living room are connected with high ceilings and then the bedrooms have large doors/windows that open and allow for a lot of air flow although not much privacy until you close them. We're right above the road so we can see everything that is going on down below. We're also pretty close to all of the beaches.

Upstairs there are two smaller rooms in a kind of loft. Iris is in one of them and the other is empty for visitors although its not a bad place to escape to get some work done. There's a lot of wood and wicker which is nice. Everyone has as mosquito netting which is kind of essential because the house is totally open.

This is looking upstairs at the loft.

This is our bedroom.

This is the kids bedroom. As you can see the netting was essential. Its probably a ten foot drop onto concrete out the window/door. There is kind of a backyard which is part of a store/restaurant that is currently vacant below us. Hopefully no one will rent it anytime soon. We did get permission to use the space as long as no one else is although we haven't been down there yet.

This is the extra upstairs bedroom for visitors. Come visit.

Living room looking out with our two new hammocks. One for each of the kids. It helps to reduce the fighting unless one of us wants to get it.

Poem for September 11 (from Mimi)

2011-09-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : The Poetry Foundation

Happy Birthday Colleeny!

2011-09-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

I wish I had better pictures (Obviously, I'm out of practice when it comes to taking pictures of real, live people) and I wish these would portray Colleen's obviously painstaking life's work in making such a cool family. She's good at surrounding herself with such awesome spawn. It's like a family of ultra-cool brothers and mega-awesome sister, and then I get to go home when they get annoying.

Kidding. Noelle is never annoying.

Plus Paul is the perfect-o running partner for me. Luckily Colleen shares and has even been running a bit herself, so soon we'll be the perfect running trio.

It's been fun having Ethan, and now Isaiah in my class. Both of them grew up very suddenly and it took me by surprise. The girls are fighting just to get a piece of them.

I'm sure Truman won't have any trouble picking from the leftovers.

Colleen is amazing at everything she touches. I'm sure the Springs will take over the world, soon.
Happy Birthday Colleen!

Remembering 9/10/60

2011-09-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

We were excited about going to the California State Fair. Mom and Dad had been gone for awhile and it was getting later and later. Turns out they had been to take mom to the hospital to give birth to her ninth baby! Daddy chose the name Colleen. I was excited to show her off to my friends. My second grade school teacher seemed amazed (and maybe judgmental) that Mrs. Hunt had another baby! We didn't make it to the fair that year, but I don't remember any of us having any regrets!

Poem for September (Back to School)

2011-09-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

I accompanied mom on her walk yesterday. At our stops (she sits every 5 minutes or so to catch her breath) I recited two of her poems and one other. Then she surprised me by reciting two fairly long poems and a portion of another. The first was "In School-days" by John Greenleaf Whittier. She remembers perfectly all 11 stanzas.

HOUSE

2011-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

We found a house and it's perfect. We saw so many almost perfect houses it was getting overwhelming. I was getting super discouraged because either the location wasn't right or the price was to high or the house was to small... and then we found this house. It's all wood and glass, big kitchen, big living room, huge solid wood table, 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms downstairs, and a loft upstairs with 2 additional bedrooms. We have a jungle backyard and the best part is that we have monkeys running on the power line by our balcony all day long. That is seriously why we got the house. That and the killer price. I can't really think too much about how low our rent is otherwise I'll never want to return to California.

It's a 5 minute walk to the kiddie beach and a 3 minute walk to the surf beach and a 1 minute walk to all the nice restaurants. We have 9 beds, 3 hammocks, and only 5 people. Seriously come visit.

I'll post more pictures after we deep clean and move in.

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day family and friends! We got home late last night from our labor day campout. We planned to stay all weekend, but after two nights of freezing temperatures and not much sleep, we decided to come back and get a good night's sleep at home. We drove up past Heber in to the Uintas and found a little meadow with only a few other campers that were far away. It was very beautiful and we loved getting to spend time together as a family and with a few of our old friends. We forgot our camera (along with Tony's jacket, Tony's winter hat, enough blankets to keep warm, and a few other things) so these are low res camera photos. Luckily, we were able to charge our phones with Tony's handy solar panel.

