Naughty Christmas Kids!

I don't know if it is just me, but did you ever notice that children get naughtier as it gets closer to Christmas? One would think that with all of the threats that happen from parents to children... promises that Santa will get a call and Christmas will be canceled, kids would be on their very best behavior?... I think not. I am certain that the sheer expectation is eating away at them every second not letting them behave, it's all they can do to be still once in a while! My little Emma changes her mind every 3 minutes as to what she wants and has told half a dozen Santa's something different each time she sat down on a lap. If you were to ask her what she wants for Christmas today, 2 days before the big day, who knows what her answer would be. As parents, we just hope that her wish list from 2 months ago will do, because that is what she gets! We hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and a better New Year!

New family pictures!

Miland and I were planning on taking these great snow pictures this year with all of us in our cute puffy vests and boots... well, no snow is in our forcast any time soon... so we took our indoor, mock studio pictures instead. They are not really our style, but they will do for christmas cards and updated pictures for grandma... but we are still hoping for the snow in late December or January to take our great photos! We did manage to get some picutes of my girls and their cousin Victor. They are pretty cute if I don't say so myself ( i took these pictures, still learing the new camera) Hope you like...

Thanksgiving for our life!

We are getting excited for the holidays that are coming up. We go to the Kurt Bestor concert every year, this is my 10th or 11th year out of the 20 years that he has been doing it. He has a song that he sings every year called "Prayer of the Children". I couldn't find his version of this song, but I found a version that is ok. It always reminds me how lucky we are to have the life we have. I am grateful for my children, my family, our home, our friends, our jobs and all of the wonderful things that we have. I put the song on the blog for you to hear, listen to the words, it is a great song.

Butt Glue?

Pagents, pagents, pagents....

I never thought that I would be involved in placing glue on another persons butt and blowing on it to make it tacky and then gently placing their swim bottoms in the proper spot and then rubbing to stick in firmly in place. Confused? I was a contestant chaperon, along with my sister-in-law Dana and mother in law Kathy at the Miss Utah USA pagent. We thought that we had signed up for helping the girls with zippers, hair and reminding them to smile and wear their sash. Boy were we in for a suprise. We had to escort them to the bathroom when in public, tape up boobs with duct tape ( no kidding 1001 uses!) and butt glue their swim suits on. Those girls used spray adhesive to hold shoes on, swim suits in place, dresses from falling off and all kinds of crazy stuff. I have never been exposed to so much hair spray! It was crazy and fun! We had a fun time getting to help these girls. We were exhausted at the end of each night, but what a fun experience. I want to thank Marie for the chance to experience a little of this crazy world. Miland's cousin Julia was Miss Utah USA last year and gave up her title during this experience. She was in the top 15 at the National contest last February. We have had a blast rooting for her and supporting her in the pagents that she has been in. Next time anyone needs some butt glue or the creation of cleavage, let me know... i'm your gal!!

We love Halloween!

We had a good time this year for halloween. Miland dressed up as a pimp daddy, I dressed up as an 80's punk rocker, Emma was a "cute" witch, Mia was Fi Fi the poodle, Gloria was "holiday fashion", and Dennis was a cowboy. We got to go to a party in Salt Lake this year, Mia won the best kid's costume. We got to go trick-or-treating for a little while before it started raining on us. The girls had a great time. We made our yearly crock pot of chili. It is fun to have traditions. We hope that everyone had a fun and safe halloween!

Never a dull moment!

Dress up is just a way of life at our house. The girls always have on a costume, princess dress, glasses or wig of some sort. They even got Mamas into the dress up party. Mia got Nana's shower cap and decided that it was this years newest fashion head piece for the fall. I love Mia's upside down glasses. What a trip, I wish I looked this cute in such silly glasses!

Crazy Hair Day!

Emma had to have crazy hair for school last week as part of red ribbon week. We did a crazy fohawk and some pippy braids on the side. She was quite happy with her do for the day!

Fall Leaves

We went up to Snobasin Ski resort a few weekends ago to see the fall leaves. It was so pretty up there and almost so hot that it was uncomfortable. We rode the tram up to the top and walked around the trails up there and spent a few minutes in the lodge up top. What a spectacular view. Everyone should take the opportunity to go up there once. This is the 4th or 5th year that we have gone up there in the fall just before they close down to get ready for winter. It is nice to get fresh air and enjoy nature.

This is Amelia and Emma on the tram as we were going up the hill. They love riding the tram.

Powder Fresh!

Ever wish that your house could smell powder fresh? I am now renting my daughter to come and freshen your house for a nominal fee. She is very thorough. She managed to find a bottle of baby powder in her bedroom and she powdered herself, her bed, the big bed, the carpet, rocking chair and all of her toys! Awesome! She had powder all over her face, arms and clothes. I really should have taken a picture, but all I could think of was cleaning up the mess. I'm kicking my self for not getting that picture, blackmail opportunity lost!!! I guess the bright side is that she smells good and so does her room!

