Cornhole and the Birthday Boy

Poor Devin's birthday fell right in the middle of my Internet dark weeks. No happy birthday blog shout-outs this year, no happy birthday comments streaming in. I know it's a shame but we were able to celebrate none-the-less. We'd only been in our new place for a week or so but I really wanted to have a birthday party/thank you to everyone that helped us move and it was a great night. I made Devin cornhole boards for Father's Day/ his birthday and by "I made them" I mean I bought the stuff and took them over to my friends house where her husband put them together. If you're not from around here, cornhole is a game we were introduced to in South Carolina at all the tailgates. It's surprisingly simple, and surprisingly entertaining, especially for the menfolk. Which frees up the ladyfolk to do as much chatting as we want. Here's the website that shows you how to make them. http://www.cornholehowto.com/ I'd hit up a garage sale a few days earlier and cleaned out all the yard toys so I now have the toddler party yard. So the kids climed and slid, the girls chatted and ate chocolate cake (mostly the prego) and the boys played cornhole out in the field. But the important thing is that Devin had a great time at his party and was able to forget for just a couple hours that he's now 30 years old.

BabyBabyBoBabyBananaFananaFoFaby...

37 days to go and I now have my cool widget up. I know, I know. The second child syndrome. I'm already starting the second child neglect. I don't want to say this baby is an afterthought... far from it. But that fact of the matter is this little thing just isn't giving me much trouble. This pregnancy, aside from the first couple of months, has been great. I don't know why, maybe because my body knows what to expect, maybe because I'm so busy chasing a toddler around... whatever it is, I'm grateful to #2 for just being a nice little baby-- giving me a kick and a punch every once in awhile to say "hi". I had another ultrasound this week and the gender was confirmed. It's a girl, %100. Devin has been working on a name list for a few weeks now, going through a massive database of names writing down any that caught his eye. He brought home a little post-it with 24 names on in and now we're working through it. So here's the list just for fun. (As a disclaimer directed mainly at sisters: If anyone related to me or close friends decide to use any names just know that I'm ok with cousins and friends having the same name. So if you steal it, which is perfectly fine with me, I might still use it in the future.)

Abby, Addi, Aubrey, Camilla, Sophie, Julia, Caroline, Carolyn, Ella, Ellie, Emma, Kalli, Lauren, Mackenzie, Marissa, Mckayla, Mckenna, Melora, Mikayla, Natalie, Quinn, Sadie, Sydney, Sylvie.

I can easily eliminate a few of these but I'm trying to let them all settle in for a couple weeks before I start crossing them off the list. Caroline and Sophie rise to top. We'd considered these with Eva. But who knows what we'll end up picking in the end. And thanks to my baby widget I now know I have 37 days left to decide!

My Baby's Turning 2 Today

I sat in my bed last night at midnight and cried. I've been planning her birthday for months but I never could commit to anything. Then I would just pretend the day wasn't coming and not do anything about it. So now I don't have a party planned, no cake, decorations... and I feel guilty on top of sad. I know there will be many more birthdays and milestones to come but I'm really having a hard time with this one. She isn't my baby anymore. She a little kid that talks and plays and runs and screams and laughs... So today I'm just going to let Eva do whatever she wants. We'll wander around the neighborhood with her stroller, maybe go ride the train at the Children's Museum, push the kid carts through Whole Foods for awhile, watch a cartoon or two, I have no agenda. Just to enjoy my little girl and try to come to terms with this whole thing. I can plan a party next week. She won't know the difference.

This will make you happy no matter what your mood. I promise.

Canada Part III: The Final Week

I promised myself I wouldn't go blog surfing until I caught up on this thing. I really do love you and care about your life. After today I promise to return the comment love. Thanks for not giving up on me. Your blogs will be rewarded.

Just one more...
After the cabin cleared out my family moved in and spread out. It was fun to spend a week with all my sisters, nieces, nephew, and my mom's sister's family. I got my mom and sisters reading all my favorite books so I was left with nothing to do but make smores. (It's been a good reading year but send me your suggestions. I'm running out of books I'm excited about.) Here's my top 5 books from this year:

1. Hunger Games Series- Fast-paced, lots of action
2. The Help- Sweet characters, when you need a book that will make you feel good
3. Book Thief- WWII book but it won't make you depressed. You might cry at the end but you'll love the artistic perspective
4. Kitchen Boy- very intriguing, historical fiction, fast read
5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- so sweet, another make-you-happy book

One day we went up to Cameron lake and saw a momma bear and her baby triplet cubs walking on the side of the road. Then we canoed around. Me getting rolling and out of a dingy was not the highlight of my day... although it may have been for the on-lookers.

