Kentucky and on up...

I finally have my pictures from the trip uploaded so I can post everything. On our way up to Chicago we stopped in Louisville, KY for a couple days to visit my cousin Chelsea and her husband Hans. We had a blast exploring the streets, campus, parks, museums, race tracks and of course, the food. Here is Devin outside the Louisville Slugger museum and eating a Hot Brown at the famous Lynn's Paradise Cafe. We love exploring new cities and Louisville is a great one.

Chelsea and I are due a week apart so here is a picture of the two of us with our matching bellies. The next picture was taken at a racetrack in Lexington.

I think I tried on about 30 different hats. I don't know why it entertained me for so long. But I decided that we should have way more activities that are big-hat-appropriate. The next picture is of this sick concoction that they're crazy about in Cincinnati. We stopped there on our way for a little exploring and to try the local "five-ways" of spaghetti, chili with chocolate, cheese, onions... and one other thing that I can't remember...

Time for the run-down

First and foremost, how did Griffen end up on my blog. It was the craziest thing, we were just walking on this random street in downtown Chicago and Griffen walked into me. It was so random. For those of you that don't know, Griffen is one of my favorite friends from high school. He moved out to Chicago a couple years ago to work for Second City Comedy Club so I haven't seen him in a few years. I knew he was out there somewhere but didn't really have a way to get in touch with him. I guess I didn't have to. I was so cool. It must have been weird for Griffen to be walking to the L and run into a gaggle of Palmers.

So back to the story. Devin had a week off between semesters so we decided to take a monster road-trip up through Tennessee and Kentucky to see Teresa (and the Cubs) in Chicago. My mom had decided to come a couple weeks earlier to be with us on Mother's Day. Then secretly Katie and Nat found a deal about a week before the trip. Then Julie decided to come, then my dad, so my mom had all these daughters surprising her throughout the weekend. She was so surprised and happy to have her whole family with her.

Devin and I drove up to Louisville, KY and stayed with my cousin Chelsea along the way. We had a blast touring the city and hanging out with Chels and Hans. (Chels and I have twinner bellies since we're due 5 days apart.) Devin has my camera on a trip right now so I'll post the KY pics and the details in a week or so. We really had a great time there.

Then we went up to Chicago for rest of the week. We spent a day or so visiting my mission before the rest of the family showed up. Devin and my mom are the perfect people to explore with. They let me wander around my old areas, visit whomever I wanted and ate with me at my favorite taco shop. (After hearing about it for 4 years, Devin agrees La Villita lives up to the hype.) Friday I was able to go to a branch party in Blue Island and it was so awesome to see everyone and see how huge that branch is now! In 4 years... I couldn't believe it.

The next 3 days we had an amazing time in the city. Highlights include: Navy Pier, Linclon Park and Zoo, butterfly room, Field museum, Millenium Park, downtown train/bum adventures, Tiffany's with Natalie, shopping the mile, Little Italy and Italian Ice, deep-dish pizza, EdDebevic's, Mexican Train and being with the family.

The ultimate highlight was our day with the Cubs. For those of you that don't know, Devin has been a very loyal Cubs fan since birth. Wrigley Field is one of he favorite places on earth. He was so excited when everyone in my family wanted to go and be a part of the experience, and trust me, it was. I won't ruin it in case Devin want to write an entire entry on it but I was happy that he was able to share his love with the Palmer clan and most of all that he was finally able to sing "Go Cubs Go".

Chicago Teaser

Some of you might know this guy...

SummerTime! Boise, Baby!

We are very excited to say that Devin will be interning this summer in Boise. He'll be working part time with the city of Boise on their development review committee and green building initiatives. He'll also be working part time for DBSI, a Boise development firm. We are so excited for the opportunity as well as the location! This means that we will be able to see many of our friends and family this summer. He will be there from May 24th through August 15th. I'll be there from June 4th through July 22nd. So hopefully we will get the chance to see many of you this summer. We'll be in Kentucky/Chicago all next week so sorry if I'm blog-absent for the next little bit.

More to add to the collection...

Teresa, Natalie, Julie and Lexi Precious Palmer.