Gettin' back into the swing of things.

Had to put a little post to say how hard it is to get back into the daily grind after being on such a fun trip. I was swaying for 5 days after we got off of the ship... kinda funny. It is good to be with the girls again, I missed their cute little faces... Mia saying "Chicken Muggets" and Emma asking to help with everything. Emma is back to school after being off track for 3 weeks. She is happy about that and so am I. I apparently am not that great of an entertainment staff... according to my daughter, we here at the Palmer household are BORING! Whoever said that a person needs a vacation at home after their vacation sure knew what they were talking about.

Cruisin' on the Star Princess!

The first picture here is of the beautiful skyline in Seattle. We love to go to Seattle, it is a fun place.





The second picture is of the Lido deck on the ship. This is where we spent a lot of time looking and the beautiful scenery... and it was close to the food as well! Yummy!


We spent the whole first day out to sea on our way up to Ketchikan. What a beautiful town. We got to go on a tour to see the Totems.






Miland, as you can see, is the low man on the totem pole, which contrary to the saying is actually the most prestigious place to be on a totem pole. There were a few tribes that had thier poles in this park, they were very interesting to look at and it was to learn the stories that they tell.







The picture of the Eagle downtown was also very cool, you can't see it but it has a smiley face painted on its tail feather. The natives have a sense of humor. We had a fun time shopping in town. Miland was a sweetheart and bought me a beautiful tanazanite and diamond ring while we were in Ketchikan. Happy anniversary to me! Yeah!

The next morning we got to travel through the Tracy Arm of Alaska to see a few glaciers. It was cloudy so we couldn't see much, but what we did see was beautiful.



Our second stop was in the Capital City of Alaska, Juneau. It was rainy and cold, but still beautiful. We got to go on a tour of an old Gold Mine. It was very interesting to see how they mined the gold. We also got to pan for gold in soil that they brought up from the river beds. Miland and I both got about 10 or so FLAKES of gold and a few small garnets. It was fun and addicting!

After our mine tour we got to walk through town and shop a little bit. It was kinda cold so we didn't spend too much time in town, but is sure was pretty. We saw something that was really funny... they name their stairways there. Because they are on the side of a mountain, they really only have a few streets that all run the same direction, you have to climb a million stairs to get to the homes build above the town, so they named the stair cases to help people find where they wanted to go.

We went to Skagway next. This was our favorite town to visit. They have really cool train, called the White Pass Train. We didn't ride the train, but took a bus tour instead, we got to see a little more than we would have on the train. We got to see the Gold Miners Cemetary. It was pretty cool to see such old headstones. We learned about all of the people that flooded the area in search of gold and wealth. We saw some beautiful sights. This is a picture of where the train passes over a beautiful waterfall.



We got to go into Canada at the top of the White Pass and on our way back in our driver took a picture of us infront of the Alaska sign.




We spent 48 hours cruising after Skagway. It was nice to spend a little time relaxing. Our last port was Victoria Island. We went on a tour to the Buschart Gardens. What an amazing place. The best tour we went on by far. They had a sunken garden and a japanese garden that were my favorites. There were so many beautiful places that I did not know how to choose what to put on the blog... so here are just two. You'll have to come and see us to see the rest.

The water fountain was down at the back end of the sunken garden. It was breath taking. We were surprised to see the flowers still so beautiful, even in September.







Here is one last picture... it is of Miland and I on one of our formal nights. We had the ship photographer take a picture, it was lame... so we had just some Joe Blow take it for us with the beautiful sunset in the background and it turned out great. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do this with my husband!

Bon Voyage!!!

And that it was! - A great journey through Alaska with the love of my life! I could not have asked for a better anniversary present. Linda and I sailed from Seattle stopping in Ketchikan, Jeneau, Skagway, Victoria Island, and back to Seattle. Seven days of beautiful bliss. I only have one picture for now - but will post more later. I just wanted to be the first to say that we had a great time - and if we could go again tomorrow we would! (even though the kids and the Vega's probably wouldn't appreciate that - thanks for taking care of the kids Mom & Dad!) - Anyway -more to come later but here is your teaser......

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 10th anniversary. We have been together all together for 15 years, nearly half our lives. Time seems to go so quickly. If you have a weak stomach, be prepared... mushy stuff up ahead! I am so grateful for Miland and all that he has done to take care of me and our family. He has already had to endure many things that a man his age shouldn't have had to... he has had to take care of me through back surgery, knee surgery, infertility treatments, adoption, infertility treatments (again), child birth and a strange grouping of other strange ailments that I have managed to aquire. I am so grateful for his positive - glass half full - attitude, without it I would never have made it through. (as my glass seems to be half empty alot of the time) I am grateful that he was able to push through going to school full time and work full time while doing it.. it is paying off. I am grateful to him for having patience, for mine runs quite low at times. We really are a good match. He is working today, and we are going to celebrate our anniversary this year on a Princess Cruise Ship on voyage to Alaska. We leave on Sunday and we am so excited. We are grateful to my parents who are going to keep the children for 7 long days! Thanks Mom and Dad! We have spent an anniversary in the hospital (when I had Mia) and one with me in a leg brace with permanant residence in the recliner, so I am glad that we have this anniversary to really enjoy time together having fun. Here's to an eternity of love, laughter and joy!

