The Palmer 8: January 2011

Wicked came to Tucson and we had the great opportunity to go. Conner went with us as part of his Christmas present. We had a blast and loved every minute of it. I would highly recommend this show to anyone. It's the BEST!!!

Conner with his best friend Mckay Palmer who also got a ticket for Christmas. They are two peas in a pod :)

Our friends Dave, Tia, and McKay Palmer who went with us to the show. Dave used his mad skills to get the tickets. Thanks Dave!

After the show was over we went out the side door where we met some of the cast. This is the girl who played Elphaba the wicked witch.

Glinda the good witch

Conner with Fiyero. Conner was so excited he had them all sign his program.
A definate keepsake that went right into his special box. For the next week we all kept singing the songs. It was such an amazing show.

Two of my favorite people came to visit me Jolene Bradshaw and Cara Smith all the way from frigid Wyoming. Whether it was on the couch, laying in the sun, or on a walk, we had a great time chatting, chatting, and chatting some more. Just like old times.

Jolene with Kaitlyn.

The weekend they came just happened to be Mike's birthday, so we did take a minute to celebrate with him. Don't let him fool you, he likes to visit and chat with the girls as much as I do.

Happy 37th Birthday to my love!

Enjoying some cake and ice cream.

I'm sorry this is going to be a long post. My new year's resolution is to keep up on my blog so my posts are not so long. LOL! This post covers from the end of Nov to the end of Dec.

Mike took Josh and Conner out hunting. They actually killed this bird by hitting it with the truck, but it makes you think they are a great shot.

Same bird.

Josh all dressed up for his first basketball game. Handsome boy!

Josh's 13th birthday. I can't believe he is that old. Happy Birthday Joshua. We love you!

Christy, Kiley, and family came to see us over Thanksgiving break. We had such a fun time with them. We love that they come see us.

Since we didn't have any Grandmas sharing Thanksgiving with us, Christy and I had to make the pies all by ourselves. We were so impressed with our pies that we had to show them off. Christy made 2 pumpkin and I made 2 banana cream(Grandma Champney's style). They were so yummy!!!

While the boys went elk hunting Christy and I got to work. This is Josh and Conner's room. It was alot of work, but it turned out so great. Thank you for all your help Keek.

The other wall.

My boys are big BYU fans, if you couldn't tell. Grandma and Grandpa Palmer sent them shirts for Christmas. They loved them.

Jacob's first piano recital. He played "Up on the Housetop" memorized. He did a great job we were so proud of him.

Kaitlyn at the Christmas piano recital. She played "Joy to the World" memorized and did an excellent job.

Conner at the Christmas piano recital. He played "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" memorized and did a fantastic job!

Jacob got this pretend shaving kit from his gift exchange at school. He was so excited to use it and be just like his dad.

Over Christmas break we took the kids to Mesa for an overnighter to enjoy the temple lights and a fun park there called Amazing Jake's. We had a blast and will for sure go back.

Most of the kids had never seen the Mesa temple and for sure not with the Christmas lights. It is such a pretty place and the lights were beautiful. BTW, Josh was thinking he was funny so in alot of our pics he is making ugly faces. Don't mind him.

It was so fun to see the outline of palm trees instead of the big full trees I'm use to seeing on temple square.

The gold lights you can see in this picture are lights hanging on palm leaves. Around the temple they have huge palm trees and the only lights on them are on the leaves like these. When you are driving up to the temple all you can see are these lights and they look like tons of birds flying. It was so pretty. I loved it.

Kaitlyn and Hailey infront of the Christus at the visitor center in Mesa.

We stayed at the Millennium Resort in Scotsdale. It sits on a beautiful golf course with this huge pond behind it.

Christmas Eve jammies!

The kids were so excited for Christmas.

Jacob on his new bike.

Hailey on her new scooter.

Brauk on his new scooter. I was worried that Christmas wouln't be Christmas without snow. I was wrong. It was wonderful!

Josh with some of his Christmas stuff. Both of the boys got BYU blankets to match their room. They loved them. Thanks, Aunt Santa :)

Conner with his Christmas stuff. He is going to see Wicked the musical with Mike and I. He was thrilled to death.

Kaitlyn and Hailey in their cute new clothes. I didn't get a pic with Kaitlyn and her stuff. Oops:(

Over the break we spent a few days with Elder and Sister Palmer who are serving a mission on the Navajo Reservation in Alamo New Mexico. This is us in their house/church house waiting for sacrament meeting to start. This room is the chapel/sunday school room/ RS and priesthood room/ the cultural hall/family room/bedroom for visitors.

This is from the view of the pulpit. As you can see their couch is the customary one that is in alot of our church houses. It was such a neat experience to have church in a place that wasn't the usual for us. After the sacrament prayer, Hailey says "Hey that's the same prayer they say at our church." There was such a neat spirit present. We are so grateful for Grandma and Grandpa and for their willingness and example in serving a mission. We love you both!