Bo loved the tent. He wanted to play in there all day. We love our big tent cause it fits a queen sized air mattress and you can stand up in it, but we did miss the warmth of our cozy little tent.

Tony hanging the solar panel on the side of tent to charge my phone.

Thanks to Jesse and Bekah for the hiking backpack. Bo loves telling Tony, "giddy up horsey" and Tony will trot for a few feet.

Me and Bo and my 15 week baby bump.

Our tent in a field of wildflowers.

Camping was a good reminder of some of the beautiful things about Utah. It allowed me to take a break from wishing I was somewhere else, particularly closer to you all. (If only, you all lived in one place.)

oi

2011-08-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we've been on vacation for 2 whole months. Who do we think we are?! We just came back from Minas Gerais, which is one state north of Sao Paulo. My aunt and uncle, Gabriel's grandparents live there and we had to stop by and visit. We went to a waterfall, ate way more than humanely posible and saw a lot os strawberries. My aunt's family is in the strawberry business, all small farmer's. Very cool plantations. I'll have to show you pictures some other time. Minas is great. We saw toucans just hanging out on the treets and a bunch of other birds we don't even know the name for.

On Thursday we move to Bahia. It's hard to believe that our vacationing is coming to an end

I'm so thankful for these past two months. Christian and I were reflecting on the places and people we've seen and we feel so lucky. We love how our families come from such different backgrounds.

This is my aunt's backyard. She is a very religious person and as such she used her backyard to make a square to honor the Patron Saint of Brazil, Nossa Senhora Aparecida. The picture above is of her backyard. And here is the chapel she built in her backyard.

Inside she has her saints but she still goes to church every single day. I like going to church with my extended family and seeing how religious they are.

Aunt Lena, uncle Jesus, and Maria.

Marcos is Gabriel's dad. I think he looks like Gabriel's brother don't you? To the left is his girlfriend Lais. Enzo and Maria have really been missing Gabriel. Maria asks about him multiple times a day. It was good for her to hang out with Marcos because he's so much like Gabriel, so playful and affectionate.

Enzo at the waterfall.

Hiking in Brazil is very different than Hawaii. I didn't capture it in this picture but there is a lot of cattle just roaming around everywhere.

Sorry my posts are so long. I have so many pictures to go through it's not very organized. Whenever I'm in the US and I see beautiful things I always think about my mom and Iris and how much I wish I could share it with them. Now that I'm here I think so much of you guys and how much I wish I could share Brazil with you. I know it's not very realistic to come for a visit but if you can I would love love love to show you around.

Jesse's Latest Project

2011-08-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

Jesse built this awesome bunkbed for the girls. It's a little shorter and not as wide as a standard bunk. I love this detail he made, so princessy! He also made the storage unit for under the window. He used an interior door from the Habitat ReStore.

Summer in Utah

2011-08-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures from my phone. They aren't great pictures, but you get the idea of some of the things that we've been up to lately.

August has been pretty lazy so far—especially compared to trying to finish grad school in June and family reunions in July. I was thinking that I was really sad to no be going back to school this Fall, but then I had a dream that I had two classes that I still needed to take to graduate and I was frantically trying to arrange babysitting and get my schedule all worked out. When I woke up, I was relieved to not be having to do all that. In fact, today Bo and I both woke up with colds and it was nice to be able to just relax and not have anything that we absolutely had to get done. That said, we've been a little bored, so we'll have to start thinking of more things for us to do during the day to keep busy.

flowers from the yard in a Jake Jackson vase. we get complements on this vase all the time. we love it.

this was on Sunday, Bo and were matching, so I wanted to get a picture of both of us, but he wanted his clothes off as soon as we got home. I couldn't decide if this skirt hid my baby bump or accentuated it. I'll be 14 weeks pregnant tomorrow. We're getting pretty excited, although it still feels very far away. It doesn't help that I don't have good posture so I probably look more pregnant.

Here is ezra riding the flowrider stationary wave at one of the local pools here. This was on their last day here in Utah. We miss them.

