cousin book exchange for Christmas AND sibling exchange notes

I didn't realize I hadn't posted this yet, even though I figured out the names awhile ago. Here is the list for the cousin book exchange for Christmas:

Summer --> Stevie
Marnie --> Henry  
Jenna --> Allie
Tenley --> Joshy

Stevie --> Brooke
Allie --> Bryan

Brooke --> Summer
Bryan --> Jenna
Emma --> Marnie

Joshy --> Emma
Henry --> Tenley

Eric and Nathan, you can send the packages to my house because Jared and his family are spending Christmas here. (Or Nathan can give it to Mom to put in her luggage.)

For the sibling exchange, maybe I'm just still on pregnancy brain but I didn't really follow what Mindy was saying about the letters/ornament exchange. Why would you just take a picture of an ornament instead of sending the actual ornament? And I do a year-in-review letter anyway every year and send it out with all my Christmas cards. Some kind of Christmas decoration (not just ornaments) could be fun, especially if it's homemade.

I also like useful gifts rather than useless - I'm so tight on space with cramming 4 kids into a 2-bedroom house that I don't have room for useless things. Books would also be good. Adam is of the opinion that there is no such thing as "too many" books.

for the record

Just so you all know, I'm holding Emily, Eric, and Amanda responsible for Tenley coming so LATE! Yes, coming at 40 weeks is LATE! Everyone else guessed the last week of September, and those 3 put their guesses for right up against the due date. Punks, all 3 of you.

I really really really do not want to be induced - when I was induced with Jenna, the stupid epidural did absolutely nothing to ease off the trauma of the pitocin and having my water broken for me. I'd actually kind of like to try to have this baby naturally, since I had ineffective pain killers with Jenna and also got stabbed in my back multiple times because the anesthesiologist didn't get the stent in with one attempt. Natural childbirth isn't going to be much worse than Jenna's birth, if it does surpass it in the first place.

Anyway, this week I've been doing much better with my energy level and fewer contractions and all. All the physical gear-up for labor has totally backed off. SIGH. At least I feel better. The latest discussion with my doctor was that he'll induce me whenever I want - he originally suggested this week. The final decision is that we'll let Tenley go all the way to 40 weeks to see if she comes on her own because that's what I'd prefer, and probably induce on the 17th if she doesn't because then all the age-bracket risks start to jump. I'm comfortable with that time frame. But I still really hope she comes before then, except NOT on the 8th because that's Marnie's birthday.

(Recommendation to all the sisters and sisters-in-law - obviously you need to discuss/decide this with your husband and the Lord. But my advice is to have as many of your children as possible and maybe even be done before you're 35. The minute you turn 35, obstetricians get REALLY paranoid and want to subject you to all kinds of extra tests and monitoring when pregnant. It's really obnoxious.)

time for the baby guesses

I'm now 35 weeks and I've been having contractions since we got back from Nauvoo over a month ago. I'm gearing up for labor-mode, so if you're going to make guesses as to when Tenley will arrive and her length/weight, whatever statistics you're shooting for ... now would be the time to do it.

Based on all the scheduling issues we have around here these days, I'm hoping she comes either on the weekend of Sept 24th/25th, or Wednesday the 28th. Well heck, I hope she comes on the weekend just so I'm done - I'd kind of like to resume breathing sooner rather than later. That means, of course, that she'll come on Mon/Tues (26/27) like all of her sisters even though those are the worst days for her to come. Mondays and Tuesdays are our busiest days for being out of the house with regularly scheduled things - Summer's dance, Marnie's dance, a music class, and the library. Plus, Adam has some stuff at work those two particular days.

Happy guessing!

sibling Christmas exchange year 5

My turn to be excited for Christmas this year.  Someone has posted before me in regards to it, but I figured I'd take the lead and get the sibling exchange sorted out for the 5th year.  I did go over the previous years to make sure there haven't been any duplicates yet, and came up with this configuration:

Trina - Emily
Eric - Nathan
Jared - Trina
Tawnia - Clarissa
Emily - Tawnia
Nathan - Mindy
Mindy - Eric
Clarissa - Jared

As for a theme, we've used something inspirational, a memory, food, and FHE in a box.  Jared suggested something completely useless.  As a counter suggestion I would say something useful.  A lot of what I get for Christmas is useless fluff, and would love to get something with a purpose.  I was on the phone with Tawnia this morning and she suggested a book exchange, like the cousins do.  Any other opinions?

I just had a thought about doing an ornament exchange?  Either with the sibling, or sending them to all the siblings (or just to Mom and Dad) .. finding a Christmas ornament that is specific to your family or location or stage of your life.  We could put those along with a year-in-review sort of letter.  I was just thinking about our memory letters of years past - I love reading those, and thought a review letter would be good to have for personal history and future reading.  Or instead of sending the ornament to everyone, just include a picture of it with your letter, so you can have it for future years.

Anyway, give your thoughts or suggestions on all of this so we can figure out what we want to do this year!