Terrible Two's Here We Come!

We celebrated Amelia's birthday on Sunday. She was so fun to watch open gifts. We are so grateful for all the great stuff that everyone gave her. She will be the most stylin' baby on the block! She enjoyed her party, loved her cupcakes with Hanna Montana decor on them, and didn't even make too big of a mess. Today is acutally Mia's birthday and we have just been having a quiet day. We went to the park for a couple of hours and played as well as enjoyed our lunch there. She got to choose her clothes to wear today and what she ate for breakfast and lunch. We are so blessed to have our little miracle, and all of her two year old crazy quarks.

Island Fun!

We were able to go out to Antelope Island over the Labor Day weekend and have a little picnic. We got some KFC and headed out to the Ranch on the island. We had a good time roping cattle and looking at all the various wildlife on the island. We saw buffalo, antelope, deer, cows, horeses, chickens, spiders and the wildest animals of all... my children! The whole Vega clan was there and it was nice to get together, since it doesn't happen too often anymore. What a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Bunko'd Out of the House

Thats right - the kids and I were banished to the park so the Bunko party could go on uninterupted in the back yard. But that is OK we took our box lunches and had a fun picknic with Mamas. Emma and Amelia had a great time playing on the playgroud. We did discover, however, that Mia has a new found fear of hights. She would not climb on the big toys without someone holding on to her. She has had a few minor falls lately but none were from very high - so we can't figure out the origins of this new fear. Anyway - we had a fun time with an icecream finish.

Thanks for the icecream Mamas!

Up Up and Away!

Every year we have a Balloon Festival that goes on in Eden, up the canyon from where we live. It is so much fun to go and watch the balloons go up. We try to go to at least 2 of the 3 mornings that they launch balloons and one night to watch them glow. Above is a glow picture, they look like chinese lanters all lit up, bigger than life. It is so cool and addicting.

We have been going to the Festival for about 5 years now. They are so fun to go to. The girls love to go too. Mia really understood what was going on this year and had a great time. We try to drag as many people as we can tell up there to share something that we love. I am determined to go up once in my life, we havn't done it yet because it is $175 dollars a person and needless to say, we decided that we should use our money to feed the children, not fly! We hope that everyone can go see balloons launch once in their lives... it's truly breathtaking!

I want chicken nuggets

Just like a Timex Watch

This poor child "takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!" I swear that Mia is going to give me a heart attack. She scares me half to death. She was jumping on a friend's trampoline and decided to get off all by herself. She fell and ate it into a bunch of wood chips. Luckily all she got was a bunch of scrapes on her face, I thought for sure she had broken her head. She has no fear. Sometimes I think that she was supposed to be a boy. (then I remember how I was as a kid... can you say TOMBOY!!) I am just grateful that she is okay. Pretty soon people are going to start to wonder if we acutally watch our kids or inflict these wounds on them.

Changing Diapers Pay's Off...

Mia had been getting a little irritated with diapers lately. We think that she is in the beginning stages of wanting to be potty trained. (we hope!) I went to change her this afternoon and found that she had stuck a dime in her diaper!! I have never gotten paid for changing my kids diaper... what a trip! She is having all kinds of diaper trauma lately. Last night we were downstairs changing out laundry, she came down with her diaper half off screeching "oh no!, what do I do?" over and over. it was rather hilarious. I had to get a picture... but it is a little questionable for the internet.... The things kids do and say. I'm pretty sure that I was never that smart when I was her age.

Phot"OH SHOOT"!!

We spent a few hours taking pictures of the girls. We havn't taken them in a year... just like the mechanic that has the broken down car, we are the photographers that don't take picutes of their family ever. We took nearly 400 shots, narrowed our proof set to 54. I managed to narrow it down to three to publish for now... I may put more on later. Can I just tell you how hard it is to take pictures of toddlers!! My child never holds still. Our camera is pretty fast and we still only managed to get 5 or 6 pictures of Ameila that are clear. ALWAYS on the go! Emma is a little model, loves to have her pictures done, and photographs well. We are so lucky to have our girls, different as night and day in every way possible.

First Day of First Grade!

Emma looked so cute for her first day of first grade. She was very excited to start school this year. She was most excited that she was going to be able to eat lunch at school this year. She was also excited to be able to wear all of her new school clothes. It is so hard to believe that she is in school all day long. Mia and I miss having her at home with us during the day.