Tenney was sharing his snacks with Minnie and Bo.

Our mountain view in the evening light.

Hanging out at the park in the evening when it finally starts cooling off.

Tony and his cousin working in the yard.

A big box of apricots we picked from our neighbor's tree. Amy and I made apricot freezer jam and I took the leftovers and made fruit leather.

Bo playing in his sandbox that one of our neighbors gave to us.

We've definitely been missing our family. Although, we did have a nice treat yesterday; Mariah, Andy, and Charlene stopped by. It was so great to see them and get to say goodbye to Sister Hunt. We are so excited for her. We'll also be happy to get Austin and Kristian back on Friday.

I want to see pictures of all the cute kids in their back to school outfits. School started here on Monday, so we've get to watch all the kids walking back and forth from school.

Random Sampling

2011-08-22T23:48:00.001-07:00

our mimi!

with lovely liz

nan and dave putting on yet another huge family gathering!

jasmine (and christian) came!

joseph with rebekah

cousins j & j

all 9 lipmans...all the way from martinez
click on images to see their cute faces

lipman girls

little joseph to mimi on how to remember his sisters, "Rebekah has squiggly hair. Jessika has flat hair. And Rachel (also has flat hair)." Helpful.

Not a Farewell!

2011-08-22T16:03:00.001-07:00

Mariah left today. She spoke in church yesterday. Her message was heartfelt and enlightening. At the beginning little Sienna Rose came running up to the pulpit from the very back of the seating in the cultural hall. It was a tender moment. Sienna cried when her Daddy caught up with her and plucked her away. (I think many of us feel the same way about saying goodbye to our missionary.) Mariah sang alto on an a capella hymn (#15 in the hymnbook) with her folks and two aunties. Then Nan and Dave had the family (all of us!) for fancy potluck dinner. It was a sweet send-off.

Coming and Going

2011-08-11T00:18:00.001-07:00

Maria made it to Brazil

peaches are all picked

Lili graced us again

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 118:24

It is Minami's Birthday

2011-08-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

I know these pictures are from the way past. (Pammy gets to see a picture of you every time she uses her phone.) I remember Sienna telling her mom about being in the "double digits". I loved knowing you when you were only a few weeks old! You are a beautiful wave and a breath of fresh air. I hope your day is fabulous!! I miss you.

Rest Stop

2011-08-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

Three Mimi's
Almost Birthday Girls

Mimi's house

2011-07-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

It might have something (or everything) to do with the fact that as a child we moved around so much, but the only place I remember really feeling at home was my grandmother's house. I could be myself at my grandmother's house more than any other place I knew of. I have a very similar feeling when I'm at Mimi's house. When we were driving down to Sacramento on Wednesday Christian and I talked about how much we appreciated Mimi and Karen. We would arrive late and there would be no expectations for us to do or be anything. Karen wouldn't judge us for having the dirtiest car on the planet or the dirtiest kids for that matter.

When we arrived Karen greeted us outside. The kids were cranky and she just hugged them. Mimi was sitting on her chair reading a book and with her gentle kindness welcomed us in. When I'm at Mimi's I don't feel like anyone is judging me, certainly not Karen or Mimi. Even Maria can scream as loud as she wants and Mimi never complains, though she did let us know that she can hear her screaming and that Maria is loud. Being here is a treat, I feel like I can recharge my batteries and start thinking about our next long stretch of traveling. I hope that one day my home will be as heavenly as 4433 North Park Drive.

Dear Amy

2011-07-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

happy birthday

i love you

and yours.

thanks for being such a great sister-in-law

With Pammy!

2011-07-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

early morning layover for Demartinis heading home

Grandma Mimi & Pammy Mimi after church

tight squeeze

"It's always fun when Pammy comes." We are never ready to let her go.

pics

2011-07-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure when I'll get to go through all my pictures of the trip, and I hardly took any. Yikes. I want to post pictures of Ada's baptism. Until then here are some from my ipod.

Ez jumping

Gio Jumps!

