palmers and friends

Here I am trying my first post with Scott's help. Scott is up early after a full day yesterday ice skating with Adam and the kids and then surfing with Mike and Jake. While surfing, his car key fell out of the zipped up pocket into the briny deep. Buddy rescued his car from the side of the road with a screwdriver but it still needs a new key. (Scott only had one--he's no smarter than some of the rest of us turns out.) Anyway, pictured below are some of the people who have left me most recently to pursue adventures elsewhere. I love you all very much and am proving it daily by letting you go (as long as you promise to come back periodically). Meanwhile, I'm redefining myself in terms of roommate. Luckily these roommates I have are especially nice, cute, and mature (plus they don't seem to mind living with me--a crazy.) Scott just said, "It's weird not having Christian, Da, and Enzo around," and he is so right. Enzo alone leaves a hole the size of a bus. Amaya is doing what she can, but she is somewhat small for her age--though also very cute. She says Mammy, which means me. Flor came to visit and that was very fun. We hiked to Kahana with her and her friend Megan. She makes one feel right at home. We've been having family dinners rotating between Bouchers, Springs, and here. Bouchers are definitely a the more the merrier kind of group. Also David is handy and helped Colleen and Paul put in their new dining room floor. They have a TV that makes mine look like a mini. So if you want to really get the full effect. . .Back to my new identity as roommate. . .two weeks ago the girls invited some boys over to watch a movie in the movie watching room. I wanted to try it out and watched too. I realized that was not cool. It's one thing to have a roommate who is older than your mother and another for her take over the movie conversation. So now I try to butt out. Friday they had an early ping pong tournament. Again, spend a few moments in small talk and then get out. (Don't sit and try to be part of the party.) I think I'll be much more popular that way. Also as it turns out, I'm not very good at small talk--I don't know what to say. Other than that, I went to three days of inservice in town this week. Remind me never to commute. Whoever said that that was the deciding factor on job happiness or was it life happiness? was right. But it did have the predictable effect of making me feel inadequate as a teacher (not hard to do). Hopefully I put some of the fabulous ideas they passed out to work. Meanwhile, Adam's birthday is Monday. I got him my standard present (surf shorts) so you'll have to think of something else. Scott says this is a long blog, like one of those Christmas letter I can't get myself to read, so I'll stop. I love you all. Mom