Requests

Trina started the Christmas things going so I thought I'd put my two cents in. I have a couple of ideas of gifts for the grandkids but I need some help from you. I need to know the kids t-shirt sizes. I also need their head measurements. How big around is each kids head? And I need their favorite colors. I think that's it for now. I'm not promising anything but I'll try to make them something. Dad would also like any pictures or videos you took during our reunions this summer including coming and going. It would be nice if you could tell us when and where they were taken. I've pulled some off Trina's blog and off facebook but the resolution is lower when you do it that way so if you could put them on the FTP that would be best. I made a folder on the main page to put them in, "Palmer Reunion 2011".

Thanks, MOM

Christmas exchanges?

I know, I know. It's still August. But hey! 4 months from today is Christmas Eve! And I've got a lot to do between now and then, so I'm starting on my Christmas planning now.

Just wanted to make sure that all the applicable parents are on board with the cousin book exchange - this is the 5th year. Yay! I actually really like choosing the books for the other kids - it's fun for me. Although, maybe this year I'll let Summer and Marnie choose what book they give to their cousin - narrow it down to 3 or 4 options and let them pick.

Yes or no on the sibling exchange again? Theme? The first year, we had "something that inspires you." I don't remember the 2nd year (2008). The 3rd year was food, and last year was FHE in a box. All of them good ideas - I wouldn't mind doing any of them again, or something new.

Palmer Family Reunion Mad-Libs

Here we are at the Palmer family reunion in playful Nauvoo. I've been forbidding forward to this for 1,000,273 nanoseconds, and I know you're just as itchy.

We've come from all over -- Virginia, Mississippi, and McDonald's. We came by car and by camel. Some of us exploded at the zoo and saw lions and tigers and roller-coasters -- oh my!

At Nauvoo, we saw fish heads built in the year 17. We enjoyed the pageant with all the singing and splaining. Our family talent show is even more sparkly. Rosemary will tease the songs "Row, Row, Row Your TV" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Lazy Beret." Grandma will tell stories about our barrels -- such as the time Summer built a fire in the spray can or when her wood said, "The Jello is flammable." At the reunion, Adam is in charge of all the screaming -- except when Eric makes purple food. Yummy!

One more thing -- I call dibs on the duck bed!

moving

Announcement!

We will be moving (just a couple miles) soon. How soon? Well, we've started packing. We plan to have everything packed up and cleaned before we leave for the reunion, and we'll load it into a truck and take it to our new apartment on Saturday August 6, right after we get home again.

I'll send the address and other pertinent information out later.

Video challenge update!

First of all, congratulations Aaron and Mindy!

B: It has taken me less time than I expected to edit all the videos together into one big conglomeration of awesomeness. So, here is a brand-new, one-time special offer. If you want to submit any additional videos (like if you missed one of the challenges, or something) you still can! Yay!

Also, BONUS CHALLENGE!

Boot to the Head!

movies

Jared,
What is the absolute date that these movies can be in? We are working on them and don't want to miss out.
Too bad we won't be there. We are jealous that all the grandkids will be there except ours, and that you and Trina and Eric will be there and we haven't seen you in years (five years for you and Trina).

Last two weeks!

Just a reminder, I need everybody else's videos sent to me within the next TWO WEEKS for inclusion at the reunion! Great big thank yous to everyone who has already contributed!

Video challenge!

I know, it's not June quite yet, but our school year has ended, so it's close enough for me.

Our sixth and final video challenge is called... "RANDOM DANCING!!!"

In recap, the challenges are all as follows:

1. I'm a Little Teapot

2. What's Your Sign?

3. Pump your own gas

4. Tell a joke

5. Oops!

6. Random Dancing!!!

So far, I've gotten videos from Mom, Dad, Emily, Trina, and Tawnia. I'd love to see some videos from everyone - you don't even have to do all of them! We just really want to have everyone involved in what is shaping up to be a really fun project. I think everyone will love the result, even more so if you took part in it. Eric, Nate, Mindy, Clarissa, I'm talking to you.

That being said.... I need to impose a deadline. I want to have all the videos compiled and edited so we can watch them at the reunion, and I'm going to need some time to get that done. Therefore, I need to have all your videos filmed and sent to me (just upload them to the ftp folder and let me know) by the end of June. That way, I can edit them all together in July in time for the reunion.

reunion challenges

Here's the Caudle update for the reunion challenges -

Read the entire Book of Mormon: Adam has completed it himself so he gets the prize. We started reading it as a family and we do read EVERY DAY but there's no way we're going to finish before the reunion. We get through only about 10 verses at a time and we're in Alma 10 or 11 as of today. Well, we're trying! I'm not reading the Book of Mormon for my personal reading because I'm still working through the Old Testament (and wow, is it ever WORK to read the Old Testament!), and I'm teaching Sunday School out of the New Testament right now. My brain can do only so much lately.

Memorize the Family Proclamation: Adam has been working on this as well and is almost done. I should do it - I'm a question mark.

Family food storage/emergency supplies: my challenge ... is anyone doing this? I'll keep the prize all to myself, if no one is! Adam found a news article the other day that the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has recently released information on "what to do in case of a zombie attack." No kidding! It said in the article that it's so "interesting" that preparing for a zombie attack is just the same as preparing for a hurricane or an earthquake. Imagine that! Very funny PR campaign and a good way to get people's attention when normally they just tune out - "yeah yeah get ready for a hurricane." But getting ready for ZOMBIES! Totally different!