2011-07-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Jumpers

2011-07-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

On the way to the pool, Enzo says he wants to tell us a story. "When I was very, very small my dad was taking me to jump off a gigantic rock (Waimea). My mom said, 'NO!! He is too small to jump off a very high rock!' I really wanted to jump, so my mom said, 'Go ahead and let him do it JUST ONCE. He will NEVER want to do it again!' My mom was wrong about that because I wanted to jump again and again and again!!" When we got to the pool (a super generous, fun family lets us swim whenever we want), they had their scissor lift parked at the edge of the pool. Their boys were waiting for the Dad to come home and take them up to jump. It extends to 25 feet. Well, a few of our company took the plunge, including Toa, Gabriel, Kaity & Gio, Christian and of course Enzo. Enjoy.

Summer Days 2011

2011-07-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

Harvesting S & S's Plums

Sampling Same Plums

Close Look at Far Side

Cousin Mamas

Surprise Visit

some pics

2011-07-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

driving to Utah from Sacramento

4th of July BBQ in Sienna's backyard

Cutie Bo in his stylish home

flying to DC

spending time with Ali and Chloe

Miriam is a fish

Children on the swings

Made it

2011-07-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yay [!] for uneventful travels. I made it no problem to Salt Lake airport and then no problem from Washington Dulles airport to the house where we're shooting thanks to J and B's GPS. My rental car is fly, thanks to Enoch's free upgrade. I made it just in time except that the blogger before me hadn't even started. I'll probably start shooting in a couple hours which is fine by me. There are 4 bloggers and 20+ production people and enough food to feed at least 50 which means that you all could be here with me. I'm just sad I'm missing all the fun in Utah.

My voice is much better not 100% but at least sound is coming out. I didn't bring my camera or my ipod touch so the pics are from the camera in my macbook (crappy, oh well).

See you all tomorrow

hot air balloons

2011-07-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

we don't wake up at 6am everyday, but today was a special occasion. i couldn't tell if they were celebrating austin's birthday or the impending onset of palmer cousin camp, utah edition, but either way it was an awesome sight.

dart vader balloon was cool, but bo loved the piggy the best

it was a beautiful morning

sun in my eyes

but the best part of the morning was meeting up with courtney, mikey, minami, and courtney's sister lauren and her family. we love having family in utah!

the party hasn't even started yet and bo is already learning that cousins are the best!

Our little sweetpea in her swimsuit

2011-06-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a while...

2011-06-18T22:17:00.001-07:00

some pictures for fun...

Work Day at Gramma's

2011-06-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Missing Noelle

2011-06-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Borrowed from Kaity

noelle

2011-06-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

Im puttting the blog with noelles mission letters back up, if you would like to be added to the secret list of cool people who are allowed to read it, send me an email and Ill add you to the list. my email address is adspring at gmail.com

the blog sydneysouth.blogspot.com even though her mission is no longer sydney south, its just sydney now i think... anyways. yeah. cool.

Austin

Super Sweet Sixteen!

2011-05-31T01:51:00.000-07:00

This bakery cake was really quite tasty: chocolate with raspberry filling.

Yes, that is a fire you barely see in the fireplace. It has been a bit chilly for memorial day.

Sign by the Grimsman Girls

Tradition!

2011-05-31T01:42:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day each year, Tricia and company bring Mimi to Church. This year it included a fabulous brunch, scrabble game and new hair style, all before the meeting at 12:30. Mimi felt very spoiled (blessed), I am sure.

Mimi's Rolls 101

2011-05-31T01:41:00.000-07:00

Preparing for Mother's Day Feast

weekend

2011-05-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yesenia and Toa and their two friends Emily and Linda came down for the weekend. I hope that one day Yesenia has lots and lots of babies, she is pretty amazing with kids. We went to the Boardwalk with them and that was super fun. I didn't take any pictures because Yesenia took hundreds. Bug her so she'll put some up on the blog.

I did take some pics with my ipod of our sailing trip which was also super fun. Our friends Ted and Melissa Biggs got a new boat and they took us out sailing. They live on their boat and I wish I lived on a boat. It's pretty fantastic to live in such a tiny place and know exactly what you own. Here are some pictures in true intagram fashion.

