mmm, yeah

Since this is my 7th post out of the last 25 on the blog, I feel like I've been doing a majority of the talking around here lately. What gives? Mom isn't the only one getting annoyed - I'm not a fan of talking to dead space either.

Jared: Emily will be at my house tomorrow and we're going to finish the movie script. Please put the movie pages back up this weekend - you made this handy dandy source that I'd like to use, and some of the information is not written down anywhere else that I know of. I have no idea why you took it down but I'd appreciate it if you'd put it back up. Thank you.

Mom and Dad: Mom's last post about the reunion said something about planning "done so far" - I think what you have figured out "so far" is plenty. If there's something crucial missing (family portraits?), okay. The only other thing I might add is a comparable guys time at the same time as the girls time out. Beyond that, I think it would be trying to schedule too much. Unstructured time is not a bad thing, and we'll have to be flexible for baby naps and feeding anyway. I don't know how Laurel and Stevie will be at that point, but Summer will only be about 10 weeks old. I will need a nap.

To give Laurel and Michelle and Amanda a little background on the girl time: the 5 of us sisters started doing stuff just on our own a few years ago. Sometimes Mom is included, and sometimes she's not. Our thought for the reunion is that ALL of us - the "original" Palmer girls and Mom, married into the family, and now the next generation of Brooke and Summer - take a couple of hours without the guys to go hang out. We hope that you'll join us.

Mom: I was looking over your Top 100 list real quick this morning, and I found 4 things that you can do on your trip out here. Hike on the Appalachian Trail, and go to Gettysburg, Mt. Vernon, and the Jefferson Memorial. I will make sure that these things get done for you. I don't see Dad's Top 100 list on the website to check his things, but I know it has "Watch the Independence Day fireworks over the National Mall." We'll get you to that too ... maybe at the Jefferson Memorial. We've watched them from the Capitol steps (which sucked because the orchestra shell for the concert was in the way) and from Iwo Jima, which is a great view but pretty far away. To be up close and personal - the steps of the Jefferson are supposed to be really good.

Oh, and the in-laws question. Actually meeting my in-laws has not exactly brought stellar memories because I always met them at the end of very long trips - either I was going to them or they were coming to me. (i.e. when we drove to Idaho and Utah to meet Laurel and Michelle, or after an all-day flight to Oregon from Florida when I met Adam's sisters.) Lots of forced politeness because of extreme tired-ness from one side or the other, and always a lot of nervousness because of feeling like I was required to like this person no matter what because there was already a wedding in the works. The next day, when everyone was much more rested and the initial shock was over, was always a lot better. I know it's not a very cheerful answer, but it's the truth. Meeting in-laws: not so fun. Getting to know them: much, much better and nicer.