Walking for Josh

This past Saturday, the kids and I (Matt was out of town) headed to Kiwanis Park in Tempe to participate in the Cystic Fibrosis 5K walk. Our sweet nephew (Matt's oldest sister's son), Josh, has Cystic Fibrosis and we were happy to walk with other family members to help raise $ for research. The kids were troopers and finished the whole thing without TOO much complaining. :)

Josh - 8 years oldCousins

(we missed you Andrew & Spence!)Beginning of the walk - all the blue balloons are our team
Preston & Mommy
He was a good boy and slept the whole way!!Girls ~ Em & BrooklynGavin enjoying his (& Prestons) new ride!
Aunt Melissa lovingly pushed him the whole way!Blake enjoying a post-race treat.
He said, "Mom, is cotton candy made from sheeps?" LOL!Brooklyn almost finished with hers

Funny story: Before we left the house, I was explaining to the kids why we were doing this long walk for Josh. Blake mentioned something about Josh having "roses" in his body and I was like, "What???? Where'd that come from??" and brushed it off. While we were walking, we were talking about it again and I asked Blake what Josh had and he said, "Sixty-Five Roses!" OOOOHHHH RIIIIIIIIGHT!!!! Cystic Fibrosis!!!!!! Of course!!!! So cute, from the mouth of babes!!

I'm so glad that we have Josh in our family and we hope and pray that he has a long, fulfilling life!!!! Love you Josh!

Happy Monday!!

This is what is currently awaiting me --
TWO WEEKS worth of FOUR kids' laundry!!!!!!!!! Ack!!
That's a whole lotta sorting, stain-treating, washing, drying, folding and putting away to do!!

{this picture does NOT do the pile justice!!!}

Lots 'o blogging to come...... after I climb out from under this mountain!!

I'd better get started!

What's on YOUR to-do list this week?

EXCITING news in my family!!

Brittney, the baby sister of the fam, is engaged!! Saturday morning, the lovebirds went on a hot air balloon ride where he proceeded to pop the question. She said yes, of course!! We've been anticipating this for awhile and are so glad it's finally official! We love Jesse and can't wait to have him as part of our family!! Wedding is set for August 8th.

The happy couple
(yes, she's taller, that's why Jesse spikes his hair! j/k)

He went to Jared!

(you know the commercial, hahahahaha!)

Becky, the middle sister, gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby boy yesterday!

Ashton Taylor Yost
8 lbs 1.8 oz
20 1/4 in.

I visited them today in the hospital and have already forgotten how tiny they come, even though I just had one of my own 3 1/2 months ago! I'm so, SO happy that my sister and I have these two little boys so close in age. It's pretty much the only chance I get on my side of the family.

7 YeArS!!

Today, April 13th, marks SEVEN years of wedded bliss for Matt and I. SEVEN years!!! It's hard to believe!! In the past SEVEN years we've:

* purchased one new car (just paid it off, yippee!!!)
* tripled the size of our family
* (Matt) finished undergrad AND optometry school
* moved 6 times
* bought two homes (sold our condo before we left for CA)

We've certainly been through millions of ups and downs these past SEVEN years, but I wouldn't trade any of it for the world!!! Can't wait to see where the next SEVEN years takes us!! I'm so glad that I have Matt as my husband and eternal companion. Love ya babe!!!

♥ XOXOXOXO ♥

Happy Easter!

My four sweeties in their coordinating {of course!} Easter attire

We had a wonderful Easter sabbath today! Matt's brother gave his homecoming address so we attended church with his parents. We then spent the rest of the day with them, including lunch and dinner. We chatted, some of us napped, played a little Guitar Hero, pigged out a *little* bit on Easter candy and the kids flew kites that the Easter Bunny left for them. There was just the right amount of wind! Brooklyn was so cute- giggling like a maniac every time the wind would get a bit stronger and she had to try to maintain her kite's stability! :) I could barely keep myself from busting out in song, "Oh, oh, oh, let's go fly a kite! Up to the highest heights....."


















Gma Palmer had an Easter egg hunt followed by a scavenger hunt to find some little Easter treats she had for the grandkids.

















And Preston snores on......

I am truly grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The lesson in Relief Society was especially good, reiterating Joseph B. Wirthlin's recently infamous quote, "Come what may and love it," with regards to accepting God's will for us. It really made me ponder in my heart if I'm "loving" what comes to me and I'm committed to making this my new motto. I'm thankful that I was able to spend this Easter holiday surrounded by those I love.

The next best thing to GOING to Disneyland

Disney on Ice

Disneyland Adventure

Friday morning, we surprised the kids by taking them to see our favorite characters from our favorite place, but we didn't have to drive six hours to get there! Brooklyn, Blake and Gavin loved every second of it!!

Doing what babies do best! To infinity...... and beyond!!

Bippity-boppity-BOO! Cinderella in her carriage
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

The main stars of the show, the Incredibles

Friend vs foe

The cast of characters Everybody's favorite ~ Mickey & Minnie!!!

Made me miss Disneyland even MORE!!! Can't wait to get back, hopefully sooner than later!

Welcome Home, Elder Uncle Karl!!

Wednesday afternoon, Matt's brother returned home from serving in the Mississippi Jackson mission for two years. The kids were all happy to have Uncle Karl back and the three newest little ones got to meet their uncle Karl for the first time! :)

All the Palmer sibs back together again

WHY??

WHY do my kids call these "weenie cars?" (and why do I secretly encourage it?)

WHY does my baby like to sleep with a blanket over his face??

WHY does son #1 like to cut his own hair at school???

(perhaps he's trying to tell me something?)

WHY does son #2 resist naps, only to fall alseep at 4:00pm????

WHY does son #3 barf so much?????

(isn't that chunk 'o cheese in his mouth appetizing??)

WHY can't I ever be on time??????

(baseball practice started at 5:00. my clock *IS* 5 minutes fast......)

Uncanny Resemblance???

I gave Gavin a few coins to carry around after receiving change from the store, one of which happened to be a quarter. He carefully studied each side of the quarter and proclaimed, "Mom, it's President Monson!!" But of course, Gavin! ;) I love his sweetness!

Don't you see it? ;)