The Palmer Family

Adam and Steve

2011-05-17T17:09:00.001-07:00

O: Mom, who was the first prophet on the Earth?

M: Adam... you remember Adam and Eve?

O: Eve? I have an Eve in my church class. He's my friend!

M: Eve is a boy?

O: Oh yeah... it's Steve.

Happy Mothers' Day (by Brandt)

2011-05-09T07:44:00.002-07:00

Why do you love your mom?

Kalle: "Because she does everything for me."

Oakley: "Because she does things for me."

Brennen: "Because she is the best mom ever."

In summary -
TIME! She spends time with us. She plays with us. She takes care of us. She reads to us. She cries with us. She laughs with us. She puts her dreams on hold for a little while to be the best mom we could ask for. She loves us.

Why do you love your wife?

Brandt: "Amber is fun to spend time with. She is funny (not all of the time, but she thinks she is funny during those times too, so that in and of itself is funny). She knows my thoughts before I do. She is patient. She is gorgeous! She genuinely cares for others. She likes to have fun. She looks for the good in me (which is not the easiest to find sometimes) and others. She is devoted to me, our family, and her faith. She is sincere. She is a wonderful mother to our children.

In summary -
Because she is my best friend!

Kids say the darndest things

2011-05-07T20:22:00.005-07:00

I know I am biased, but my kids have been cracking me up lately with the things they say. So I have tried to write them down when I have a pen handy...

Brennen, looking at his new goldfish, "Mom, Aqua has BIG eyebrows!"

Oakley's prayer one night: "Please help Jesus to come back to earth again. Please help Laman and Lemuel to come back to Earth and to be not mean- nice! And please help them not to kill anybody when they come back to earth. Please help us to be nice and kind, and please help us to share with others."

A conversation from the car... This one pretty much melted my heart and cracked me up at the same time.

Me: Oakley, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Oakley: A Missionary.

Me: Kalle, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Kalle: I will go on a mission, and get married in the temple, and live on a farm... with a horse.

Me: What if your husband doesn't want to live on a farm?

Kalle: I will only marry someone who loves Heavenly Father and wants to live on a farm!

Me: Brennen, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Brennen: A cow!

Brennen, as the three kids play with their piggy banks, "My piggy bank is different from Oakley and Kalle's. Mine has sunshine on it!"

Kalle's prayer, "We are thankful Mari's daddy didn't die when his heart blew up. Please help him to feel better."

Oakley told me one day he didn't want to get married. I said he didn't have to, but I thought he would change his mind once he got older. He said, "Ok, I will. But, when I get married... I'm kinda scared. You know- to bend her over." (As he does a dancing dipping motion)

All three kids were coloring pictures. Kalle said she was making hers for Daddy. Oakley said he was making his for cousin Jaxon. Brennen thought about it for a minute and said, " I'm making this for Jesus when he comes back to Earth."

Oakley, after seeing a picture of Uncle Jared holding a rattle snake, "The whole world is getting snakey!"

Last night I was teasing Brandt.

Brennen: Why are you guys laughing?

Me: Because I am teasing Daddy.

Brennen: Why?

Me: Because I like to tease him.

Brennen: Why?

Me: Because he is my best friend.

Brennen (with a look like I am absolutely crazy): No he's NOT! He's your MOTHER!

This one is an oldie but goodie from Kalle:

Kalle: Mom, I will marry Jaxon (her cousin)

Me: What about Oakley? I thought you wanted to marry him?

K: Uh, he can marry Samara (Kalle's friend), and we will all live in this house.

M: What about me and Daddy?

K: Sorry- it will be too crowded.

M: Yes, especially when you have a baby.

K: I will name my first baby Lilly... or my horse.

M:Oh yeah? What will you name your first boy?

K: Um... Rocky or Judas!

Happy Birthday Brennen Boy

2011-04-14T13:00:00.001-07:00

Today my baby boy is THREE! Can you even believe it? (I can't). He really does bring such joy to my life. He is cheerful, smart, and loves to make people laugh. He is silly and energetic. He loves to meet new people (makes for some very funny grocery store trips) and is the opposite of shy. When Oakley is nervous about something, he always asks Brennen to go with him. He loves to point out "B''s every time he sees one (about 1000 times a day!). He makes me smile with every prayer when he says (without fail) "Please help the bad guys to be good." He still leaves off some beginning sounds when he talks so sometimes he is a little hard to understand. He wants to be just like Kalle and Oakley in every way and is not afraid of a thing... oh wait- except dogs. Deathly afraid of dogs... and bees. But those are my fault. Anyway, we just love Brennen so much. I can't imagine life without his smile and bubbly personality.

Brennen- 1 week

Brennen- 2 months

Brennen- 1 year

Brennen- 2 years

Brennen- 3 years

Our stats as of today:

Brennen:

38 lbs- 93%

41 in- 97%

Oakley:

39 lbs- 62%

44.5 in- 97%

Kalle:

41 lbs- 24%

46 in- 59%

Brennen's favorites on his 3rd birthday:

Food: Apple

Drink: Soda Pop

Game: Candy Land

Toy: Kim's Car (toy car he got from a teacher at the gym)

Person: Heavenly Father

Color: Red

Thing to do: Clean up the kitchen with Mommy

Book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Scripture Story: Samuel the Lamenite

Movie: George

Brennen's least favorites on his 3rd birthday:

Food: Beans

Drink: No no no Coffee

Thing to do: Go in the street

Seriously?

2011-04-08T23:06:00.008-07:00

How did I ever live without these three...

(I could not even keep from laughing while taking the above picture- Oakley was looking for his gum!)

Spring Breakers

2011-03-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this spring break. We packed in a lot more than I usually like to, but had such a great time together that it was worth it.

Playing dress up and a million other games of pretend

Oakley being creative with his pillow pet

Catching lots of bugs and snails. Oakley left them on the counter over night and quite a few escaped!

Brandt took Kalle on a Daddy Daughter date. She decided she wanted to walk to her favorite place to grab a bite.

You have to have a St. Patrick's day party when you are Irish!

We LOVE cousins!!!

Brennen and Oakley were pretty excited about their green hair (food coloring)

Sucking skittles with a straw and other fun games

Holding the Guinea Pig

The Zoo- on the busiest day of the year!

Brennen followed this goat around for a few minutes hugging it just like this:

Love you Sis!

More Please!

2011-03-06T00:45:00.010-07:00

What happens when you take a 2.5 hour nap during the day? You can't sleep even though it is over 2.5 hours past your bedtime!!! So I thought I would update the blog.

After saving for almost four years, I finally got a Blendtec. It is a blender and so much more. We make green smoothies everyday- and LOVE them! What goes in our favorite green smoothie recipe? 2 C coconut milk, 4 C spinach, 1 C collards, 1 carrot, 1 T flax oil, 1/2 C yogurt, 2 bananas, 1 apple, 1 C frozen strawberries, and 1 C frozen pineapple, mango, and peach mixture.

It is an easy way to get the kids to get more vegetables and I always hear "More Please!"

Ned's Head... we are obsessed!

2011-02-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

My last post was in 2010, so I thought it was high time for an update! We have been playing outside a lot. Our neighbors got a new "kitty" that the kids LOVE to go chase after and catch. Too bad the cat is not smart enough to stay away when they call for it! But when I do make them stay inside, we are forever playing Ned's Head. This really is one of the best games EVER invented and the kids love it- Thanks Grandma Palmer. It is a giant head with 15 objects inside. You pick a card with a picture of the object you have to try in get out by sticking your hands in, but not being able to see. Kalle was OK at first, but the boys were hopeless. After playing it non-stop since Oakley got it for his birthday in November, they are all pros. I love it because it really does build their brains! Here is Oakley going for it:

Then, somehow, we all got sick. Having sick kids is no fun, but being sick yourself, plus having sick kids is the pits! We just laid around for a few days.

This picture makes me smile because whenever the kids see a car's back window like this, they love to shout out "RAINBOW WASH!" Kalle made it up, and we love to look for them every day.
OK, I'm pretty excited- I made a dress. No, I don't know how to follow a pattern (nor did I have a pattern to follow), but it still turned out wearable. I saw a dress like this on Shabby Apple, so I went for it. The problem is, I obviously don't know how to put a zipper in, so the dress was next to impossible to get on. With Brandt's help and 10 minutes later the dress was on!
Brennen is sure a snuggler, but don't even think about asking for a kiss...
Kalle is a story lover. She loves to spend her time reading, but now has a new favorite thing- Listening to books on CD. She loves to snuggle up in a blanket and listen when she wakes up in the morning, during quiet time, and before she goes to sleep at night.

She will listen to a whole novel in about a day, which means we have to stock up from the library every week. Our library bag has gotten exponentially heavier!
Brennen was eating some chips and green salsa from Tia Rosa when he decided it would be better to drink the green salsa. I have always been tempted to try that!
Grandpa took the boys for a ride on the three wheeler during that cold spell. They sure had fun!
This is the only picture from my birthday- sad! But it ended up being the best birthday ever! The Big 2-7.
I got to teach a class on manners at stake activities day. So. Much. Fun. Who knew that dressing up like a Fairy-god teacher could be so great!

Out to dinner with the fam- we missed you Tyler and AnnaMarie!
This picture just melts my heart. Brennen does love to snuggle.
Oakley and his very best friend Jaxon.
That's about all. My goal: to post more... we will see!

Our fun filled December (and a bit of Nov)!

2010-12-28T14:11:00.015-07:00

After Christmas last year, I made Brandt promise not to ever let me get that busy/stressed/try to do too many things in December again. He did his best reminding me to slow down and enjoy myself. This Christmas was fantasticly wonderful, but I still hope to do even less next year and just enjoy the season of Christ's birth more. Here are few things that have been going on around our house the past month:

Thanksgiving at Great Grandma and Grandpa Clifford's house. So fun as usual. We have decided that we need to visit them more often!

We started a new tradition this year called the "Family Feast." The day after thanksgiving everyone gets to pick their favorite foods and we have them all for dinner. Although the dinner was not the tastiest dinner ever, it sure was one of the most fun. Kalle chose fruit salad.

Brennen chose cheesy potato skins.

Brandt chose ice cream.

Oakley chose chicken nuggets... from McDonalds. Mom almost vetoed.

Mom chose fresh squeezed orange juice.

We have been taking advantage of the cooler weather and playing outside A LOT!

Brennen, one day, decided he was ready to go potty on the toilet. With no forcing from Mom, he was potty trained. Too bad Mom had just bought 4 huge boxes of diapers from costco. Brennen was more than excited to go to IKEA and finally get to play in the kids zone- he has been looking forward to that.

I just think his little bum is the cutest thing ever in his new underwear!

Grandpa took all the grandkids to Disneyland for two days! I have decided that there are very few places I would rather NOT be than Disneyland. Although the kids had a blast, and it was so generous of my Dad to take us all, i just do not like it one bit. Too many people, too much gross food, to much hustle and bustle. My favorite part of the two days was reading my book under a tree while Brennen took a nap in the stroller. I went to bed before 8pm both nights- that place wears me out!

I ate 5 of these in two days... what was I thinking????

