4th of July

We spent the Fourth in Utah (enroute to Canada). It was the second year running and will now be the official tradition. It is the best place to celebrate! We drove the parade route the night before and the streets were packed with people waiting out all night. You would have thought it was the Rose Bowl! The kids loved seeing the bands playing and princesses waving.

Here is Gracie with Cousins Julia and Kate. We were lucky to spend the 4th with both sides of the fam. Gracie got a 2 night sleep over party and Aunt Heather got to see what it was like having 5 kids!

What Palmer get-together would be complete without matching shirts with our names on them?! Thanks Ange!

Angie got all excited when the llamas came by. (You'll have to ask her about it...) They brought in a little South American vibe that made us feel right at home.

This one is dedicated to the Palmer cousins.

Cotton candy with Auntie Nat.

Waterslide at the Stone's in Alpine, followed by Angie's barbque and the best ribs EVER MADE! (And fireworks, of course)!

Hello Again!

After a long stint of completely ignoring the blog, we're back! Update: we have been enjoying every second of our summer in the US and Canada. Two months ago we bid a tearful farewell to Chile and all the amazing friends we made there. It's incredible how when you are so far from home, your friends become so much more important and the bonds you create are so strong. We will never forget you! You all have a permanent place in our hearts! We arrived in Las Vegas where we got some much needed sleep- international moves are a pain in the bootie! Then we began the party that has lasted the whole summer... skiing on Lake Mead, Palmergals Reunion, 4th in UT, enjoying the outdoors in Canada, skiing in Montana, playing at the lake in Olympia, canoeing on the Sound, Pinochle in Quincy, Education Week and much more... but we'll get to that later. For now, here's a few pics of how we started off the summer: We are big fans of the spray park by Grandma's house. It's a fantastic way to beat the desert heat! My kids will be seeing a lot more of it while we await our visas for Spain. Gotta love beaurocracy! Congrats to Nathan- the first member of our family to be granted legal entry :)

Mother's Day in Chicago

Yep, that is me you see in this collage I snagged from my sister's blog. Yes, I went to Chicago. No, it wasn't planned. Yes, it was RAD! When Nathan overheard me talking to my sister about how they were all going to Chicago, he got online and had reserved me a ticket before I even hung up the phone. I left 2 days later!

Sarah and Devin had planned to rendezvous with Mom at Teresa's for a week. One by one all the rest of us showed up and surprised mom. My sisters took her for a walk in the park and I was there disguised as a mugger. I completely freaked her out. It was awesome. Then Katie, Nat, and Dad showed up while we were out for pizza. Mom loved it.

Chicago is a great city. I loved exploring it with my sisters. The museums rival any I have visited in Europe and the hot dogs were the best I have ever had. The highlight for me was going to see "Wicked." (My Mother's Day gift along with a jewelry box Gracie made me that is "the prettiest box ever." She is so proud of it!). The 7th Inning Stretch at the Cubs game (my first real baseball game) immediately followed by a Fukudome home run was pretty cool, too. It was so great to leave all my responsibilities behind and vacation with the fam. I just love them so much!

Cindy's Temple Wedding

Cindy and Christopher Ormeno were sealed together for time and eternity here in the Santiago LDS temple. Cindy asked me to sit in for her mother as she could not be here. Cindy's mom worked for us when we lived in Bogotá and she is a close friend of mine. Although I miss Paulina, it has been fun to have Cindy living close by. I loved helping her get ready in the bride's room. They are so in love- such a cute little family!

Pucon

Pucon could very well be the Interlaken of South America. We took Natalie there while she was down for a visit and had a blast! We climbed a volcano which we later found out was still active. It was a little unnerving hearing it gurgle while we were on the summit!Check out the crampons!
Here's Nat sliding down at the end of the day.
The next day we went canyoning (rappelling down waterfalls and sliding down rock slides, etc.).

We loved the cute gear!

One of many rock slides.

Siete Tazas

We took the kiddies camping and hiking in Siete Tazas (meaning 7 cups- the waterfalls there pour from one pool to the next). We have decided the big waterfall is the long lost hermano of the falls we hiked to on our honeymoon in Hawaii. We went swimming and tried to impress the kids by cliff jumping.

Christmas 2007

After all the present opening, we took a break to take the yearly swimsuit-in-front-of-the-tree-rub-it-in-everyone's-face-that-the-
weather-is-nicer-here photo.

This is for all you Palmer cousins. Arrrrrrrgh!
We taught friends the Walker tradition of running around the house at Christmas time. And yes, we've been invited back.

Visions of Sugarplums

Christmas Eve 2007.
When we told Ryan these were Christmas stockings, he knew exactly what to do with them.
Our traditional fondue party was outdoors this year. No dreaming of a white Christmas this far south. We had the Gibsons, Stahleckers, and Aguileras over to help celebrate. Then we met up the next morning and played all day.
We ate for several hours. That is the best thing about fondue.

In keeping with Palmer tradition, the kids all got matching pijamas.
The kids were adorable when they acted out the Nativity. My favorite was Carlitos the little lamb.

What's Cookin'?

After a weekend of camp food I could stand it no longer, so with the help of Gracie we made the worlds fanciest grocery list. Last night's menu was grilled fresh tuna with roasted pepper sauce and papas a la guancaina (a Peruvian potato dish with yellow chiles), served with a side of grilled eggplant. We served it up restaurant style and the kids pretended they were on a date. Ryan kept calling me "Sir."
These live crabs cost a measly buck-fifty each! Wish I would have figured that out sooner... Tonight is teriyaki steak with grilled pineapple. Anybody hungry?

Summer Camp

January and February are summer break here. We planned out the whole summer with fun activities every day. I am so glad we did because Nathan has been traveling so much that it has made the time fly by. We miss you daddy, but we sure are having fun!Playing dress-up.
Workin' out.
An interesting swing at one of the many parks we have visited.
Our favorite pool. The whole pool is this deep. Perfect for kids. Update for Grandmas: Gracie now swims underwater!
We love this pool so much that we go whenever we can.

Beach trip with the Gonzalez family.
Water Olympics in our backyard. (Water Baseball, water balloon toss, etc...)

Trip to the Cemetery. The mausoleums are incredible. Many Chilean presidents are buried in this cemetery.


Fun at the park.
Mampato amusement park outing. Here is Ryan (2) on a roller coaster. They don't worry so much here about being sued...

My kids loved the pony ride. They are horse fanatics just like their dad! Didn't know I married a cowboy!