Jared's video challenge: Tawnia did our filming when she was here in March. I think she missed one of them but five out of six ain't bad! I just have no idea if the video clips actually made it to Jared. Tawnia, did you send them to him? I know they're in my computer somewhere, but I have no idea how to access them or send them to Jared if I knew where they were. Can you please give him the clips? Thanks!

Did I miss anything?

Question

Hey Everyone,

I need a head count of who is completing and/or attempting my challenge so that I can make my final decision on how to do prizes. I have some ideas but I'm not sure which to go with.

As for myself, I'm less than 30 chapters of being back to where I was in the Book of Mormon when Mom made the challenge so that one is almost completed. I've filmed one of the videos for Jared's challenge but still need to do the others.... maybe today? And I don't think I'm going to get to Trina's challenge. At this point I'm in the midst of packing things and giving things away as quickly as possible so that I can leave for the summer. And I am trying to memorize the Proclamation on the Family.

It's not to late for anyone else to make a challenge. It doesn't have to be anything big and the prize doesn't have to be anything huge either. (Something from the dollar store or even a hug for a smaller challenge, OR you could serenade the person that does the best whatever with a song you made up for them.... on the spot.) So yeah, let's do some more fun challenges if you'd like.... even those of us who have already made challenges. I'm really enjoying Jared's challenge and can't wait to see the videos.

Love you all! Can't wait to see all of you at some point this summer.

Love,

Tawnia

Sightseeing after the reunion

Before I can get plane tickets, I need to figure out when and from which airport to fly home. Personally, I'm not in a big hurry to get back to mopping floors, so I was thinking of staying around until the next Saturday.

Who else is thinking about doing some sightseeing? Tawnia, Mom, and Dad, at least. Anyone else?

Mom talked about seeing the sites in Independence and Liberty, and I thought about flying out from that side of the state. But then she talked about going back to St. Louis. So I wondered why drive all the way across the state (about 4 hours one way) just to turn around and come back? There's plenty to do in St. Louis.

The zoo is free (except for the parking). There's a temple in St. Louis. There's the Gateway Arch and several museums. There are Indian mounds 8 miles away in Illinois. Trina and Adam's girls might like the Children's Museum.

But I don't want to be the only one making these decisions. So, who else wants to sightsee? And what do you want to do?

sdoo

,,˙oops,, :sı ǝɯǝɥʇ s,ɥʇuoɯ sıɥ┴ ¡ǝƃuǝllɐɥɔ oǝpıʌ ʇxǝu ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ǝɯıʇ s,ʇı suɐǝɯ ʇɐɥʇ os 'ʎɐW s,ʇI

Oh, wait, it's not May yet? Oops.

temple day

I realized that not everyone knows the news: Aaron is going through the temple for the first time on Saturday, April 9th. Yes, that's only two days away. We're going to the Cardston temple. If anyone else has the chance to be in the temple on Saturday (11:30 mountain time) we would love to feel of your spirit. We're going to wait until we go to Oregon to get sealed - so at least some of the family can be there!

We did look into what it would take to go to Nauvoo - $800 for a plane ticket. And we would need two. Driving would take a long time, and a whole lot of gas (and we only have an SUV). Just too expensive for us right now! We'll just stick with our Oregon trip - a lot less time and money. Be we still are planning on doing the reunion video challenges, so we can be part of the fun.

And our Oregon trip will probably take place at the end of May, beginning of June. My residency interview is on the 28th of this month, and we aren't sure how much longer it will be after that. We're hoping my residency is granted immediately, so Aaron can put me on his taxes and I can look for work. Once Aaron gets his tax return back we'll be on our way!

Other than all that, everything is great up here. Aaron is working, I'm babysitting and painting, and we both play lots of games.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Was it an African chicken or a European chicken?

(pause for laughter)

Happy New Month everybody! Here is your video challenge for April. Tell a joke!

reunion challenges

Just out of curiosity... who all is participating in the challenges for the family reunion?

We're not doing Trina's food storage challenge, but Brooke, Bryan, and I are all working on the Book of Mormon challenge.

I'm still planning to memorize the Proclamation. (Brooke thinks it's too much and wants to keep working on the Articles of Faith.)

As for my video challenges, we're going to do them, and I've already gotten videos from Mom and Dad and Emily. I know Trina and Tawnia are going to do them this week. Is anyone else doing them? I'd love to see videos from Eric, Nate, Mindy, and Clarissa. Even if you can't make it to the reunion, we'd love to "see" you there!

March video challenge

Oregon statute 480.320 Use of coin-operated pumps and dispensing of gasoline by self-service declared hazardous.

48 out of 49 non-Oregon states respectfully disagree.

Here's an interesting tidbit - there are members of our family who, having lived in Oregon since obtaining their driver's licenses, have never pumped their own gas. This is especially fascinating to members of our family who have never lived in Oregon, and therefore never NOT pumped their own gas.

So, here is your video challenge for March: everyone, pump your own gas. Including those people who... well, you know who you are.