On our last night in the hotel, Brandt came into one of the rooms to move the boys into the other. He got very nervous when he didn't find Oakley in the bed. It took him a minute, but he finally found him mostly UNDER the bed. Luckily we had out pillows next to the bed in case of a fall.

Kalle's school had a fall concert where all the kids get to sing to their parents. I was cracking up when the boy behind Kalle (who she says she does not know) kept tugging on her curls. She was very angry about it and kept turning around to tell him to STOP!

This face says it all.

Goofing around...

The Palmer family Christmas party was great. The boys were shepherds in the nativity this year.

Kalle was an angel.

We had cousins over to decorate cookies.

Christmas with the Ferrells was Fantastic! We ate soup, sang Christmas songs, did the nativity (this time the boys were wisemen), and played the presents game. We sure had a blast.

We started another tradition this year of going out to dinner before Christmas with Uncle Taylor to "El Charro." That was Grandpa Palmer's very favorite place to eat before he died. The kids loved to see Uncle Taylor and the food was pretty good, too!

Christmas morning was nice. The kids slept in a bit longer than usual (What? Yes- you read that right!) Grandma Ferrell got them the pillow pets they have been asking for.

The kids were in heaven having Dad to play with all day long.

I got one of the books I have been wanting to read since it came out!

Kalle made her very first batch of cupcakes (and a cake) all by herself. She did great and was very excited!

What a special time of year!

Thanksgiving Daily

2010-11-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a while...

2010-10-17T07:38:00.005-07:00

We've been doing well, but super busy. Here's whats going on...

Our biggest and most exciting news is that Brandt PASSED THE BAR! Now if we could only find a full-time job... :) Way to go Babe!

My brother Scott got married! Erin, my new sister-in-law is just fantastic! We are so excited to have her in our family. Sisters!!! (We missed you AM)

Kalle has been loving Kindergarten. This is her "best friend." She tried out a few girls for the job at the beginning of the year, but they were too drama for Kalle. Now she plays soccer with the boys everyday. Is this picture not hilarious...

Brandt and Kalle went fishing before the Daddy/Daughter campout. Although they didn't catch any fish, they still had a blast! My kids take after their Dad- they love fishing and camping!

Oakley is loving life. He is a bundle of energy and emotions. He is teaching me patience everyday. He is learning his sounds and how to write his letters. He is Mr. Protective with Brennen.

Brennen is almost out of diapers. Hopefully he is as easy to train as Kalle and Oakley were! My method: Juice and movies while sitting on the potty. Although Brennen does not drink out of bottles anymore, he was excited that I let him today!

Lastly, an oldie-but-goodie from when Brandt and I were engaged...

B to the Hand

2010-09-06T20:40:00.003-07:00

Brennen is 2. He is curious. He has yet to learn any common sense. He has no fear. Yes, he has had his third ER visit of the year. (WARNING- this post contains a graphic and bloody picture of Brennen's hand. You may not want to see it... Ashley...):

We had an amazing vacation in Utah. The drive home went pretty well for an 11 hour drive with 3 young children. We pulled into the driveway at 8:30 pm- we were exhausted. As we open the garage, both Brandt and I sit there for a few seconds confused. There is water POURING from the ceiling with part of the ceiling hanging down. Brandt comes to his senses first and jumps out of the car to turn off the main water valve. To make a long story short, an upstairs toilet cracked leaving water pouring into our house for who knows how long.

We get fans put all over the house to dry things out. We move in with my parents for a few days. When we came back to move some of the fans like the guy said to do, Brennen thinks it's funny to have the fans blow him. As the fans have hand guards, Brandt and I didn't worry and just kept moving fans. Until Brennen found one that didn't have a hand guard and decided to stick his whole arm down it. After another ER trip and two appointments with the hand surgeon later, Brennen's hand is going to be just fine- a fact that both the ER doctor and Hand surgeon said is pretty much a miracle. The fan sliced all five fingers, some down to the bone, but did not touch any major nerves, ligaments, nor cut any fingers off. We feel pretty blessed.

A Boy and his Fish...

2010-08-21T21:08:00.010-07:00

And if you didn't get enough, here is the video:

My Baby Girl went to Kindergarten. Sniff, Sniff.

2010-08-11T21:49:00.004-07:00

Kalle was beyond excited....

A few seconds after this picture, Kalle walked up the ramp, turned around right before she walked through the door, and blew me a kiss. That's when I lost it. I bawled the whole way back to the car. Good news though, she LOVED it and can't wait to go back tomorrow!

Sorry...

2010-07-28T08:00:00.004-07:00

Dear Brandt,

I am sorry your hotel room smells like smoke, doesn't have a lock on the door, blinds that shut all the way, or a working air conditioning.

I am sorry that they woke you up in the middle of the night last night to tell you that your jump drive broke and they don't have six of your essays from the bar yesterday.

I am sorry that I finally changed my watch to Utah time and called you an hour early for your wake up call this morning.

I am sorry you are sitting 3 football fields away from the drinking fountain and bathroom while taking your test.

But I am glad you are not worried about these things- I would be! Thanks for working so hard to do well in everything you do. We sure miss you and can't wait to see you tomorrow. We love you!

So Brennen...

2010-07-23T12:25:00.002-07:00

Oakley will randomly give me kisses all day long. When I try and sneak one on Brennen, he flinches.

Kalle was pretty proud of her picture taking skills...

2010 Vacation- Part 1

2010-07-17T19:28:00.006-07:00

The kids and I left for a month long vacation on Tuesday. We had the PERFECT start to our vacay by stopping in Las Vegas to stay with one of my dearest friends Becca. I was a little nervous to bring my three kids to team up with her two kids and stay in their house (sometimes my kids are crazy crazy), but it ended up just wonderful (craziness and all). I was planning on staying 1 or 2 days, but we were having so much fun that Becca talked us into staying 4 (believe me, it didn't take much convincing!). The kids had fun playing (and tormenting), and I had such a blast just chilling and chatting with Becca. Thank you, thank you Becca for an amazing stay!

The car ride there took about 7 hours with construction, lunch, and stretching breaks. It wasn't too terrible though.

Becca took some cute pics of the kids all together that I will post. But for now you just get my crappy camera pictures...

The splash pad:

Brennen and Casen are only 3 months apart (Brennen is a monster), and it was fun to see them interact.

Fun outside. I wish I would have gotten a pic of Oakley on this with Brinley because that is how it usually was.

Becca and I had an awesome night out on the town. We went shopping, had dinner, and then toured the strip (per my request).

Dinner was amazing. We went to a place in Vegas famous for their interesting, yet scrumptious entrees. Although we did not get the chicken and waffles (chicken ON TOP of waffles), the person next to us did, and Becca swears it's delicious!

We started with fried green tomatoes. It came with a slice of watermelon on the bottom, and the tomatoes stacked on top layered with chicken salad- really yummy!

Then we shared a salad (surprisingly normal)- but our entree was to die for. Too much to explain, but SO GOOD! Can you say fried cheese mashed potatoes!

We ended the night at the Balagio. Watched the water show twice (AWESOME!), and just had fun hanging out. It was like we were 16 all over again- uhhh, except we talked about everything except boys! :)

We love Summer!

2010-07-17T19:11:00.004-07:00

Although I HATE the heat and look forward to someday moving away from it, we have been having a GREAT summer. The kids took swim lessons, Oakley went to his first three days of school, we went to school lunch (free lunch at the nearby elementary school for anyone under 18... SCORE!), and we had a super fun 4th of July.

Oakley's very first day of school EVER! Boy was he thrilled and LOVED it!! Poor guy is going to be heart broken when he realizes he doesn't get to go to preschool for a whole nother year. This three day summer camp was done by Kalle's preschool teacher. There was water fun, lunch, and learning. The theme was dinosaurs. What could be better?

For our 4th of July celebrations, we first hit the Ikea weekend sale. Although we didn't buy anything, the kids really love the kids gym, and we had a great dinner (Kids ate free!).

We finished off the night setting off some firecrackers (almost legal) and then dancing with glow sticks. Had to take a pic before dancing:

Dancing in the dark with glow sticks. Hours of fun!

Still dancing in the dark- Mom's camera flash lit up the room for a millisecond! Brennen's face cracks me up every time I see it!

Now we are off on vacation for a month!

Brennen Loves...

2010-07-04T14:39:00.002-07:00

Food: cookies
Color: pink
Person: Grandma
Animal: Tiger
Game: pretending Tigers
Book: Dinosaur
Yucky Food: Oatmeal
Activity with Daddy: Hold me up and the fan bite me- pretend
Favorite fruit: me think- strawberries
Favorite letter- S
Activity with Mom- Nothing

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

2010-07-03T21:15:00.001-07:00

I was crying my eyes out after less than a minute. What a sweet and powerful message...

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

Feeling Bad

2010-06-30T21:56:00.004-07:00

When the list of things to blog gets as long as it is now, I don't even want to think about blogging. But then I read my SIL AnnaMarie's blog, and I feel guilty. What wonderful memories she has preserved with all of her journaling! I need to do better. So here's to goals!!! Thanks AnnaMarie.

So here's the plan. I am going to do short catch-up blog posts on all of the great things that I missed. Maybe one a day? ---Brandt's Law school graduation, Kalle's pre-school graduation, Kalle's music program, the cabin, girl's camp, Kalle's dance recital, Oakley's first day of school, Brennen moving from a crib to a bed--- STAY TUNED!

Oh yeah- And Sugar-free week one... failure? I think not! So, although I had 2 strawberry lemonades, 2 Dr. Peppers, and 4-5 desserts (sad that I lost count), I am going to call week one a success. On the average week I probably had 7 juice drinks, 3-5 Dr. Peppers, and at least 10-12 desserts(treats)... I did pretty well. Now on to next week...

Picture sneak preview:

Brandt graduated from Law School... WOOHOO!

Oakley drew this on the magnadoodle and said "Look Mom, I drew a Ssssssssssss" I was so excited that I took his picture- He was obviously pretty excited, too.
We love to snuggle Kalle's dance recital

Oakley's ice ring

Brennen chillin at the cabin

Sugar-Free Day One

2010-06-23T22:35:00.002-07:00

Well, not totally sugar-free. Just no pop (yes Ryan, I'm from Montana!), juice, or deserts. Emily told me you have an extraordinarily higher percentage of getting diabetes when you get older if you drink lots of juice instead of water. Since I mainly only drink non-diet pop and juice, my future didn't look very bright. But also because too much sugar isn't good for anyone, right?

Sugar-free day one results:

-Easy, no problem... until 9pm when I usually have a treat.
-Why am I SOOOO thirsty after drinking a gallon of water, when a small cup of juice quenches my thirst instantly?
-All I can think about is the tropicana orange juice in the fridge.
-Since 9pm, I have been making new rules every few minutes... 1 pop a week, pop when we are out on a date, pop when I'm at Mom and Dad's, juice when the kids have it, ice cream when Brandt has it... BAD!

No, I have not cheated yet. Yes, I tried to fulfill my craving by eating a sandwich. No it did not work. Yes, I am going to bed now. Tomorrow is another day...

Cabin Fever

2010-06-20T07:32:00.005-07:00

We (the kids and I) are in BEAUTIFUL Pinetop, AZ enjoying nature and loving every minute of it- well except for waking up way too early (the kids woke me up at 4:50 this morning).