The best part of the trip was Ted letting Enzo drive the boat and only referring to Enzo as pirate Enzo. Guess how excited Enzo was? I'm going to miss our friends so much.

The other best part about our trip was Ted telling us about his sailing trips to Hawaii. Guess how much fossil fuels he used? Not a lot. We really should live on a boat we could sail to Hawaii and maybe even to Brazil without spending thousands of dollars in airfare. They're sailing to Indonesia. I'm so excited for them, I wish I could come with.

Remembering Memorial Day 1935

2011-05-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Mimi brought flowers and greenery gathered from her yard in honor of her sweetheart at his grave (though she reminds us that he is not there). It is a beautiful place.

life

2011-05-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

From palmers and friends

so, i finally got cool and downloaded an app that makes your phone pictures look like polaroids. don't worry, the only reason i have a phone with "apps" is because it was tony's hand-me-down. i will never be that cool. and it's just a boring picture of my kitchen because i tried to upload one of Bo, but it didn't work.

i am taking a break from working on my thesis. tony took bo over to a friend's house so i could have a quiet house to study and think. he's amazing. i am so grateful. i am on the last leg of grad school. i would have said something sooner, but i didn't want to jinx it and i came this close to actually not making my deadlines. although, i guess since i haven't actually finished yet, so i could, technically, still not graduate. but, if all goes to plan, i will finish this draft of my thesis on monday, turn it in to my committee on tuesday, and then defend a week from that date-- June 7th! you are supposed to give your committee three weeks before the defense, but if i did that i would miss the deadline to graduate and have to pay another semester of tuition, so the professors on my committee have been very understanding and helpful and i so appreciate it. what should i get them for a thank you gift? my heart is full. now all i have to do is buckle down and finish this draft and finally learn how to use a comma correctly. yikes. love you all. hope all is well. can't wait to finish, so i can blog again.

CANCUN!

2011-05-27T20:14:00.001-07:00

We had a great time together in Cancun! All inclusive means 143 Virgin pina-coladas Senor! And desserts....desserts....desserts!

Very romantic even for old married people. The beach and resort were awesome....we highly recommend the Gran Melia in Cancun!

This was our 20 year celebration...... a year after the fact and we had a beautiful time together as couples and cousins!

The water was warm and inviting and the people of Canun were sooooo sweet and happy to sell us anything they could ....pesos or dollars!

The water was georgeous and my repetitive phrase was...."OOOOO look at the water, every wave is a different color of BLUE! It was a trip of a life time and we were so grateful to have had it........ !

two words ---> TOOTH FAIRY

2011-05-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Enzo's tooth came out in the bath. It was super loose. We gave him a piece of toilet paper to wrap around his tooth so that it wouldn't slip and sure enough it quickly came out. Baby Maria who was also in the bath and saw the whole thing decided that she too wanted toilet paper in her mouth and she really wanted to pull a tooth out. She was so sad when she couldn't pull any of her teeth out, she even wanted us to try and pull it out. The funny things is that she's been super sensitive all week since she has 4 big teeth coming in.

Enzo just turned 5. I was expecting his teeth to fall much later. Is this normal? When did your kids' teeth fall out?

Two under 2--almost over!

2011-05-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I know I haven't posted for a really long time, so here's a little update on me and my family here in Maryland.

Lucas is just about 9 months old. His hair is getting lighter, but still is dark at the tips. He gnaws on everything with his 4 teeth and drooly gums, and yes, he still spits up! Can't crawl yet, but has mastered sitting up and rolling everywhere. We love his eyes and his smile, especially because of his dimple! He's pretty good at playing on his own, but will always let us know when he's ready for some attention, or when Kadin's clobbering has gone too far!

Kadin is now 22 months old and is more active than ever. We are definitely running out of high places to keep things out of reach 'cause he just learns to climb higher and higher. His verbal vocab is sky rocketing and he can repeat couplets now. He loves books, his new Megablocks, and his kids shows. We finally moved him to a toddler bed last month since he could climb out of the playpen and was starting to make holes in the mesh siding! I'm actually looking forward to potty training because changing diapers is such an ordeal for our little mover that can't stay still! I can't believe that he'll finally be 2 in July! I've been calling my kids "the babies" this whole time, but soon I'll have two toddlers (that is, if Lucas ever learns to walk)!