Sleeping Beauty

So we discovered this week that we can wake the baby up. She was nice and still and then Devin came up to say hi and patted my tummy a few times, like he was playing the drums. Within about 10 seconds she was kicking back at him. We've since tested the theory and it works every time. It's so cute! But I think we'll leave her alone now and hope that she repays the favor later on when we want to sleep. (yeah, right.)

This week baby girl got her first little girl things. My friend, Lorena, within 5 days of finding out it was a girl had had her grandma in Uruguay knit and mail up these darling little booties. I couldn't believe it. I love how they'll come up to her knees, cute little diva boots. :) And then my mom sent out a package with these blankets, socks and nightgowns. I was fortunate enough to have delivered the ultrasound news to my mom when she was in the store. :)

And yes, this is foreshadowing of what my blog will be like in 5 months, full-blown baby blog.

But on a non-baby note: Devin and I have been loving the spring here in South Carolina. The trees and flowers are in full-bloom and the colors are beautiful. Here's a few pics from our recent outings. After the all-important Clemson spring football game we took a walk through the Clemson Botanical Gardens. Then on Friday we went up to Greenville for a Jazz festival where the close off main street and have concerts, art booths and wine tastings. Very classy, we loved it. And I love the lady checking out my husband in that last picture.

The Palmer Toe

Sometimes it is hard to separate fact from family folklore. But in the Palmer family, we take much pride in the one, clubbed toe. The Palmer Toe is the one with the little dot on it, the second from the left. See the difference from the one on the right? All my sisters have it, my dad, my dad's dad... cousins... although I've never conducted an extensive survey. But the fact that my cousin email address is palmertoe@yahoo.com tells me that at least one does. Any Palmers want to send me pics of their Palmer toes? Maybe we should settle this once and for all...

Ryan, Grace, Julie, me

I see it! The Palmer Toe!

Clementine Ultrasound Pics

Wow. 18 comments on that last one. I think that's a record for me. Seriously, guy, thank you so much for showing your support. Sometime I'll write an entry about how much I love blog comments. And if you visit my blog ever and don't comment... well do it! Bloggers need to feel the love. I don't know what it is. Anyway, here's the album of pics from the ultrasound for the grandmas. Sadly the lady didn't include the money shot. Here's a pic from a carnival I went to on Friday with my friend Lorena and her boys. (I love those things!) It shows a good view of my growing belly at 20 and a half weeks.

It's a girl!!

Talk about the shock of the century. I was sure I was having a boy! But Devin called it. He's been feeling the girl vibe for a few days now. We're so excited! She was a naughty little one during the ultrasound. She kept squirming around and hiding her face whenever we tried to get a look. I think we're going to have our hands full with this one.

Ultrasound countdown... 19 hours

So tomorrow is the big day. Hopefully our little guy/girl isn't being shy so we can find out what colors to buy. Hey, that rhymed. I'm inspired to write a haiku all of a sudden.

The baby inside
It dances like butterflies
Hold still tomorrow
(That one was inspired by the fact that I have to drink 32oz of water in 10 minutes then hold it for an hour. I'll never make it.)

I think this sudden burst of artistic expression is a result of our first birth class that I (Devin was on a trip for school) went to last night. First I had to draw a picture of what I imagined the birth to be like. Then we watched the movie about a birth camp on the Black Sea where hippies go to give birth in the ocean, where the most clothing anyone wears is a headband. Then we practiced relaxation and visualized a "conscious birth". Let's just say I'm glad Devin was busy and will be there for next week's class about nutrition, a far more guy-friendly theme.

Vienna

We loved our 4 days in Vienna. We've been back for about a week but I've been bed-ridden with a European superbug, or maybe just a cold. Anyway, I wanted to get the pictures up and I'll post more details soon.