Great things about staying at a cabin in the woods:
-Catching Caterpillars, naming them, and caring for them-until they sneak away (Kalle sobbed after losing her beloved "Angel" yesterday after caring for him for 3 days). :(
-Hiking through the woods, making markers so we can find our way back.
-Smelling trees to see if they smell like vanilla, strawberries, or chocolate (we finally found a chocolate yesterday!!!).
-running wild, not having Mom nag you to stay close so you don't get kidnapped
-starting a rock collection and finding cool rocks to put in it.
-building a camp fire and roasting marshmallows.
-going to the lake and finding the smallest baby ducks ever (Brennen- "I want to hold one" over and over)
-reading on the porch while the kids play, listening to the wind in trees and enjoying 70 degree weather in June!
-seeing a coyote out the window- only about 50 ft away
-having baby Alexis's third word be "Amber"- sorry Ashley :)

Some funny things the kids have said here:
Kalle: "Mom, all personages can feel the holy ghost"
Oakley: "Mom, this is a picture of Daddy- the Daddy at home, not the Daddy at the cabin."

Uhhh, what? I'm glad no on heard him say that! Upon further questioning, he meant it was a picture of Dad at home, not at the cabin.

We are having a blast- we miss you Babe!

More pictures when we get home. Thanks for taking these on your phone Em!

So much to be thankful for...

2010-05-07T14:15:00.006-07:00

1. Pink strawberry throw up stain on my carpet
2. Camp certification
3. The gift of the Holy Ghost

About 40 minutes ago I started this post. The kids were in quiet time, and I wasn't due to get them out for another half hour. As I was writing some funny things the kids have said recently (see below), I heard a crash coming from upstairs. This is not too uncommon, as Oakley sometimes needs to release energy by bouncing off the walls 24/7. But today was different. The holy ghost spoke to my heart and told me I was needed upstairs and fast. I think it took me about .6 seconds. I ran into Oakley's room- he was a nice purple color. He was holding his throat and obviously choking. My first instinct was to slap him on the back. That didn't work (but now he has a nice hand shaped bruise on his back- poor guy). Then I came to my senses and decided to try the heimlich (thank you camp certification a few weeks ago for mutual). This actually did work. It also caused him to throw up his lunch. He then promptly started to cry and ask me why I would hit him like that?

I am so greatful to be a mother of three beautiful children. I am also greatful for the Holy Ghost in my life. It helps me to know that the gospel is true. Its absence helps me know when I need to strive to be more patient with my sweet angels. This is not the first time it has most likely helped me save the life of one of my children (i try not to think about the Kalle hanging from the second story balcony experience). I always want to live worthy of the Holy Ghost.

On to the funny things the kids have said this week:

Whenever Brennen hands me something (food, toy, anything) so that he can use two hands to do something, he will say "Don't eat it!" Uh... I guess I have a problem...

The other day we needed to go to the bank. I first went to the wrong bank, so we had to drive to the other one. When we pulled into the parking lot, Oakley said "Is THIS the right piggy bank?"

I have been talking to Kalle recently about Kindergarten and the importance of choosing good friends who will help her make good choices. Out of the blue one day she said, "Mom, I will never play with naughty kids at school or kids that bring wine in their lunch."

I have about a million other things to post, but for now a sneak peak...

Kalle's preschool program

Helping Grandpa fix the car

Babysitting twins
playing with letters

Fun with Friends

2010-04-22T09:05:00.002-07:00

Yes Folks- That's SEVEN, five and under!

One smart cookie

2010-04-07T14:53:00.003-07:00

So every parent probably thinks that their kids are smarter than average. I am no different- I think all three are pretty bright. Kalle is the easiest to brag about since she is usually the first to accomplish something, but Oakley is always right behind her. Kalle learned how to ride a two wheeler last week- Oakley is very close now (if he would only keep his eyes on the road rather than on whoever is watching him!). Kalle goes to the greatest (in my opinion) preschool there ever was. It is done by a lady in our ward. The lessons are based on the Book of Mormon and Kalle is always coming home and explaining the Book of Mormon stories and facts to me. She is also learning to read and is pretty good! If you live anywhere near McKellips and Lindsey, you should consider this preschool for your four-year old. We LOVE it!

Anyway, Kalle wanted to write a letter to Grandma today. Usually I either write out what she wants to say and she copies it, or I spell out the words while she is going. Today, for the first time, I told her to sound out the words. She did a great job and I am so proud of her. And the spelling cracks me up! When she was sounding out the word "date," she wrote "dat." Then she re-sounded it out and said, "that doesn't spell date, that spells dat." We have been talking about making a letter say its name as we read. So I said "how would you make the A say its name?" She added the E and finished the letter. What a smart girl... I think so anyway!

DeeR GRaMO, AnD GRapo,

I Luv YOO.

LeTS GO on A DATe. {heart} Kalle

Busy, Busy

2010-03-29T13:28:00.004-07:00

We have been staying busy. Here are some of the highlights:

We made a green smoothie with some fruit, pineapple juice, and some greens and carrots from our garden. The kids loved it and asked for seconds. I would have enjoyed it more had I not known I was drinking chard...

Brennen loves to help with the laundry
I couldn't get a good picture, but can you tell what Brennen got more of? Yep, more staples! Fell off the slide and hit his head on the corner of the bricks. More blood, more emergency room.

My friend I drove to flagstaff and went snowboarding. I forgot how much I love it!

Tried to take this picture three times, but I could not keep my balance just standing there. It was either start going down the mountain, or fall on my rear...

We have been having fun!

After watching this video, you will no long wonder why Brennen keeps getting staples...

FHE, a Birthday, Cousins, and Fun!

2010-03-22T18:50:00.001-07:00

FHE tonight was a crack up. The lesson was on "obedience" and here are some of the highlights:

Me: Kalle, can you name someone we need to be obedient to?

Kalle: Heavenly Father and Jesus?

Me: Wonderful! And can you think of something they ask us to do?

Kalle: Keep the commandments and not kill!

then

Me: Oakley, can you think of someone we need to be obedient to?

Oakley: Mom and Dad?

Me: Perfect! And can you think of something they as us to do?

Oakley: Not be unkind or ROAR at people.

then

Me: Kalle can you think of anyone else we need to be obedient to?

Kalle: Policemen?

Me: Great! Can you think of something they as us to do?

Kalle: Not take a knife and cut someones tires?

later

Me: Kalle can you think of a time you were obedient and it made you happy?

Kalle: One time, we were going swimming. And you asked Oakley to get his swimsuit on, and he didn't want to do it. So you said "if you don't get your swim suit on, we can't go swimming." And I started crying.

then

Me: Oakley, can you think of a time when you were obedient and it made you happy?

Oakley: One time, Brennen and I went swimming by ourselves. Then a dinosaur- a SHARPTOOTH- came and ate our car!

I wonder if obedience sunk in at all tonight?

I am kind of a home body. I like to get out once a day, but no more (and no less). So the kids have to come up with ways to play together and entertain themselves.

Story time with Dad before bed

For some reason, Brennen is always found first in Hide and Seek

Kalle turned FIVE! All she asked for was a flashlight and baby food (Brennen gave her some last year and she thought that was pretty funny!). Mom and Dad threw in a new play dress and a bird feeder. Wouldn't it be great if kids only wanted $3 worth of stuff for every birthday?

Posing in her birthday dress

Kalle had a wonderful day. She woke up to presents and lucky charms (something she would never eat for breakfast except on her birthday!). She got to take treats to pre-school, then go to Carson's (our neighbor) house after (I had a dentist appt.). Carson's amazing Mom took her out for ice cream. Then she got to choose what we had for dinner (Banana choc. chip pancakes). After so much sugar in one day, she was happy with blowing out the candles on her roll!

Here Kalle is with probably her best friend. He lives across the street, and they are in the same preschool class. He really is the cutest kid ever and SO nice. Yes he is a boy, no he is not her boyfriend. We don't tease about that kind of thing and she has no idea that it is weird to have a boy for a best friend.

After setting up the bird feeder, Kalle really wanted to catch a bird. We made this set-up. There is a piece of dental floss tied to the bat that leads into the house with the door open just a crack. There is popcorn under the bucket. Kalle was SO close to catching a bird that night, but she didn't know Dad had closed the door.

The kids sat here waiting for a bird for about an hour. Notice the floss coming into the house.

Tyler, AnnaMarie, Katie, and Jane came to visit for our spring break. We had WAY too much fun with them here. Here are some pictures from the park.

Brennen is obsessed with babies and couldn't get enough of baby Jane.

Tough guys... and best friends!

Then, our best neighbors (mentioned earlier) invited us for a tea party as a practice round for a birthday tea party. They had nuggets, mac'ncheese, and koolaid. The kids thought it was the most fun thing ever because they got to use real china, and only one set of dishes got broken (Brennen trying to help clean up). See video clip at the bottom!

We saw the Easter bunny at the mall. Brennen wanted nothing to do with him.

But he didn't mind the frog.

Later that day we saw an ant trail. The kids wanted to take a closer look

It was a bit sunny- don't mind the striped picture!

Create

2010-02-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Create

Growing!!!

2010-02-25T13:37:00.007-07:00

The kids and the Garden both! We have been playing, learning, and eating our home grown vegetables here. The back yard doesnt get much sun through the winter. Since we planted our veggies in October, it is high time that we be able to eat them. And boy were they scrumptious!!!! Here's what we ate last night:

Sugar snap peas and carrots

Cherry tomatoes

Besides that, we're just having fun!

Brennen just loves to sit on Kalle or Oakley's lap. They usually don't let him because he is too big. He is trying his best not to smile in this picture!

I told Kalle to give him a kiss for the picture and this is what I got:

We got to babysit Hailey for the morning, and the kids were so excited to visit the lion. Brennen was scared to death and screamed the entire time I took pictures. He flat out refused to go near the Lion. Hailey tried her best to keep her eyes open for the picture, but just couldn't do it. The sun was too bright!

Oakley is learning his letters and how to write his name

Family update

2010-02-20T19:34:00.008-07:00

Here is a picture update of what we have been up to:

We had a blast at the Childrens' Museum of Phoenix

Oakley is now Brennen's idol. Brennen follows him around and copies everything he does. Oakley is so kind to him and helps him do everything he is doing. It is so dang cute!

One day Brennen told me he needed to go "stinkers." I told him to go ahead (meaning in his diaper), but he ran to the bathroom and wanted to sit on the potty. I was pretty excited even though nothing happened.

And just some of us having fun

And the Winner is.....

2010-02-04T13:43:00.002-07:00

Tawnya Collard!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered! Tawnya, email me with your favorite ties and your address and I will get them sent out!!!

HURRAY!!! IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

2010-01-25T18:39:00.004-07:00

www.thematchingtieguy.com

is up and running!

What do we sell you ask?
We sell neckties in EVERY SIZE! Every pattern is available in all sizes from Newborn to adult, and with hair ribbons to match as well!! SO cute for boys to match Dad!

We are so excited! So, we are going to generate some interest and excitement by running a contest!