Scott is getting more and more comfortable at work. We're very proud of him! And he is such a big help when he is home in the evenings and on weekends. He did everything for me for Mother's Day. We look forward to celebrating our 4th anniversary coming up at the end of the month, although we'll be moving, so not sure how we'll celebrate yet--something small.

I am totally immersed in this world of babies and sometimes I feel like I need something more. I keep trying to pick up a new hobby to keep me sane, but I never keep up with it for more than a day! I still barely have time to take care of my basic needs, let alone do something for fun! But I do attend RS activities and the temple whenever I can to at least get a break now and then. I'm also hoping to do some gardening once we're in our new home, but I'm sort of afraid Kadin will destroy it! (Here's a photo Kadin took by himself.)

Which brings me to our biggest news: we are buying our own home! We close on WEDNESDAY and will be moving in next week. It's not a detached home like we were looking for originally, but it's a duplex that has a really good "house" feel to it. The neighborhood is very inviting and convenient to everything. We'll have an extra room, so come and visit! With this big of an expense, we will most likely not be making it out to Hawaii till next year, and we sure do miss all of you in Laie.

Sorry this is so long! Love you all and hope you have a great summer!
The Mikolyskis

MDP May 10, 1946

2011-05-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

Pam and Mike

At the close of this day, I want to say that I for one am completely thankful for Michael Dalton Palmer: for his wonderful life and that I was blessed to be some part of it. This picture was taken during his first visit to meet the family, 1969 I believe. (We were at Shelley's.)

2011-05-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
I received my mission call to the Japan Nagoya Mission. I'm really excited :D

I wasn't expecting Japan at all, but I'm really glad and mostly intrigued by my call. It should be interesting.

Mata ne!

Before, During and After Easter!!

2011-05-02T22:03:00.001-07:00

happy easter

2011-04-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

slides from the storage room

2011-04-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

I guess Natalie found these in a box in the storage room at Grandma's house. The storage room with the big icebox we used to tip ourselves into to get popsicles in the summer time. My dad has been scanning them and there are a lot more he says. I think Grandpa took most of these. I love his photographs.

Happy Birthday :)

2011-04-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

One of the slides my dad just scanned. More to come, hopefully momentarily...

Jesse's 5 seconds of fame

2011-04-21T11:04:00.001-07:00

Winds wreak havoc in Crawfordsville: wlfi.com

Celebrating Shelley: April 19, 2011

2011-04-20T01:21:00.000-07:00

Lake Tahoe 1956

What to say about Shelley? She has interesting and good things to say. She is a thinker and a reader and always has at least one book close by. She is a people magnet, stylish and charismatic as well as being a compassionate counselor. She is very generous and I don't know anyone who knows Shelley who can't say, "Yes, Shelley gave me this!" She is a doer, a worker and a mover. I never have been too concerned about my age or growing older, I think in part because of a big sister who is a model for "moving through space with beauty and grace". Yes, I believe Shelley just may be ageless. Happy Birthday!!!

my cousin's blog

2011-04-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

My ridiculously cute cousin Dani started a fashion blog in English. She asked me to help her spread the word. It's called LeBlogFashion you should check it out.

yesenia comes to utah!