And we're back... Now for the run-down...We stayed in this great hotel right next to the Prater (big permanent carnival with rides on steroids... or maybe one of those new rave drugs, those rides were crazy). It was a fun atmosphere to walk through every night. Vienna is full of imperial majesty. If you love the royal-ness of Europe, Vienna is the place. We visited the Habsburgs' Palace (treasury, silver and china collection, royal apartments and Sissy museum). We visited the summer palace as well as the Belvedere Palace and art museum. We even went to an opera for 3 Euro! (We had to stand and we ended up sneaking out after an hour but, hey, 3 Euro well-spent.) We experienced the rich music history of Vienna at their House of Music museum, very cool. We wandered the streets, ate new food, rode the tram around and around and around to look admire the architecture. We visited the amazing Stephansdom cathedral... I hope I'm not forgetting anything. The greatest thing about it is all the new things we are now interested in that we had no idea about before. I have Wikipedia-ed like no other. And Devin and I find ourselves discussing all sorts of new and ed-u-ma-cated-sounding topics. Vienna is truly a very beautiful city that could keep us entertained for weeks.

Vienna2008

Prague II

Dobry Den! We're now starting the second leg of our trip. We made it to Vienna tonight and we're really excited to start exploring tomorrow. We loved Prague and felt so at home there. We saw so many beautiful sights and enjoyed the atmosphere so much. We wanted to post the album so you can see what we've been up to. The weather kept treating us with beautiful snow fall. :) (...trying to be positive. Actually, the weather wasn't perfect but didn't really bother us. The city is beautiful in the snow as well.) The goulash and dumplings were amazing! It'll be my new crock-pot meal of choice for the next ward potluck. So yummy.

Prague

Prague I

Hi Everybody. We're just finishing up our 3rd day in Prague. This place is amazing. We're having a great time running around the city, seeing the sights. We flew out of Atlanta Friday night about 2 hours before tornados struck the city. After an all night flight we landed in Amsterdam and then to Prague. We had personal tv's on the flight with a huge movie and tv selection so we basically missed an entire night of sleep. (saw Juno- loved it!) So we've had a wicked time (as in bad) adjusting to the timezone but after 3 days, we're finally there. Saturday night after naps we went out and found an Easter festival in the old town square. It is amazing. The architecture is truly incredible. Then we headed over to the Charles Bridge for a stroll along the river and view of the city. Prague is very deserving of its name of "the city of a thousand spires". The we ate at a cool little French bistro. Sunday we went to church at the mission home/office/chapel. I love going to church in different places. We got to meet a few of the members and feel the same spirit we feel at church at home. Then we walked around the Jewish quarter, explored the streets and basically wandered... I could get lost in this city for years and never get bored... anyway... gatta run. More to come later....

Athens

During the Morris visit one of my favorite days was when the girls went to Athens, GA. It is one of the cutest little university towns (UGA). We wandered a downtown hopping with college kids, looked at the many bulldog statues and had lunch at a quirky restaurant. Then we took a driving tour of the Antebellum Mansions... you wouldn't believe the frat and sorority houses there. Lucky guys. Then we went to the outlet mall for some great girl shopping. My sweet mother-in-law, Joan, bought me these maternity jeans. I love them like my unborn child. Well, maybe not that much but who wouldn't love a pair of jeans that makes your butt look good, even when you're pregnant?
And for fun, here's the latest belly shot. Okay, so maybe I'm sticking it out a little. But I am starting to show, finally, at 16 weeks. Although it is still hard to tell the difference between baby and gut.

Photo Download Avoidance

I don’t know why downloading my photos is so hard for me to get around to doing. I have so many to share but in the meantime, here’s a tag from Laura and I think this is a fun one.
What I was doing 20 years ago: charging the neighborhood kids a dime each to jump on my tramp. Playing their Nintendos for free…
15 years ago: Finishing up my very tumultuous 2-year cheer leading career, looking forward to high school and running an intense campaign for class president against TJ Paxton.
10 years ago: Waiting for graduation and the Celestial Kingdom (aka BYU), having a blast with my girlfriends, working on the Desert Princess as a waitress, still thinking that my room decorated with a disco ball and watermelon/crow/sheep toll paintings was cool.
5 years ago: I was on my mission. Had about 1 month in the field, loving my trainer and area, learning Spanish, experiencing daily miracles that filled me with excitement and the Spirit. A very exhilarating time.
3 years ago: Working at XanGo, buying a gigantic bed, feeling sick of boys, discovering my passion for family history and starting my 4-month family history obsession. Looking for Devin but he was still 8 months away.
1 year ago: On my belated honeymoon to Maui!
This year so far: Pregnant! Enjoying visits from both families, planning trip to Prague and Vienna (2 week countdown!)
Yesterday: Trying to catch the bus but it drove right past me so I had to walk, how pathetic is that? Enjoying a beautiful spring-day walk through downtown and campus.
Today: Contemplating a Pilate's class after work, I might try a new cucumber soup recipe from my sister, Teresa, catch some Idol and a little Sports Center.
Tomorrow: My first prenatal visit with my midwife, Costco run.
This year: Having a baby! Scheming a bunch of exotic trips to take before I’m tied down, internship for Devin, serving in the church and building new relationships.
I tag anyone that needs some blog fodder. Have fun!