First off, What do you win?
You win your choice of matching ties, with hair ribbons to match- for every member of your immediate family!!! (Parents included)

Yes, even if you are the Duggars with 18 children, We'll send them all free! (PS- if you win and actually say you have 18 children, I may need to see a picture for proof!!) :o)

Here are the rules- and they are simple!
Just make a blog post about the Matching Tie guy and include the following-
~A link to our Website http://www.thematchingtieguy.com/
~The name/description of the ties you want for your family
(you'll have to go to the website to decide!)
~A link to my blog (http://www.palmerparty.blogspot.com/) so other's can enter as well

Then come leave me a comment that you put it on your blog. When I check it out on your blog, You are automatically entered!
BUT WAIT!!! There's one more way to win! If you link here from someone else's blog, leave their name and blog address as the place you found out about us. IF THEY WIN, YOU WIN TOO!!! Free ties for both families!

So put it on your blog, leave me a comment, then get all your friends and family to enter and make sure they leave your name as the person they heard from!

Contest Ends Next Monday night at Midnight...so you have one week to get crackin'!!!
(And I'm very excited to use one of those online number generators to pick the winner!)

PS-It doesn't matter where you live, we will ship them!!!

Want another chance to win? My Sister is doing this same contest on her blog (http://www.jaxonsfam.blogspot.com/) until Thursday night. Go enter there, too!

Anyone Else See Anything Wrong Here?

2010-01-12T21:01:00.004-07:00

So, Amber and I were watching the tv show The Biggest Loser tonight. Toward the end of the show, Amber got up to go change her clothes so she could go running with her friend. I got up to go check my email (our computer is near our tv). As I heard the show's host say that the final team was going to be weighed, I hear "crunch crunch." I look back to find the incredibly ironic picture above. My wife -- who was watching The Biggest Loser, who was about to go run several miles -- had a mouth full of chips, a cup half full of Martinelli's next to her (guess what happened to the other half), and the bottle of Martinelli's and some Lemon Lime Soda (in case the Martinelli's didn't do the trick I guess) on the counter.

Worst Week EVER

2010-01-07T22:22:00.003-07:00

So my week has been altogether quite crappy, but it got exponentially worse today. Not only have I had a lot on my mind, been working non-stop to get this tie business live online, but Brennen had major surgery yesterday. Then, to top it all off, he fell and sliced his head open today. It started squirting blood, both Brennen and I were hysterical, and I called 911. Luckily, it slowed to a trickle after soaking a dish towel. By the time the fire department got there, I had pulled myself together and decided to just take him to the hospital (rather than take the ambulance). He got 5 staples. Are you kidding me?

On a happier note, I had an awesome missionary opportunity yesterday. Maybe I will share it tomorrow! Here are some cute pics from the AZ cold country:

New year cards

2010-01-04T07:17:00.002-07:00

Hey all-

I am sending out New year (instead of Christmas) cards this year. I am getting them all ready to send out this week, so I need your address. If your address has changed since last year, or I have never gotten your address, please leave it in a comment, or email it to

amberf22 at gmail dot com

Introducing...

2009-11-30T08:27:00.005-07:00

I am so excited to finally share this with everyone! A few of my family members and I are starting a matching tie business... The Matching Tie Guy... "Matching Ties in Every Size!"

Just think- Great fabrics in ties, ranging from newborn size all the way to adult. We currently have 22 fabrics, with 40 more on the way (they should arrive mid december). We also have headband/ties/ribbons for girls (women) to match... SO CUTE!

Our website should be going live in about a month, but we have out FIRST boutique WEDNESDAY! It is from 11-2 at a house in Val Vista Lakes (not my parent's home), and lunch is free. How can you pass that up? Kids are invited and there will be toys there to play with. Here are the boutique details:

4th annual Holiday Luncheon and Boutique

Wesnesday, Dec. 2, 11am - 2pm

1149 N Pepper Tree Dr., Gilbert, AZ 85234

Gate code: #2000

Come take a look if you want some cute matching ties for fathers and sons for the holidays. Brandt, Oakley, and Brennen have worn some to church, and they have been super popular. When the website is up and running- I will probably post again!

Birthday at the Arizona Science Center!

2009-11-23T20:39:00.004-07:00

Brandt and I took Oakley and Kalle to the Arizona Science Center (thanks Mom P. for watching Brennen!!!) today for Oakley's 3rd birthday (which is tomorrow). We had SO MUCH FUN!!! SO here it is in picture: (note that I forgot to take pictures most of the time, so you will miss most of the fun-ness... sorry)

This thing was a blast. You drop the ball and try and postition 5 rings so the ball will go through them all after bouncing. No I never did get it to happen... but that might have had something to do with Oakley's help!
Figuring out electricity

Laying on a bed of NAILS!!!

Making smoke signals

Playing with waterways and erosion... or pretending to eat the sand for the picture...

BEST exhibit... that Kalle and Oakley were a bit afraid of. The weather station that simulated an earthquake, tonado, valcano, fire, monsoon, hurricane, etc. SO. COOL.

The winds effect on waves

Flying an airplane in windy conditions

Oakley LOVED these magnetic blocks. He played with them the whole 15 minutes during the combustion presentation that did not interest him like it did the rest of us.

and here is why it was so interesting... things were blowing up and on fire

playing outside was fun, too

Halloween pictures... finally!

2009-11-08T07:05:00.003-07:00

We had so much fun this Halloween. It was much more fun and less stressful than last year since I 1) didn't make any of the costumes, and 2) didn't have to come up with a costume for Brandt and me. We borrowed for Oakley (thanks Mom!), threw something together for Brennen (thanks for the hat Emily!), and Kalle wore the same thing as last year... and everyone was HAPPY!

Kalle on her way to preschool

The ward trunk-r-treat. We've got a good witch, a cowboy, and an indian.

On our way to trick-r-treat
Our little indian. My Mom made this costume for my oldest brother like 35 years ago. Wow is it CUTE!
Then Oakley tried on Kalle's costume and thought it was the funniest thing he had ever done!

3rd Annual Ferrell Family Halloween Party!

2009-10-31T20:03:00.004-07:00

Because I don't want to spend 10 minutes moving these pictures to the bottom, the pumpkins first (sadly, in the Arizona heat, they did not make it to Halloween night):

It is so fun to get together with my family and be silly. This has become one of my favorite things to do every year. The kids love it and so do I. We play some Halloween games (pictures to come), eat a "gross" dinner, and then carve pumpkins. AnnaMarie- maybe next year you and the girls and fly out for it!! On the menu:

Witch's Blood (red powerade)

Bat's Blood (blue powerade)

Ghost's Blood (green powerade)

Giant's Blood (orange powerade)

Putrid Punch (tasty sherbet punch)

Nose-blow Burritos (burritos with beans, sour cream, guacamole, and tomatoes)

Toxic Waste (whipped cream fruit salad)

Rotting Pumpkin (pumpkin with funeral potatoes inside)

Hairy Giant's Fingers (bread sticks with cheese)

Goliath Tarantula Eggs (green peas)

Edible Eyeballs (vanilla pudding with candy)

Monster Brownies

Ashley took some great pictures of all of us having fun, but I have not picked them up yet- So more pictures to come...

Calling all Readers!

2009-10-14T21:33:00.002-07:00

Dear Friends,

Please join Goodreads. It is just wonderful, I know you will LOVE it. Then we can become goodreads "friends". It might sound lame, but it is actually my new favorite thing.

Once you join goodreads, you can rate all of the books you have read, see what others are rating books before you read them, and you can save books to your "to-read" list. Ever itching to read a good book, but you have forgotten those twenty books that sounded so good last week? That won't happen again once you join. Plus, goodreads will look through your email list and tell you all of your email friends who are already members of goodreads (like me!). Once you become "friends" with someone, you can see all of the books they have read and what they rated them. I love to see new books that my goodreads friends have liked. So join, and become my friend. Even if you don't read very often- You will once you join!!!

My Sweet Girl

2009-10-08T19:33:00.005-07:00

As I have said before, Kalle is a girly girl through and through. She loves everything girl from dresses to makeup, polish to cute hair (although she does NOT love to sit while I DO her hair). Here are some recent pictures she wanted me to take of her to show off some cute things Grandma Ferrell has made for her:

A tutu for ballet class:

And a dress for Halloween:Of course the boys could NOT be left out of the action...

My kids just have the BEST 2 Grandma's there could ever be (and not just because they give my kids presents!) We are so loved and blessed!

Guess what we have???

2009-10-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, ANTS!!! And these are not your everyday little black ants. These things are vicious, huge black ants that love to bite and put your skin on fire. Luckily they are only outside, and I think they are about gone (I've worked on it), but it was not before Brennen stood in a pile of them without moving. Poor guy.

Some other happenings around the Palmer home:

Sunday NapsBuilding temples for family home evening out of graham crackers and cool whip:

And some cute ones:

That's it. We're having fun!

Recipe for the perfect Friday

2009-09-27T07:16:00.002-07:00

We do this every week and I LOOOOOOOVE Fridays!

8:30am-- the Gym

10am-- Gilbert library

11am-- Say hello to anyone at Grandma Ferrell's house

12pm-- Meet Brandt at ASU to make a car/kids swap

12:30pm-- Go to my MCC class that is beyond ridiculously easy and boring... and I love it because I miss school.

1:45-- Come home to (hopefully) a house full of sleeping children. Read a bit.

2:30-7pm-- Play with the kids, clean the house, make and have dinner, kids to bed.

7:30-10-- Date night, usually a movie at home. (But last week Brandt surprised me with a fun movie and dinner in the park date- SO fun!)

See why Fridays are so wonderful???

Cute things

2009-09-22T20:13:00.004-07:00

Best Friends

Setting Goals

2009-09-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

The kids got some prizes at the dollor store for when they reach their goals. They made goals to practice writing and math everyday, to have good attitudes, and a few others. For now, they are very excited and are doing great. It is only day 2, so let's hope it lasts!

They could pick anything from the dollor store for prizes. Here's what they picked:

Kalle

Oakley

Brennen

Oakley working hard:

Our life lately...

2009-09-04T08:44:00.008-07:00

We have had some good days and some not so good days lately. We have all gone through the 24 hour flu (all on different days) over the past week. Brandt is just getting over it. So we have been staying close to home, trying to stay entertained. Luckily I have a dear of a husband who has helped out A LOT with the kids. Kalle missed 2 days of school which devastated her, but it made her day, week, and year when her teacher came to visit her here at home. Here are some pictures to show what else we have been up to:

Oakley and Brennen sure miss Kalle when she is at school. They are playing together well, though. Mostly Brennen terrorizes Oakley, and Oakley puts up with it.

Oakley loves to read books. He is so funny. The other day in Oakley's prayer, he said, "Please help Jesus not to fall off the roof again." I think he is getting Jesus and santa mixed up...

Brennen has found a new love for horses, and will carry these around all day long.

My first attempt at cinnamon rolls from scratch was a success! They were de.lish. if I do say so myself!

Then it all started when Brennen face planted on the concrete:

Then Oakley, Brennen, THEN Kalle all got sick on different days. They spent their time resting and reading.

Kalle loves to read (tell the story by looking at the pictures) to her brothers. They love it, too!

Then I, then Brandt got sick. I told Brennen to go sleep by Dad for the picture. What a goof.