2011-04-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

we had so much fun with yesenia and her friends. they came for conference weekend and we loved getting to hang out with them. Yesenia was really good at relating to Bo and he totally warmed up to her by the end of the weekend, which is impressive, since it takes him a while to get used to people. we also loved listening to general conference and being spiritual feed.

it was super warm on saturday, but then snowed a few inches on sunday. so Bo was outside in shorts in the snow (it's April!).

cousins!

cousins with Bo and Kristian

baby Maria in a nutshell

2011-04-04T00:22:00.001-07:00

today

2011-04-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

Maria drank her bottle in the morning while Lili watched. Then she handed her bottle to Lili and Lili drank for a couple minutes then handed it back to Maria. Maria drank and gave it back to Lili. This back and forth went on while the girls lay down snuggling by each other and giggling. It was seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Queen of Scrabble

2011-03-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

Incredible play of the day! No, the year! No, the century!
Mimi challenged me to a game of scrabble today. I was quite ahead for most of the game and then Mimi scored 137 points in one single turn! She laid down all of her tiles and used the triple word spot two ways (also scored a double letter with her "Q"). See for yourself. Well, she is the queen of scrabble so it all makes sense.
(Posted by Tricia)

please help spread the word

2011-03-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Both Mariko and I are participating in an online bake sale along with 90+ other food bloggers. On Wed people will get a chance to bid on our food item and then we make it and ship it to them. All the money will go to the food bank in Japan. I'm making alfajore pops. Mariko is making crack pie. People are making all sorts of fun treats. You can read more about it here. If you want to post, facebook, tweet tell your next door neighbor about it that would be awesome. We're hoping to raise a lot of money for a good cause.
xoxo

avoiding cleaning up

2011-03-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

This whole week has been raining none stop. This morning was the absolute worst. Tons of streets got flooded, it was a mess. But believe it or not the sun came out an hour before Enzo's birthday party and it even got warm. It was amazing. I was totally prepared for an indoor party but so grateful that the sun came out and had the kids outdoors running around instead.

Last night I told Enzo that the rain would pick up and that his soccer game was canceled and that his party would have to be indoors. He asked me if he could pray so that heavenly father could make the rain stop. I told him he could pray for whatever he wanted and that it was good to let heavenly father know our feelings, but that it didn't mean the rain would stop. I told him that even though the rain was driving us all crazy it was still really important for the plants and for us to have rain. He said he understood.

But today the sun came out and Enzo was able to have the party he wanted, outside. And he even broke the pirate pinata. Everything turned out perfect.

Before I go downstairs to put things away I wanted to show you the pirate cake Christian made. Christian is a cake genius, I'm not even joking.

The ocean is whip cream on top of a sheet cake, or as we called it the "parents' cake." The boat was some crazy assembly of chocolate cake made in bread pans plus legos, plus trade joe's treats, and a whole lot of love. The anxious kids got to eat the pirate ship cake.

I made the birthday t-shirt. Can you tell it's Enzo laying on the hammock? Yeah, neither could anyone else.

I'll post more on on my blog on Monday but was anxious to share Christian's creation with you guys today. And tomorrow I'll wake up and have a 5 year old son. Crazy.

Life in Sac of Tomatoes...

2011-03-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, let me just say that I miss Hawaii sooooooooooo much! The weather has been super crummy, and I am in dire need of sunshine and a TAN! Here are a few pictures of what I have been up to:

I work in ^ medical building as a chiropractic assistant and translator. My Spanish has gotten SO much better, and Pablito, you would be proud; patients think I am either Argentinian or Columbian! Haha. Classic. Apparently Argentinians make the best steak, Paul does, and since he lived there, that statement must be true.

Church is good. Toa and I go to the single's ward with Emily (Soloman) and Emily and I are actually gonna be in Utah next week for 5 days!! I am beyond excited to see Sen them!! We are gonna go to the Sunday morning session of General Conference! I am grateful for the opportunity that Em and I have to be spiritually fed and hang out with some amazing people!

I love and miss you all choke! xoxo

-Y

Cheeseheads it is!

2011-03-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Contract has been signed. Jesse is gainfully employed for the next four years+. Thanks for your prayers and support. Wisconsin, here we come!

wish you could come

2011-03-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

I love my family!

2011-03-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

I love you guys. I really miss Noelle and hope she is good. I miss the short lived blog with her letters. I read them more than once. They were really inspiring to me. Is there any way I could read her letters to the family? I need to write her, but I always forget.

22!