Morris' in Town!

We have been so lucky lately to have our families come and visit. This week Devin's mom, sister and niece were here. We did so many fun things around the area and had a blast. Little Lucy is so much fun. I'll do a recap next post but I'm really hungry right now so this one is going to be our food recap. Devin's family and I share a fetish of eating at fun places, generally Food Network suggestions. It is a great way to really get to know the local culture and tastes of a new place. Since the kitchen and I don't get along very well right now, we ate out ALOT... and we loved it.
1. The famous Esso Club in Clemson for Meat-n-3. 2. Asheville's Early Girl Eatery, perfect girl food. 3. The Mellow Mushroom, our favorite pizza joint of all-time. 4. Atlanta's Flying Biscuit, fried green tomatoes and coke salmon. 5. SuperTaco! The only place for real Mexican food here. Conveniently located 300 yards from my office. 6. Chick-Fil-A Cafe at the Atlanta History Center. 7. All you can drink coke products at Coke World. 8. World's largest drive-in, the Varsity. Not pictured: Five Star Day Cafe, gourmet soul food in Athens, GA. Dekalb International Market, my new favorite place to be. You just have to experience it.

Palmer Weekend.

Last weekend Mama and Papa Palmer came out to have the true Clemson experience. We had a blast and showed them everything our little corner of the world had to offer. We visited the falls, drove around the lakes, looked a lake houses, explored the curious, forgotten mill town of Newry, ate at Mac's drive-in and the Esso club, visited Biltmore, shopped for maternity clothes (thanks, Dad!), went to a basketball game, explored Greenville, and just had a wonderful time. My brother-in-law, Nathan, had a lay-over in Atlanta about the time my parents were leaving town so we all met up for dinner in downtown Atlanta at Gladys Knight's restarurant. It was amazing soul food. (Fried chicken and waffles, anyone?) I think we were the only white people there... a good sign, I'd say.

Ramblings

I'm always hard up for blog posts while I get around to uploading pics. My parents were here last weekend so I have all sorts of goods for the blog... We had an awesome time. I'll post the highlights tomorrow hopefully. Anyway, just wanted to let all my seasoned mom friends out there know that I am throwing open the lines for all baby advice. Anything you wish you would have known, books I should read, best baby products, things I have to have, things I don't have to have... I need some help here... anything that's on your mind.

The Big News...

So Devin and I were driving into Atlanta on Saturday to pick up my parents at the airport... It was about 6 in the morning. We were listening to a Fox sports talk radio program based out of LA. Somehow I got the idea it would be comical to try to get on national radio talking about sports. So I called in about 50 times until I got through and the guy put my on! So I'm talking to this guy about some NBA, Jazz argument that Devin was feeding me from the driver's seat. All in all, it was quite exhilarating. I discovered I get a great adrenaline rush from trying to pretend I know what I'm talking about and ending up probably sounding like an idiot for all of the truckers of America to hear. Anyway, that's my story.

And we got this picture taken last week. ...

Trip to Tennessee

Weird that I'm close enough to go to TN for the day. But that's what we did this past weekend. We drove up to Gatlinburg at the entrance to the Smokey Mountain National Park (if you look at the website, see if the bear holding a bouquet freaks you out like it does me) and Pigeon Forge, home of the one and only Dollywood, Dolly Parton's personal theme park. Since we're close enough to get Dollywood commercials now and again, we just had to see it for ourselves. (Sound bytes of Dolly singing "Babes in Toyland" will haunt me for the rest of my life, trust me.)Anyway, both cities were hideous strips of tourist traps and attractions... but as we were exploring I found myself often thinking "that would be so cool to do!" So now we have our list for next time. Here's a few pics.