Then they all wanted in on the action. Poor Brandt is so sick in this picture. :(

Now that we are all getting over it, we had time to catch and play with a lizard for a day.

I get to start reading Catching Fire tonight which is exciting. I'll tell you how I like it. Speaking of books, I asked Brandt how many books he thought I had read since 2005. He sees me reading almost EVERY night. He guessed 23. TWENTY THREE???? C'mon. If you have read anything great lately, go to my book blog and leave a comment:
http://palmerbooks.blogspot.com/

Kalle started preschool!

2009-08-25T10:07:00.003-07:00

My little cutie started school for the first time in her life and she L-O-V-E-S it! She is attending a preschool done by a lady in our ward. We carpool with a neighbor and it is close, so it is very convenient. She has "homework" (writing practice) everyday which she really enjoys and she gets to take something for show-n-tell everyday. Oakley sure misses her while she is gone and can't wait to go to school himself. I am hoping this is the begining of a love of school for the rest of her life. Here she is on her first day:

I made a dress!?!?

2009-08-06T20:28:00.001-07:00

My Snuggle Muffin

2009-08-02T21:14:00.004-07:00

I had a trying time with Oakley today. He wants to be more independent than he is ready for. He thinks yelling in church will get his point across (it usually does). He is cute, but sometimes frustrating. I decided I would do a post about how much I love him to feel better. :) These pictures bring back great memories and make me laugh. I was telling Brandt the other day that Oakley is going to have a great sense of humor some day. Enjoy:

Brothers!

2009-08-02T18:37:00.002-07:00

Email to Brandt

2009-07-30T14:53:00.003-07:00

I took all three kids to the doctor for their well child checks yesterday morning. All are (were) healthy. Kalle had to have 4 shots as did Brennen. Oakley somehow escaped shot-free. Ever since about 4:00 yesterday afternoon Kalle has been throwing up. The shots didn't go over very well with her. Last night was fun...

Anyway, here is an email I just wrote to Brandt. After I sent it, I realized I still wanted to complain to more people... so you get to hear it, too. Sorry.

It feels like 6:00 right now. How is it that you will not be home for another 3 hours? I might kill myself before then. Kalle is still hurling. I called the doctor and he told me some things to do, otherwise I will take her in to see him in the morning. Oakley exploded out of his diaper during naptime. Good thing I smelled it before too much of a disaster had happened. It was the WORST smelling diaper ever. Brennen is awake. Too bad he woke up before Oakley fell asleep. I put Kalle in her bed, got waking Brennen out of the pack'n'play, and smelled Oakley... just to go in and have a very fun mess to clean up. Could this day get any better? And with not so much as 5 minutes to myself. There is no way I could handle volleyball tonight. I told Destiny on her answering machine. I think I need some alone time after I go plant corn. Maybe I will go out to dinner by myself since I didn't do it last time you suggested it when I was having a day like this. But somehow, that day was better. Maybe because I had actually gotten some sleep the night before. Anyway, somehow please make time go faster. Thanks for listening. Love you, Amber PS- I know you can't come home and that is not the reason for this letter. I just had to tell someone.

Yay for tomorrow!

Every heard of the Kirby Sentria?

2009-07-30T07:43:00.007-07:00

Now I have and they are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I will most likely never buy one because I could not justify paying over $1,000 for a vacuum. They started at a price of $2,596 but after I told them we were not going to buy one no matter how low the price was since we don't buy things with payments and we are in school, they quickly dropped it to $1,800. I still told them no and so they said they could drop it even more. I am not sure what the lowest they would go would be, but I am sure it would still be too high to ever make me buy one. (just looked-- on ebay they are as low as $350, still not going to buy one now).

With all of that said, I will again say how AWESOME these things are. I don't even like to vacuum, but I have a feeling I would like to with this thing. I vacuumed my downstairs 2 days ago. Yes, we probably have the cheapest vacuum on the market, but it gets the job done. Yesterday, a lady comes to my door. She says her company that is located nearby was cleaning carpets for free to show you what a great job they do. She said they would do 2 rooms FREE. I am always looking for a free deal so I said ok. Little did I know they were going to try and sell me a "total home cleaning system".

So the guy came and I really did think it was cool. He would vacuum a little part of my floor, maybe 1' X 2' and show me everything he got up. He would do the same spot like 4 times and still get TONS of dirt- GROSS! He poured about a 1/2 cup of baking soda on my carpet and stepped all over it. Then we used my current vacuum for about 2 minutes on the spot. It looked like all of the baking soda was cleaned up. Then he used his kirby on the spot (he just turned it on then immediately off) and picked up about 1/8 cup of baking soda. He did it a few more times and still picked up a lot.

I could probably go on a long time about its different features since I was so impressed, but I will not. I will just show you some pictures:

Here are the things (little circles) they use in the vacuum to show you what they are picking up. The black ones on the very right are the baking soda. The next row of black ones are FROM MY MATTRESS! He said we actually had a very clean mattress compaired to what hes used to. That nasty stuff is skin cells, dust mites, and lint... gross again. The circles on the very left are from the bottom three steps on my stairs. Wow- I love this vacuum. The dark ones toward the top middle are where he cleaned out the track for my sliding glass door. The really grey ones are from where he cleaned off my computer and TV. The vacuum cleans EVERYTHING... walls, drapes, carpets in cars, all furniture... the list could go on and on!

Here is what he was getting out of my carpet

And because you couldn't get the full effect without a close up...

And yes folks, I just did a whole blog post about a vacuum. Well, this vacuum also shampoos. I got my whole downstairs vacuumed and shampood for FREE. And boy is it clean, clean, CLEAN!

Oakley is potty trained!

2009-07-24T13:21:00.004-07:00

I am happy to say that Oakley is officially potty trained! I have been really lucky with potty training. Kalle potty trained herself and age 2 years 1 month. Oakley is 2 1/2 and got the hang of it in one morning. We have had a few accidents, but not to many. He is doing really well. I am not saying this to brag, just to say I have been really lucky. I think Heavenly Father knew that this (a struggle with PT) is one thing I would not be able to handle with three little ones. We had a "potty party" with cousin Jaxon. Oakley is still asking when we will have another one. I guess when Brennen is ready. So we are down to only ONE in diapers again!!!!

In other news-- well, there is not much other news. But, here are some pictures:

I just love how well Kalle and Oakley play together (most of the time). They really are best friends.

We had so much fun playing in the rain the other morning. It was just sprinkling, but the kids thought it was great!

PS- I have a new goal to blog more!

Brandt's in the dog house...

2009-07-08T21:37:00.006-07:00

Before I post a few recent pictures, I want to tell you the reason why Brandt is in BIG trouble here at the Palmer home: On Sunday morning I had prepared a nice crockpot meal that would cook throughout the day and be done when we were ready eat that night. So we were eating and I had grabbed us some left (from the 4th parade) sunny-d to drink with dinner. The drink was gross, so I said (while looking at my sunny-d bottle), "This stuff really is disgusting!" Brandt looks at his dinner and says, "Yeah, it is. It has no seasoning in it." It was actually really funny at the time when he figured out I wasn't talking about the food.

Well, here are some pictures of what we have been up to:

Kalle saw her first movie at the movie theater. She thought the whole experience was fantastic. Thanks for the tickets Ashley! (and I have NO idea how Kalle is turning out to be such a girly-girl. She flat out REFUSES to wear anything but a dress EVERY SINGLE day.)

Oakley has been potty training. He is doing great and has even started telling me when he needs to go (rather than me insisting he goes every 20 minutes). Underwear is so darn cute on that little bum of his!

Brennen took his first merry-go-round ride. I couldn't tell if he liked it or was scared. He just sat there wide eyed.

The kids are in swim lessons and can't get enough of the water. We just have a blow-up pool in the back yard that they practically live in. Brennen stands there with the hose while the other two go to him to get there buckets filled up. Then they dump the water on eachother. They could do that for hours.

Brennen sure is turning into a tease. I was trying to take Kalle's picture one day, and as soon as I would start to count, he would run in front of the camera with this goofy face:

I still believe it is WAY to hot to live in Arizona, but we are having a fun summer none the less. We are happy and loving life!

No HOA

2009-06-12T21:29:00.002-07:00

It's been awhile since my last post... don't know what happened. Anyway, I am still laughing about this, so I thought I would share.

I joined my neighborhood HOA because I wanted our streets to be re-done. They are pretty bad (rocky with potholes). SO I pushed and pushed to get a special assessment planned for the roads. Well, after like 8 months, some very angry neighbors, and two special assessment votes later- IT PASSED! The letters went in the mail to the whole neighborhood on Monday telling them that it passed and when and where to send the money. This is what we saw on Thursday (on the front lawn of someones home)... If you can't read the manikin, it says "no HOA"

Fathers' Day Pictures- so DANG cute!

2009-05-11T21:05:00.003-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly, Mother's Day is over, and it's time to think about Dear Ol' Dad!
My sister Ashley will be doing Father’s Day Mini-sessions for only $40!

Choose from either
“Just Like Dad” Or “Mommy and Me”

Perfect for Dad’s office, desk, wallet, and all around the house! Pictures will be taken in her in-home studio (Mesa, AZ) on a black backdrop. You will receive a CD with 10-15 high resolution, fully edited pictures with full copyright release-- This means all the images belong to you! She will be doing most of the 20 minute mini-sessions on Friday May 29th and Saturday the 30th, but if those dates don’t work she will do her best to schedule you in at another time. Email her at Ashley@everydaylovephotography.com to secure your spot!

*******Bonus*******
If you book a session, and link this post on your blog, you will receive $5 off your session!!
ALSO- for every family that books a session from a referral from you, you will receive $5 off your session!!(ie-Put this on your blog, and refer 7 people, and your pictures are free!!)

Ready for some pictures?
First-

"Mommy and Me" ...sure to melt Dad's heart!

And now for "Just Like Dad" Bring dad's work clothes, sports stuff, Skateboard, musical instrument, or anything else ridiculously adorable you can think of-and of course, don't forget his HUGE shoes!

Finally... some new posts!

2009-05-01T15:10:00.002-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I don't think I have ever been so busy in my life. I like to be busy, but it has been rediculous lately. The pictures are mostly for the viewing pleasure of Grandma and Grandpa in China. So if you are interested, read the previous 6 posts. If not, stop now!

Gardens on the Grow

2009-05-01T15:01:00.004-07:00

And the thing that has kept us the MOST busy... Gardens on the Grow. I am starting a new company. It is all about gardening with the foot-by-foot gardening method. I am so darn excited! I did the website myself (mostly because I didn't want to pay someone TONS to do it), and I am happy about the way it turned out... especially since I had to learn HTML code. SO check it out- I am still editing it, so if you see anything that doesn't look quite right, or a link that doesn't work, let me know! And if you know anyone who needs a garden- pass it on!

http://www.gardensonthegrow.net/

Brennen turns 1, starts to walk, and gets a helmet!

2009-05-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Brennen has had a busy few month. He had a birthday, learned to walk, and got a cranial band (helmet- to help with head re-shaping). He is just the cutest thing that ever lived, and loves his Daddy more than anyone in the world. He loves to follow Kalle and Oakley around and get dirty outside!

Thank you for the suckers Grandma- even Brennen got in on the fun!

