The Traveling Walkers

4th of July

2008-08-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-30T15:40:00.001-07:00

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

2008-02-24T14:48:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-24T14:26:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

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'?

2008-02-13T16:34:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-03T09:17:00.001-08:00

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!

BUSTED!

2007-12-16T09:09:00.001-08:00

Last night was a rite of passage for many. We took our kids and the Johnson's teenagers toilet-papering for the first time. (The Johnson's are our friends who are out of town. They watched our kids for us during our trip to the US so we repaid them cleverly by entertaining theirs. We chose to TP the Gonzalez's- a family who also watched Gracie and Ryan when we were gone- I think we might have a hard time finding baby-sitters from here on out). All was going well until Julie Gonzalez came out to her car to go pick up her daughter. We thought we had taught everyone all the important rules about toilet-papering... wear dark clothes, be very quite, tip-toe, hide if a car goes by... but we forgot to teach them one imperative rule... if someone sees you, RUN!

Ry was a natural.
Getting caught... Notice the kids are still at it. Nelson Gonzalez got back at Nathan by making him talk at church last minute today.
Gracie wants to know who's house we are doing next?!
TP-ing is taken up a notch here because you have two uncommon obstacles that add to the excitement- gates and guards. All homes are gated or in a gated communities and there are several guards on foot or circulating in vehicles 24hrs a day. These two security vehicles and guard house were only one house away. We are so sneaky! Ok- kinda... Ok, so the guards were sleeping.
This post is dedicated to Mom's Taxi- may she rest in peace.

Cascanueces

2007-12-09T17:24:00.001-08:00

Here's something we will only experience in Chile... an outdoor summertime performance of The Nutcracker. The city put it on for free in the main plaza. Here is Gracie waiting on the bleachers- we arrived 2 hours early to get a seat. In the background is a Cathedral that dates back to colonial times. It was very professionally done and Gracie kept leaning over to say, "Hey, I can dance like that! I can dance as good as she can." She proved it by dancing all the way back to the car. What you don't see is the group of fans cheering her on behind me.

Rio

2007-11-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

Nathan and I went sans children to the culturally rich hub of Bazil- Rio de Janeiro (pronounce hee-o day Shy-neigh-though. Go figure!). The highlights were the view of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf mountain) from Cristo Redentor (one of the New Seven Wonders of the World), learning to dance Samba at the interactive Carnival recreation, an early morning jog by a favela (slum) to see how the locals really live, then playing in the ocean to cool off, and of course, dinner at the Porcao Churrascaria (five star Brazilian BBQ where green means more meat please and red means wait while I watch the soccer game and eat sushi). We had a fabulous time!More filet mignon please!
Move over Vegas! The salad bar was the most incredible I have ever seen.
Carnival Floats take the whole year and millions of dollars to construct.
Rio is built on rain forest covered mountains that meet the ocean.
Learning to samba was a riot! Notice I am not in full costume and yes, they were 100% Brazilian Bikinis.

Famous Sugarloaf Mountain.
Cristo Redentor statue.

View from our hotel room.

More Sprinkler Talk

2007-11-18T09:39:00.001-08:00

When I was younger I had many-a-slumber-party on the trampoline. I would always ask my dad if he had remembered to turn off the sprinklers. He would nod and assure me he had. When we flew into the house soaking wet at 5:00 a.m. he would innocently say, "Oh, I must have programmed them wrong." I woke up with the sudden realization a few days ago that he did it all on purpose! I know mom and dad were secretly giggling their heads off.

Sprinklers and trampolines make a much better combo when the sun is out and it is 85 degrees. I enjoy it as much as my kids do!

No Spring

2007-11-18T09:20:00.001-08:00

Santiago has no spring. One week we had the heater on. The next week we were wearing shorts. In September we were Snow-skiing (yes Ryan and Gracie Skied, too!). By October it was beach weather. Come for Christmas and we'll take you surfing!

Date Night

2007-11-16T19:24:00.001-08:00

Gracie sees us go on a date every Friday and she really wanted a turn. She was so excited when Daddy invited her on a "date" to the school play. She ran in to change and came out in this outfit (the hat is mine). She gave her Dad one look and sent him immedately to change into a suit. She also made him wear this hat. Of course the Nido moms loved it! Ry got his chance for Date Night tonight. In case your were wondering, he wore shorts.

Rain on Our Picnic

2007-11-16T19:02:00.001-08:00

We had 3 families here for a bar-b-q and the sprinkler (which was next to the table) kept getting turned on. When we asked who did it Ry kept telling us it was Jacob (who is younger and can't defend himself). We finally got smart and moved the sprinkler right behind the hose faucet. Next thing we see is screaming boys running away from the water. He is teaching Isaac how to whistle (what he does when excited)-put your fingers in your mouth and squeal!

Princess Bride

2007-11-16T18:44:00.001-08:00

Gracie wanted to be a "Princess Getting Married" for Halloween. I caught her waving and posing for people on the street. I couldn't get her in the car for a whole five minutes while she enjoyed the attention. She worked it in traffic from her car seat for the whole 30 minute ride home. Once, she got ticked and commented "Hey, they won't look at me!" Apparently her husband's name is Rumpelstiltskin.

Supermans

2007-11-16T18:30:00.000-08:00

Until Halloween Ryan thought "Supermans" just meant his cool underwear. We are just glad he no longer calls them panties. As you can see, we forgot to tell Superman he saves his friends as opposed to strangling them.

2007-11-14T19:44:00.001-08:00

How to Tell if You're Not Mom's Favorite

2007-11-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

Mom sent me an email entitled "How to Tell if You're Not Mom's Favorite." I was afraid to open it.

I couldn't resist...