Check back soon for some new, big, breaking news just for my blogger friends...

Iron Chef Bunchberry- Battle: Peanut Butter

***I've turned into a horrible blogger. It's like New Year's Resoultion in reverse. But my sister-in-law agreed to let me rip off one of her entries until I can post one of my own.***

So now, in the words of my sister-in-law, Sara Cardon, this is our Iron Chef Adventure. Enjoy!

One of my most favorite things we did this Christmas while in Boise, was my family's first attempt at doing "Iron Chef"-- a cooking competition on Food Network that we are all addicted to. First, we divided into two teams of three each, with the most competent chefs as the leaders-- Team Joan: my mom, me, and Jonathan

and Team Sarah: which consisted of my sister-in-law Sarah, my brother Devin (who will here-on be known as the Pessimist for continually saying, "We're doomed!! Oh great!! We're doomed!!") and my sister Whitney.

My dad and little brother Taylor were the judges, along with two other "unbiased" taste-testers from our home ward. Here they are at the Judge's Table.

If you've ever seen the show, you'll know how the basic competition goes, but after reading this you may think my family is considerably bizarre and fanatical. However, we received our "secret ingredient" just moments before the competition began-- PEANUT BUTTER!!--which must be used and feature in EVERY succulent dish. We then had to quickly come up with three dishes we could cook and plate in 1 hour or less-- NO recipes....okay, okay, we were each allowed one. We ran frantically to the grocery store where we were given 20 minutes (extra) and $15 to shop for additional ingredients. Once back into "kitchen stadium" if you will, the madness broke loose. Six chefs trying to create six different dishes in ONE kitchen (one stove top, 2 ovens, one microwave, etc.) plus the Luce going nuts that all of a sudden four of her new best friends were no longer paying attention to her, was total CHAOS!!

But miraculously, the deed was done!! Each team completed three seriously delicious dishes!! Not one fire, nor mishap, nor disgusting dish came out of that kitchen (you can see the aftermath of dishes though).

Although I try not to create monstrously long blog entries, I believe this event merits one (even if it is just my parents reading it). So, here is a run-down of the courses for each team: Chef Joan: 1)Coconut Shrimp with sweet and sour peanut butter dipping sauces, 2)Thai Chicken Fettuccine with Peanut Butter sauce, and 3) Chocolate Peanut Butter Molten cake with vanilla ice cream. As for Chef Sarah: 1)Apple-Peanut Butter-Raisin baklava, 2)Stir-Fry Stuffed dinner Crepes with Peanut Butter Sauce, and 3)Monte-Cristo Peanut Butter Sandwiches with Whipped Cream and Bananas. All of it was fantastic!! How would the judges ever determine a winner?!? In the end, it came down to little Taylor's scores-- the pickiest eater of them all, and though I'm sad to admit it, we were beat by PBJ. Little Taylor gave the PBJs a perfect 10 for taste, plating, and originality. Originality?!? I know, I know. Luckily, we all had a blast despite there being any winners or losers, and my mom and I have sworn to avenge ourselves this Thanksgiving at Iron Chef South Carolina. If your family is looking for something new to do next Christmas, give this competition a whirl....just hire someone to come and do the dishes afterwards.

Christmas Baby!!!

We spent this year in Boise with the whole Morris clan. We partied like crazy and it was so much fun to be with everyone. The best part was our Christmas baby... Lucy! Our 1 year old niece is a ton of fun and was constantly getting mauled by her aunts an uncles.

I sneak a hug while Lucy is distracted with the phone.

Double kisses from her uncles while she looks at her Christmas book.

Best of all she loved us to chase her around the house or dance around her singing "Elmo's World". Adults do the darnedest things. I hope she's enjoying her space now because we definitely didn't give her any. Poor thing!

Snowshoes!

Christmas in Boise this year was a blast. More to come on the whole 2 weeks in a bit. But I have 5 min to post something and a couple pics from our New Year's Day adventure. We went up into the mountains with Devin's parents and tromped around in the snow for awhile. We snowshoed into some beautiful hot springs... still too cold for swimming in the 11 degree weather. I forgot how much I love to go snowshoeing. Fun day!