Oakley, Oakley, Oakley... Chatty, Chatty, Chatty

2009-05-01T14:51:00.003-07:00

Oakley didn't have a birthday, but he did start to Chat... and A LOT! He is still the sweetest, yet most challenging child I have. He takes 2-4 hour naps everyday (thank goodness), and loves his sister and brother to death. He does NOT like to be hurried, and does not deal with the word "no" very well. But he does give great hugs, and has an infectious laugh. Oh- to be a 2 year old. We sure love him!

He fell asleep like this one day.

Kalle turns 4!

2009-05-01T14:20:00.003-07:00

Kalle, my little fire cracker, turned 4 in March. She had a "Kitty" party, and invited cousins and the girls in her primary class. It was so much fun that she is already planning next years birthday! Here are some other random pictures of Kalle's silliness! Also, my sister took our pictures again. How wonderful is it to have, not only a photographer, but an AMAZING photographer in the family? We are so lucky! To see more of her work, or to book a session, visit her photo blog: http://www.everydaylovephotography.blogspot.com/

Ragnar Relay 2009

2009-05-01T13:39:00.003-07:00

At the end of February, I ran in the Ragnar Relay. I am not a "runner" so I started training back in December. It was WAY too much fun, and I want to do it every year. I have already started trying to convince Brandt to do it with me... we will see. It is a race that starts in Prescott and ends in Mesa (202 miles). You have a team of 12 and each run 3 legs. You start one Friday morning and end the next afternoon (Yes, I ran 8 miles at 2am). It was a blast- check out our video on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZZj0Y9rir0

The Best part: Running it with my brother Ryan.
The Worst part: The blisters... OUCH!

America, America, Italy... uh... I mean CHINA!

2009-05-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I went to China at the end of January to visit my parents for 9 days. It was just perfect. I have never really been away from the kids, so I felt like a kid again myself. There was way too much to blog everything, but we stayed in 3 major cities, saw the terracotta warriors (so cool), great wall, forbidden city, olympic sites, palaces, and my Mom and Dad's university. We ate some great (and oh so dismal) food, slept in, read 3 whole books, and did some amazing shopping. The people there said I looked "17" and would not believe for a second that I have 3 kids. And "squatter toilets are really not so bad (don't believe a word Emily says!) All in all... it was just great! Thank you Mom and Dad!
Oh and "America, America, Italy" is something that a taxi driver said to us one day...

Outside the water cube

With my Dad in the subway.

Yes, it was FREEZING!

The bird's nest

The great wall!

A lot going on...

2009-04-09T07:47:00.002-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posts... but atleast I warned you! There has been a lot going on and some big "changes" for lack of a better word (no I am not pregnant). When I have one of the "changes" up and running, I will post all about whats been going on around here. Until then (probably a few weeks)...

Easter/Spring mini sessions are HERE!

2009-03-18T17:43:00.003-07:00

Let me tell you about a STEAL!!!! A great photographer I know (OK, she is also my sister) is doing these AMAZING mini sessions in her home studio. And get this... it only costs $35 and you get all of the pictures (a CD with 10-15 high resolution, fully edited pictures with full copyright release) to keep forever! You are then free to print, enlarge, email, copy etc. as much as you would like.

Ashley will be doing most of the 15 minute mini-sessions on Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th of March, so email her at nzashley@hotmail.com to schedule a time to capture your darlings at their finest! (If those dates don’t work for you, email her and she can work something out!) ***Important addition*** If you book a session, and link this post on your blog, you will receive $5 off your session. ALSO- for every family that books a session from a referral from you, you will receive $5 off your session. That means if 7 people book and mention they found out about it from you- your session is free!!!

Stay tuned for pictures from the mini session of my cuties!

Pay it forward...

2009-02-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Well isn't this fun?PS-I'm not terribly skilled...but I am a good baker... we will see!

Not going to be around much...

2009-02-12T07:48:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone,

I am tired of spending so much time on the computer reading blogs everyday, so I have decided to stop. I may post here every once in a while (not that I posted very much to begin with). I would love to keep in touch with you over email, so if I don't have your email address (or you are not sure if I do), please email it to me: amberf22 at gmail dot com.

I am also deleting my facebook account, so if we see eachother there... well, we won't anymore. So please leave your email address!

The Time to be Kind

2009-02-01T17:14:00.002-07:00

This poem was handed out at Dennis Barney's funeral. I am not sure who wrote it, but it is my new favorite...

The time to be kind is now

The place to be kind is here

We needn't be told the way to be kind

For the way to be kind is clear

But it's good to pause and remember

In the heat of our stress and drive

The very best time to live

Is while we are still alive.

The time to be happy is now

The place to be happy is here

The way to be happy is to make others happy

Simple enough, I fear

But the simple things we are apt to miss

As we struggle and fret and strive

Forgetting the very best time to live

Is while we are still alive."

Not much going on...

2009-01-30T15:19:00.004-07:00

That is why there has been a lack of posts lately. I am still training for my big race. Brandt is still busy with school and work. Kalle is still cute as can be and loves ballet. Oakley is a chatter box. Brennen is learning to crawl... but hasn't mastered it quite yet. I leave for CHINA in a few hours!!!!! Thats it folk...

Yay cousin Katie- we will miss you.

Kalle took this picture and wanted me to post it...

Never bake a blueberry buckle in a round dish...

Tired!

2009-01-10T21:10:00.003-07:00

I worked out 8 times this week. I am writing this because 1) I am proud of it. I have never worked out so much in one week. 2) I am not feeling so hot. 8 times is WAY too many times to work out in one week and my body is NOT happy with me. Here's what I did:

Monday: Step class- 1 hour
Tuesday: Water Aerobics- 45 minutes (harder workout than you expect!)
Wednesday: am-- Pump class (weights)- 1 hour, pm-- ran three miles outside- not on a treadmill
Thursday: Ran 3 more miles outside
Friday: am--Step class- 1 hour, pm--Racquetball- 1 hour (I am the only one who lost 3 out of 3! I need to start practicing again!)
Saturday: Ran 5 miles outside- just about died!

So there it is. Not very exciting, but I did it!

Read any good books lately?

2009-01-09T14:18:00.002-07:00

I am looking for some Great books to put on my to-read list. Go HERE and leave a comment if you have read anything good lately (that means you too Ashley).

China- Here We Come!

2009-01-08T14:02:00.004-07:00

My sister just blogged about this, and I got so excited that I had to do it myself (s0rry Ashley!). We (meaning me, my Sister, and two SILs) leave for China in 3 weeks! I am nervous to leave my babes, but it will be a much needed break from real life. So, here's the plan:

Jan 31: 12am-Fly from LAX to Korea
Switch planes in Korea- Fly to Tianjin, China

Feb 1 & 2: Tour Tianjin
Stay in University housing
See Mom and Dad's Campus life
Visit the "Large Markets"

Feb 03: Fly from Tianjin to Xi'an in the morning. Met by the guide and van at the airport.
Visit the City Wall,
the Big Goose Pagoda;
Enjoy the dumpling banquet and Tang Dynasty
Show in the evening.
Overnight at the Gaosu Shenzhou Hotel in Xi'an

Feb 04: Visit the Terra-cotta Warriors Museum.
Fly to Beijing
Overnight at Grand Mecure Hotel, Xidan, Beijing

Feb.05: Silk Market & Pearl Market today.
Overnight at the Grand Mercure Hotel,
Xi'dan Beijing

Feb.06: Visit the Great Wall at Badaling
Visit the Summer Palace
See the Acrobatic show in the evening.
Overnight at the Grand Mercure Hotel, Xi'dan Beijing

Feb.07: Visit the Tian'anmen square,
the Forbidden City,
Olympic Sites (Bird Nest and Water Cube--entering inside for visit)
Enjoy the Roast Beijing Duck Lunch.
Off at the Beijing railway station in the afternoon.

Feb 08: Return to Tianjin

Feb 09: Return to USA

YAY!!!!

Picture update...

2009-01-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

SO much has happened, and I haven't blogged any of it. So, this blog is a LOT of pictures mostly to update Grammie and Grandpa Ferrell:

Oakley lost a good five lbs being so sick. He threw up for 9 days straight. Luckily some of those days was only a few times, and we were able to keep some fluids down him. I did not want to have to take him to the ER. I thought he looked so helplessly skinny in this picture. Grandma Ferrell used to call him "Gentle Giant" because he was so big. I don't think that name really applies anymore.

Kalle had her ballet recital. I will do a whole post on this soon Mom! Kalle is third from the left on the bottom.
Oakley being silly. This is the day he finally started to feel better.

Kalle impressed me with her cutting this day. Usually she just snips at random, but this day she cut a pretty good circle out! Then she made it into a sun.

Christmas was wonderful. We had Christmas eve at Grandma and Grandpa Clifford's house. Brandt's cousin wore an "Elf" costume. Kalle thought it was great, Oakley wasn't too sure.

The kids all got new pajamas from G&G Clifford.

Christmas morning was wonderful. It was so relaxing. We opened stockings and gifts and got to enjoy it all. We didn't have to hurry to go to different places. The kids got to play and play. Brennen was happy about his gift of baby food.
Oakley got some "Big Boy Underwear" to promote potty training. For now he likes to wear them over his diaper.
Kalle was happy as a clam with this makeup set. She is so girlie... I was such a tomboy that it always surprises me how much she likes dresses and makeup.

We then headed off to see Grandma Palmer and Grandpa James. Grandpa is sporting his new Russian hat that he got for Christmas. Boy did they spoil us! I got a wheat grinder that I am more than excited about! I sure had fun on Jared's new extreme pogo stick. You can't tell, but I am a couple feet in the air in this picture... oh to be a kid again for a minute or two.
Oakley got this fun indoor trampoline from Grandma Palmer and Grandpa James. The kids jump from sun up to sun down. It cracked me up when Kalle started jumping with her Book of Mormon and making up words: "And it came to pass..."
Kalle graduated from Nursery last Sunday. She will miss it, and Oakley will sure miss her. But she already "adores sunbeams" (her own words). (BTW- she did not wear that to church)

We now have lots of cousins around to play with!!!
And Oakley REALLY likes cousin Katie. He did not even mind when she was rubbing his face.

We just had a big Palmer family reunion. It was so much fun!

Oakley fell asleep during this ride with Grandpa in the desert. Poor kid was tired after all the Dramamine I gave him so he wouldn't get carsick.

Lastly, this is from Ashley's birthday surprise. We took her out for dinner, then had a big surprise birthday party after. To read all about it, go to her blog at http://www.jaxonsfam.blogspot.com/

2009-01-06T12:11:00.001-07:00

Highland Reunion TOMORROW!

2008-12-25T19:34:00.003-07:00

Yes that's right. We are going to be at the playground remada at Freestone Park. Here is a map of the park. We have like 10 people bringing big pots of chili and also people bringing drinks. Be there at five... c'mon- no need to be fashionably late- we are not in highschool anymore.

Oh yeah. Someone really liked this idea of ours and is now doing this same thing on Saturday. I have had a LOT of people confused, thinking we had changed the date. We have NOT. It is still tomorrow (Friday). I want to see everyone... so come!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... Finally!