2011-03-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Mariah! One day I was invited to be Mariah's parent for a preschool field trip when Charlene was recovering from giving her dad a kidney. It was great fun going to the fire station that day. Her teacher commented about Mariah being such an interesting little person, an "old soul". The teacher was right! Truly, Mariah is someone I really enjoy being with. I love that she characterized me as "hilarious" in a birthday wish and I have since tried to live up to that. Such a gifted yet other-centered soul. Love her touch on the piano, her take on things going on, her caring ways and her faith in things unseen. All the best today and tomorrow too!

Gio and Lily

2011-03-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is a picture Danny took of Gio and Lily two Sundays ago. They were on a nature walk to look for mushrooms. Zeke and I were asleep on the couch with the flu. The flu hit our whole family one day after another. It totally wiped us out. Lily is the only one who didn't get a fever. Lucky her.

curly curls

2011-03-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering Baby maria has the curliest curls I have ever seen.

Did I tell you we're thinking about adopting when we go to Brazil. Every day I do a little more research and we do a little more praying. Maybe we'll come back with an added member in our family. I was telling Enzo this and he said "as long as the child has curly hair he will fit in."

Jesse Visits for Spring Break

2011-03-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Jesse came and visited for his Spring Break. The girls were still in school so he came out by himself. I had a full week planned out but then he had to leave early to go to Colorado for a job interview. So we only got three days to play. Monday we surfed some tiny waves in the morning and then hiked/ran to some waterfalls in Big Basin State Park up past Boulder Creek.
Tuesday we drove down to Pinnacles National Monument and hiked in the morning, going through a couple of talus caves then did a couple of climbs in the afternoon. Wednesday there were some more little waves in the morning and then we went kayaking in the afternoon. It was a super fun three days, although I'll probably be doing work for most of my spring break next week. If anybody wants to come to Santa Cruz to play there's lot of fun things around here and I'm always looking for an excuse to go and see them.

Call of Story

2011-03-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

I love this. The first of these 6 master storytellers is Donald Davis. His series on "What is your Story" is also worth watching. That series is a documentary of a group of people who are being taught a process of finding personal stories. (click anywhere to view.)

Thinking of Damaris!

2011-03-04T00:46:00.000-08:00

I have been celebrating Damaris and her birthday the past couple of days. So here is an official Happy Birthday! to the founder of Palmer and Friends. How you bless our days, dear Da!

Babble's top 100 Food Mom Blog

2011-03-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

Some kind soul nominated Kitchen Corners to the top 100 food mom blogs and I just nominated Mariko's The Little Foodie. If you want to vote and give us a shout out that would be beautiful.

Where is this?

2011-02-25T23:45:00.000-08:00

World Photos - Fat Monkey statue, Sao Paulo, Brazil - TopRq.com Photoblog

What is this made of?

2011-02-25T22:36:00.001-08:00

Surprised? I was!

Celebrating our Matriarch!

2011-02-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

People ask almost every day, wherever I am, "How is your Mom?" One friend, Marilyn, brings Mildred to mind in her meditation on having "no worries". Chuck, a friend in the ward who is quite the expert on alternative healing, has asked me to write down everything she normally eats. People want to grow up to be like her. Many remember and follow her example and teaching of "refusing to be offended". I am so glad Mom is living long, and we get time to enjoy and learn from her lead. (About a week ago I could hear over the phone as she won a scrabble competition with a one point lead.) Happy to hear she is bouncing back from a recent bug and is in great hands today as she celebrates her 95 years with 4 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, 5 grandchildren, 2 greats and I am sure a good handful of friends who are family in Hawaii. How we miss our fearless leader at the homestead and have plans for another "partay" when she returns next month! Even Linda across the street points out that Mildred is the matriarch of the neighborhood as well! Mom is a little weary of my enthusiasm at her being the oldest surviving member of our ward, and possibly our stake. Emily Dickinson's words were never more true, "We turn not older with years, but newer every day"!

Enzo shows off his hammock acrobatics and Maria shows off her disenchantment with the world

2011-02-19T19:31:00.000-08:00

nothing says i love you like spam and rice and eggs

2011-02-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

here's a belated, "happy valentine's day" we had a romantic breakfast of heart shaped spam and rice and eggs.