Strolls around the town site. Photo in front of the Waterton opera house. Eva loved her rides in the bike wagon. Especially with cousin "Wyan" (Ryan) where I think she picked up her love of potty words and making toot noises. Tin Foil dinners in the pouring rain for Julie's birthday. Eating cake by the river.

"Show me your teeth!" Beautiful Alberta Temple. The interior of this temple is really cool. My mom said Frank Lloyd Wright was the interior designer. I'm not sure how true this is but the style and colors echo his work. Eva in front of the "Palmer House". Driving the boat with Grandpa. Sharing a sucker with Reggie.

Playing in the splash park with Antie Nat. All the sisters (Katie, Teresa, Sarah, Natalie, Julie). All the cousins (Analise, Gracie, Eva, Erica, Ryan).

Canada Part II: Waterton and the Crazy Cousin Party

After a couple days the party packed up and headed 3 hours south to Waterton (Canadian side of Glacier National Park). My grandparents bought the cabin there back in the 60's and it's been our summer home away from home ever since. My cousins and I all have so many memories of our summers spent there together. We had to cram all our favorite activities into 4 days so it was a wild and crazy party. I loved every second of it. Eva thrived in the chaos and was never shy or cranky. Lots of people, lots of attention... it's her element.

Started out with a day hike to Bertha Lake. Wish I could travel the way Eva did.

There were so many deer in the park this year. Check out all the bucks chilling on the lawn by the cabin.

Family camp out on Bertha Beach. One year my grandma took us all to sleep out on the beach and watch the meteor shower. We opted for the easy route of hanging out for a bit the heading home. But the real campers had a great time with fireworks, a potato launcher and campfire treats.

Family Olympics: Parachute games, later used to launch people into the air. Swing Your Thing- tie a pair of tights around your waist, put an orange in the bottom and play soccer with it. Eva talking to daddy: "Dada, Dada" "what Eva?" "Do you wawawa??" That's her favorite question to ask you when she gets your attention. Gracie in the retro Palmer reunion shirt circa 1982.

Hanging out around the town site. We opted for a camp space instead of braving the crowded cabin. Here's our ride, here's our view, here's our favorite hang-out, Pat's for candy and ice cream.

Family dance and talent show. My Aunt Kathy, dad, Uncle Brian, Uncle Byron (Grandpa's brother) singing my grandpa's favorite song, Muley was a Kicker.

Hike to Wall Lake, Eva had a meltdown so we only made it to the falls. Golf tournament. View of the town site from the Prince of Whales hotel.

Visit from the Mounties at 2am during Kick the Can. I think every neighbor around called on us. Bunko tournament. Pick up football game at night.

The three and a half of us in front of Cameron Falls.

Canada Part I: Calgary

Ahhh, the nap time blogging. Back to the catch-up. Devin's mom drove us over to I-15 where we caught a ride up to Canada with my family. Eva did remarkably well in the car for over 16 hours. She's worse for me when I drive as far as the library. Anyway, this year our Canada trip started out with the Palmer reunion that happens once every three years. This year it started out in Calgary so we could have a chance to go to the Calgary Stampede. (For the non-Canadian readers the Stampede is this huge rodeo that they put on every year.) Most of my cousins live up there now so we spent a few days having bbq's game nights, stampeding, and doing fun things around Calgary. (Photos: Free Stampede pancake breakfast, Stampede entrance with cousin Justin and his two boys, Landon and Evan, Devin enjoying the festive atmosphere, Justin and nephew Ryan and the rodeo, Frousins Chelsea and Angie, winning the giant banana after about a hundred tries-- finally let the 6-yr-old try and he got it without missing a shot, waiting out the rainstorm with sister Katie, Devin and niece Gracie at Superdogs, Eva and Gracie swimming at the leisure center, who sends a baby down a water slide? Seriously...)