2008-12-23T14:13:00.011-07:00

We have been deathly ill here at the Palmer home. Luckily, we all seem to be doing much better. On Sunday we put up the tree and a few decorations. It was great because we have not gotten out the tree (small and artificial) since Kalle's first Christmas. In Dec. '06 we were moving, and last year we had just moved into our house. We were trying to unpack... not worrying about decorating. So my poor deprived children have never experienced decorating a tree or the house. But we made up for it and had a lot of fun. We played some holiday music and even danced a bit.

Christmas Cards!

2008-12-17T14:14:00.002-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I know I am SUPER late with Christmas cards, and I need addresses. So if you are reading this, you deserve a Christmas card. PLEASE- if I don't have your address, or you have moved, email me your address. amberf22 at gmail dot com.

Yay- I won!

2008-12-16T12:31:00.003-07:00

I am so Excited. Does anyone read the blog http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/? Well, I think it's pretty funny. They do give-aways once in a while, and I always enter. Well so did 1,688 other people this time for 20 prizes. Yes, you read right. I WON! Brandt says I am the luckiest person on earth because I win everything I enter. And (knock on wood) it is pretty much true. So what did I win? These two little babies:

And believe me- it came at the perfect time. I have been sick, and cleaning up throw up from THREE kids for FIVE days. I banished Brandt from the house for finals- good thing my MIL is a saint and came to the rescue!

Let's get together... Yeah, yeah, yeah (think Parent Trap... thank you Tyler)

2008-12-05T15:20:00.003-07:00

More Info on the "Get Together." Here is an email that Becca sent to a few people. I thought I would post it here so that the people whose email addresses she doesn't have would get it. Please email her if you are going, so we know how much food to have...

Hello everyone!

Attention HHS Graduates between 1999-2002. We are planning a little get together at the park over christmas time. Nothing formal, just bring your spouse, kids, significant other, or just yourself, and come for a few minutes or a few hours. We will being having chili, since it is a super easy one dish dinner. Anyone who would be willing to bring a pot of chili or some drinks please email Becca at jujube4242@hotmail.com. Amber and I will both be bringing chili (but we need like 8 more people) and providing the cups, spoons, bowls, etc.

Here are the details:..

Who: HHS grads between '99 and '02. Bring your spouse, kids, sig. other, or just yourself!

What: Fun get together at the park and some yummy chili!
Where: Freestone Park (exact location TBD)When: Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 @ 5:00 pm

Why: To catch up with old friends...Spread the word - forward this email your friends. Anyone who wants to, please post this on your blog!

Also, please reply to this email so that we can get an idea of how many people will be joining us. Lets make sure all of our friends know about it!..Hope to see you there!

~ Becca Judy Nelson, Amber Ferrell Palmer, and Britney Walker Bassett

Oakley turns TWO!

2008-11-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Oakley turned two on Monday, and we had a wonderful day. It started out with Apple pies at McDonalds (Oakley's choice) and ended with presents, cake, and ice cream with Family. Kalle and Oakley even found a caterpillar that they spent the ENTIRE day playing with (poor caterpillar).

McDonalds

Playing with "Peachie" the caterpillar. And no- Oakley did NOT want to hold him.

Grandma Palmer, Grandpa James, Grandma and Grandpa Clifford, Jordan and Jared all came to help him celebrate!

He didn't quite know what to do while every sang Happy Birthday.

He sure got some fun gifts. Thank you Grandma Palmer and Grandpa James- The recycling truck could not be any bigger of a hit... He LOVES it! (As does his sister and all of their cousins!) We got him a "Moon in your Room" night light. It is about 10 inches in diameter, hangs on the wall, and teaches kids the different phases of the moon while they go to bed. My favorite is waxing crescent, but Oakley's is the full moon.

Mommy Tag

2008-11-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

I saw this cute tag on a friends blog, and it was a lot of fun!

"Mommy according to Kalle"
1. What is something mommy always says to you? "You love me so much"
2. What makes mommy happy? "If I don't die, and if Brennen doesn't die, and if Goobie doesn't die... oh... you and me would be SO sad."
3. What makes mommy sad? "If a bad guy took our clock and food and money"
4. How does mommy make you laugh? "by bringing good surprises home"
5. What was mommy like as a child? "She liked to paint like me"
6. How old is your mommy? "11"
7. How tall is your mom? "I'll count okay... 1,2,3,4,5... you're five inches"
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Go to the store... with just me"
9. What does your mommy do when you're not around? "clean up the house"
10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? "cause they love you"
11. What is your mommy really good at? "riding bikes"
12. What is your mommy not very good at? "painting the gate brown like daddy"
13. What does your mommy do for her job? "clean up the house"
14. What is your mommy's favorite food? "cucumbers and snow peas"
15. What makes you proud of your mommy? "I can't think of an answer"
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? "Ellen" -- So funny, because I have stopped watching Ellen, and have net seen it in over a month!
17. What do you and your mommy do together? "play ponies"
18. How are you and your mommy the same? "We both wear clothes"
19. How are you and your mommy different? "We don't wear the same clothes"
20. How do you know your mommy loves you? "cause one day you told me"

Kalle tags: Jaxon, Peyton and Hailey, Ryan Moore, Hailee Anderson, Ethan Woods, and "Little Man" Hodges!

Caution to all parents...

2008-11-24T21:29:00.003-07:00

Beware: three year olds might be a little too young to watch "The Lamb of God" video.

Example One: My sister and I were chatting inside while the kids played outside. We heared Kalle say to her cousin, "Jaxon, can I nail these into your hands?" We looked outside to make sure no one was really being hurt, and then I explained that we had just watched "The Lamb of God" video the night before. A few minutes later we got a good laugh when Kalle came in holding a toy hammer and two long sticks and said, "Mom! Jaxon won't lay down for me!" She looked like this:

Example Two: After relief society I went to go pick up Kalle and Oakley from nursery. When the nursery leader looked at me, I knew one of my kids had done something naughty. Then she told me Kalle wouldn't stop spitting on people.

Kalle was very sad when I informed he she was not allowed to watch that video again for a LONG time.

We miss old friends!

2008-11-16T07:24:00.008-07:00

Attention HHS Graduates between 1999- 2002. We are planning a little get together at the park over christmas time. Nothing formal, just bring your spouse, kids, significant other, or just yourself, and come for a few minutes or a few hours. Bring your own dinner if you want to have a picnic. Here are the details:

Who: HHS grads between '99 and '02. Bring your spouse, kids, sig. other, or just yourself!

What: Fun get together at the park.

Where: Freestone Park (exact location TBD)

When: Dec. 26, 2008 @ 5 pm

Why: To catch up with old friends.

Spread the word- Email your friends. Anyone who wants to, Please post this on your blog! Also, leave a comment if you have seen this, and who you are sending the link to. Lets make sure all of our frinds know about it!

Hope everyone can come!

~Amber Ferrell Palmer , Becca Judy Nelson, and Britney Walker Bassett

Brandt's responses to "5 quirks about Brandt that others may not know (according to Amber)."

2008-11-16T00:00:00.004-07:00

1) It's true, I hate an oily face. However, I usually wash my face with cold water to wake myself up. Guess I'm lacking in the sleep department these days.

2) Ask yourself, "How long does it take me to make the bed in the morning?" Now, divide that by two, and ask yourself, "By making half the bed for me (while asking yourself, remember to keep in mind that you should be making the whole bed since you got up last), is someone teaching me a lesson, or is someone helping me by saving me half the time of making the bed?

3)How long would it take you to put your hair in a ponytail? 5 seconds? 10 seconds?

4) What can I say, I'm an accountant and an attorney in training - I'm frugal (some may say cheap). However, there is a lot of junk in that trunk though.

5)I guess I have funny dreams???

6) "Smokie, Go Go, and Jobby." - need I say more?

Tagged

2008-11-10T21:07:00.003-07:00

I was tagged by the cute Raeanna Cardon. This was a lot of fun- Thanks Raeanna!

5 quirks about Amber that others may not know (according to Brandt)
1. She does a little hop when she bowls. I don't get to see it very often because she hates bowling.
2. Everytime she walks up our stairs, she looks at the mirror above the piano to check out her rear. (Amber does not agree with this one)
3. She walks around the house with no pants on most of the time.
4. When she finds a good book, she will spend hours upon hours reading.
5. When she plays defense in basketball, she yells "BALL BALL BALL" over and over really loudly to destract the other player.
6. She has to be leaning over to brush her teeth, with the water running, because she has to spit every few seconds. She doesn't like the spit to build up. Every time she spits, she washes her toothbrush in the running water.

5 quirks about Amber that others may not know (according to Amber)
1. I have whole conversations in my head with people before I actually talk to them. I "practice" every conversation I can think of sometimes if I am nervous. I especially hate leaving messages on people's phones because I will practice in my head what I am going to say, and then it will all come out wrong, and I will sound like a moron.
2. I don't usually remember my dreams, but when I do they are so terrible. All about loved ones dying tragic deaths (2 days in a row I dreamed about Brandt's little brothers dying- one falling down several stories through the middle of a circular staircase- the other falling into a raging sewage drain during a huge storm.), or about me doing horrible things (like giving my kids up for adoption because they were too much work or killing a robber by hitting him over and over in the head with a metal baseball bat). Sorry if that was too much info.
3. I really love to eat. I will think all day about what good food I should eat. Luckily, I really like healthy food(I do eat junk sometimes too, don't get me wrong), and I don't usually eat when I am not hungry.
4. I love the sound of running water. When I am pregnant, I will take multiple baths during the day just because I am feeling so crappy. The sound of the water is soothing and peaceful to me.
5. I don't like my bones to be touched. Growing up, I had a weird thing about people touching my collar bones. Now it is anywhere a bone sticks out- shins, knees, ankle bone, etc.

5 quirks about Brandt that others may not know (according to Amber)
1. He washes his face more often than should be humanly possible. About 200 times a day.
2. If I am last out of bed in the morning and I forget to make it, he will only make his side to "teach me a lesson."
3. It takes him longer to do his hair than it takes me to do mine. No joke, like 5 minutes.
4. He does not like me to drive with any extra weight in the car because of "gas mileage." He even goes so far as to check my trunk quite often to make sure I am not "hiding" any extra weight.
5. He giggles in his sleep. He will wake me up with his laughing at night.
6. Whenever I say a saying (or anything for that matter) that he has never heard, he will say something about "those Ferrells." He had never heard the term "rubber necker" until about a year ago when I said it. He thought I was nuts.

5 quirks about Brandt that others may not know (according to Brandt)
(After reading my list of his quirks, Brandt has refused to fill out his list. I think I offended him.)

I tag anyone who graduated from Highland High.

Ouch!

2008-11-10T15:25:00.002-07:00

What happens when you pull a chair over on yourself (twice) and conk your head on the tile (twice).

Choking and being "Girly"

2008-11-06T14:26:00.004-07:00

I have been talking to the kids lately about not leaving small objects around the house. Brennen will be crawling soon and of course puts everything in his mouth. Kalle found a little pellet on the ground and gave it to me to throw away. Then she said this to me:

"He couldn't even chomp it. It would slide all the way down, and he could die. And Heavenly Father would have to catch him- even Jesus."

An hour later:

Kalle doesn't like Oakley to do "girly" things like playing with dolls. She was trying to look at a Ulta 3 magazine that came in the mail- and he wanted to look, too. I was still a bit shocked when she said, "Mom! Oakley is trying to look at a Girly Magazine!"

One of the BEST Moms I know...

2008-11-04T09:21:00.010-07:00

I have some WONDERFUL women around me whom I look up to for their mothering skills. My own Mother has taught me all I know about being a mother. Brandt's Mom is also a great mother (She has to be good to have put up with Brandt for so long!).

This blog post is a tribute to another mother, who is one of the greatest, most loving mothers I know. She is such a good example to me of what a mother should be like... she only has one child and has pretty much perfected mothering already. The Mother I am talking about is my sister Ashley.

Ashley is so patient with Jaxon. When I am yelling at my kids to stop something, she has taken Jaxon aside and is lovingly telling him why he shouldn't do it. She lets him have fun and get messy, when I am telling my kids no- because I don't want to clean them up. She teaches Jaxon ALL the time. You have never heard a 2 year old boy who talks so well until you have talked to Jaxon. Most of all, she loves Jaxon more than life itself, and it is evident in everything she does. Thanks Sis- for being my best friend and loving your little angel so much. He is so lucky to have you.

I could watch this ALL day!

2008-11-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

Picture update... Warning- here come a LOT of pictures!

2008-11-02T14:05:00.008-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Ferrell: Here are all of the recent pictures you have asked for!

Brennen FINALLY learned to sit up by himself- 3 days after his pictures!

Now that he can sit up, he thinks he is a pretty big boy. He now loves to eat biter biscuits (or as Brandt calls them, "bitter buscuits")

Kalle and Oakley are still best friends. They just make me smile with the things they come up with. This day they asked if they could take their naps on the stairs instead of in their beds.

Brennen just LOVES his brother and sister. Whenever he sees them, he grins from ear to ear (even when Oakley tackles him and lays on him to give him a hug)

He also likes to bite Daddy's hats.

Oakley has not mastered the concept of painting "ONLY ON THE PAPER!" Here he is the day before we dyed his hair for Halloween.
Kalle sporting the "bandana head" to keep her curlers in all day until her (one of six) halloween parties.

It turned out a little more curly than I had hoped... but isn't she an angel?!?! She is a "Good Witch- Glenda"

Oakley didn't mind the dye one bit.

Here is the finished product. He is a munchkin from The Wizard of OZ

Kalle, Oakley, and I getting ready to go to a trunk-or-treat.

It's not really Halloween without carving pumpkins.

Here's the whole family at the trunk-or-treat. We are all Wizard of OZ characters. Brandt was sure a good sport and didn't complain once.
Brennen fell asleep mid-bite. He was pretty tired!

Kalle has just hit the "sorting" stage of life. She wanted to sort all of her Halloween candy.

We got to Babysit cousin Jaxon for a day. Boy did we have FUN. Here are Jaxon and Oakley pretending to cut down the palm tree (that Brandt had cut the weekend before).

Kalle also talked the boys into letter her do their hair.

And here is my sweet baby- always happy (unless he looses sight of a familiar face).

Suns on Saturday + Free Tickets + Court Side = Happiness

2008-10-31T16:33:00.003-07:00

Valiant Husband + Saturday Session of Stake Conference = Bummed

I Know Jesus Lives

2008-10-29T11:24:00.002-07:00

I have never shared my testimony on my blog. I don't want anybody out there reading this to ever wonder where I stand.

I know that Jesus is my Savior. He suffered and died so that I might be able to live with Him and my family again one day. I don't understand all of it, but I know it happened, and I am so grateful.

I know Jesus Lives. After he died on the cross, he was resurrected and rose on the third day.

I know the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, is true. After Christ was resurrected, he came to the American continent. The Book of Mormon and Bible can help us have more faith, knowledge, charity, and bring the spirit and joy into our lives.

I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet. At the age of 14, he was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ. For the rest of his life he was a faithful servant. He translated the Book of Mormon and was commanded to start The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I know the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only church on the earth today to have 100% of the truth. It is truly Christ's church.

I know the church today is led by a true and living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. If we follow his council, he will never lead us astray.

Of these things I am certain. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Kalle writes

2008-10-28T09:45:00.003-07:00

Kalle has been writing some of her letters for awhile now. Today was the first time though that she wrote her name by herself. I think she did a pretty good job. It is interesting because K is the very first letter she started recognizing, but it has taken her a lot longer to learn to write it than other letters.

After she wrote her name, she asked me how to spell "ballet."

A week and a half ago, my computer (6 years old- never had a single problem) decided it did not want to turn on. Luckily, my brother gave us a computer his office was not going to use anymore, so we have saved it for three years, knowing one day we would need a new one. Well, my computer just needs a new power something or other (I've been told) so we are using this one until then. But I am excited to get all of my PICTURES and programs back from my other computer soon. So sorry for the lack of posts recently.

Brennen is 6 months!

2008-10-18T20:17:00.003-07:00

Today Brennen had a photo shoot with one of the very BEST photographers I know- MY SISTER! He was being a bit of a pill at the shoot, so I was afraid we wouldn't get any cute pics. I don't know why I would ever doubt- Ashley is AMAZING! (If you want to see more of her stuff, click here.) Brennen was hungry, tired and cranky, but you would never know it from these pictures. He can't quite sit up yet by himself, so posing was an issue because he hates tummy time. And, I have known he was chuncky for a long time, but after seeing these pictures, I think he might be even chubbier than Oakley was (I know-we all thought it was impossible). Here is the BIG, handsome 6 month old!

Neat Freak

2008-10-14T21:18:00.004-07:00

As I am folding what seams to be never ending loads of laundry tonight, Brandt and I had a very interesting conversation. Let me give you some background information. First of all, anyone who has ever been to my house can witness that my house is anything but "tidy." I feel like I am up ALL day going from one thing to the next to keep my house orderly. Then after the kids go to bed at 7, I usually take a break for about a half an hour, just to spend the next 2.5 hours getting things done that need to get done- laundry, cleaning, dishwasher, bills-the list seems to be never ending. I always have about a million more things I need to do than I have the time for. For example, todays list was as follows: finish and mail Dad's birthday present, apply for a passport, figure out health insurance for next year, work on the halloween costumes, fold and PUT AWAY all laundry, organize the bedroom, take back toy to target and swimsuit to big 5, pay bills, clean out the car and garage, get Dad's finances in order, and call to inquire about a certain preschool. Besides these, I like everything to be picked up before I go to bed. SO you see, there is NO WAY I could take care of three small children and get all this done in one day. To add insult to injury, I have been SO excited to start up my family history work again now that the church has started their new program for "new family search"- I will have to do a whole new blog entry for this one. Anway, so tonight as I am trying to fold the laundry, I am feeling a little sad/depressed/overwhelmed. Brandt is studying hard at the table, but I decide to interupt him anyway:

Me: I am torn. I need to do about a million things (then I name them), and if I don't do them, I will not have a good day tomorrow because the house will be a disaster. But I REALLY want to start my 2 week free trial with ancestry.com. Is this what my life is destined for (meaning kids all day and cleaning all night)?
Brandt: No. You even said you wanted to take classes, or maybe start a business.
Me: When? When I'm sixty?
Brandt: No, I wont be in law school till your sixty.
Me: When did I become such a neat freak?
Brandt: Slowly over the years since we have been married I guess.
Me: I used to not care. Am I really a neat freak though? I hate cleaning, and sometimes I just don't do it because I don't want to. But then I get all antsy and anxious until it is done.
Brandt: Your not really a neat freak. You just get really stressed out until it is clean.
Me: Isn't that kinda the definition of a neat freak?
Brandt: Yeah, you ARE a neat freak! NEAT FREAK! (sometimes he thinks he's so funny)
Me: It's your fault you know. And, you're the one to talk. You are worse than I am. But you are a wierd kind of neat freak. You like to make piles.

I thought I would blog about it to get it off my chest. Does anyone out there feel like this sometimes?

Yay for catching fish... Boo for eating fish

2008-10-13T14:14:00.005-07:00

Brandt took Kalle fishing early Saturday morning. Of course Kalle LOVED it, and Oakley was not too thrilled to be left home with Mom and the baby. They came back with two big catfish and one small who knows what. Well, if you catch 'um, you gotta eat 'um. Have I ever mentioned that I dislike seafood?

I love fishing at 6am

Hurray, I caught one!

17 in, 18 in, 5 in

Ballet... we LOVE it!

2008-10-10T12:50:00.003-07:00

Kalle counts down the days until Tuesday. She just can't wait for ballet class to come. She tells us all about what Miss Sunny taught them and about how nice Lizzie is. Lizzie is the little girl Kalle adores in the class. She is four and Kalle's partner for the "Merry Christmas" dance. Kalle follows her around most of dance class, and the sweet girl is so nice to Kalle. Kalle loves to practice here at home with Oakley. Brennen, Brandt, and I love to watch this just about every night (although it looks like Kalle is pushing Oakley, she is really just trying to "spin" him):

Here is actual ballet class. Of course Kalle is following her partner... Lizzie!

Happy Happy Birthday Brandty- Panty

2008-10-09T21:43:00.003-07:00

Well, today Brandt, the love of my life, turned 28. We celebrated with Breakfast in bed (Kalle and Oakley scarfed most of the food) and a few gifts (Kalle made him a book, and we got him some hedge cutters!). We let him study through the morning, then partied the afternoon away... OK, he let me take nap... but the kids sure had fun with him. We had cake last night, and tonight celebrated over dinner with some dear friends, Paul and Reanna Cardon. Brandt- we love you SOOOOO much. Thank you for your hard work and devotion to this family. We are so lucky to have you.

(We gave half of the cake away, and kalle put in the candles- if you were wondering why it looks so funny!)

Saturday Conference

2008-10-04T22:20:00.006-07:00

I really enjoyed General conference today in spite of having three babies to take care of while trying to listen. I really liked Elder Oaks's talk, and my favorite was Elder Christofferson talk on Zion. It was interesting to hear a lot of the history on "Zion" and it was straight forward about what we need to do to be worthy of Zion. One thing that really stuck out to me was helping the needy. I can not get the story of the man who cut his table in half out of my head. So I have been thinking about this a lot and here is what has followed:

Me: We need to start helping the poor more.
Brandt: We ARE the poor.
Me: But what about the story of the guy who cut his table in half- he was poor.
Brandt: I guess you could cut our table in half.
Me: C'mon. When our ward had that clothing drive for the branch, we should have bought more white shirts for them.
Brandt: You have to actually have money to do that. The man that cut his table in half didn't spend money he didn't have.
Me: I guess

(later on tonight while we were laying in bed talking. Brandt is probably half asleep.)

Me: I really want a jacuzzi some day... One that has a lock on it.
Brandt: Why, so your kids can lock each other in it?
Me: That is not funny.
(a short pause)
Me: How can I even live after hearing Elder Christofferson's talk?
Brandt: I don't know- you might as well just kill yourself.
Me: Really, how could I ever buy a jacuzzi knowing all of the poor people- if I am trying to live worthy of Zion?
Brandt: (as he turns over- almost fully asleep by now) You could just buy the jacuzzi and invite the poor people over and use it.

Why do I even try to talk to him in bed?