Palmer Family

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Just Kate!

2010-10-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Happy 95th B-Day Great-Grandma!

Cruisin' Kate

2010-10-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

Gotta love room service!

There were a lot requests for pink ice cream...I gave in more than usual

Kate loved the towel animals

Kate just went on her maiden voyage to Canada and New England. The Kids Club was a life saver. She was maybe one of two kids on the whole cruise so she had five youth counselors all to her self! Cruising is a great option with kids. Kate still talks about going back on the big boat to play in the balls.

What we've been up to...sans pictures

2010-07-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

On the second day of our cruise my new, barely been used camera broke! So we bought a new camera abroad the Disney Magic. The new camera did a fine job, but for some reason all the pictures I've taken with this camera will not downland into blogger. Here's what we've been up to...

We had an amazing rest of the cruise. We visited so many great places like Tunisia, Naples, Rome, Cinque Terre and Nice.
We've been to Jackson, WY twice to visit my parents and enjoy the beautiful mountains.
Kate had her first dance recital. It was so cute!
Kate fell in love with Toy Story
Kate's pretty much potty trained
Konan had a Birthday

Good Job Konan!

2010-06-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

We're so proud of all your hard work. We love you!

Malta

2010-05-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

Malta was the first stop on our cruise. It was a beautiful day and we made our way around the island on these 50's style public buses. Enjoy the pictures of Malta!

Barcelona

2010-05-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

Speeding to Barcelona at 300 kph
Unofficial symbol for Barcelona: Gaudi's "Lizard"
More Gaudi architecture
Parc Guell designed by Gaudi
Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's unfinished church which is still being worked on today. (Hence the cranes in back)

More Madrid

2010-05-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

We rented a little row boat in the park. Konan couldn't figure out how to row in a straight line. We had several close calls with other boats.
Picking up some food in the grocery store. I thought these little shopping carts were so funny looking.
El Escorial outside of Madrid
Spain's Royal Palace. We planned on going inside, but the King was having a dinner that night so it was closed to the public that day.
A rainy afternoon in Retiro Park

First Stop: Madrid and surrounding sites.

2010-05-31T11:06:00.001-07:00

Pretty view from Toledo
Massive Catholic Church in Toledo
Holy Toledo! After we climbed these stairs we realized there were escalators around the corner.
Oh Baby!!! Churros and chocolate!
Outside the beautiful Madrid Temple

Ok it's really time for a new post...

2010-05-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today Show
Where the Delcaration of Independence was signed
Konan and Independence Hall
Me and the "Bell"
Mountain Man Konan outside of the Ed Sullivan Theater

It's springtime and that means it's time for our annual epic vacation. It became a little more epic with the eruption of the crazy named Icelandic volcano. We ended up having a fun prelude to our actual vacation. On our way to Spain we stayed a day and a night in New York. In NYC we went to the Today Show, saw a musical with Catherine Zeta Jones called "A Little Night Music" and finished the day with a walk through Central Park. The next morning we hopped on the Amtrak from New York to Philly and spent the day visiting all the historical sights in Philadelphia. Finally that evening we boarded a flight to Madrid, Spain.

Two Years Old!

2010-02-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

A few things I love about my two year old:

-Says "thank you" about everything and to everyone
-Loves being outside
-Loves going to dance class and gymnastics
-Has so much enthusiasm for life
-Loves to be tickled and will ask "more tickle?"
-Is an adventurous eater
-Has more hair than I know what to do with
-Has her mom and dad wrapped around her finger

Happy Birthday Kate. We love you!!!

2010-01-05T20:50:00.000-08:00

Today while Kate was eating she kept pointing to a tomato on the kitchen counter. I thought maybe she wanted to roll it around and play with it. No, she wanted to eat it like an apple. She ate the whole tomato!

Pictures continued

2009-11-05T09:00:00.001-08:00

Norte Dame
Jim Morrison's grave...kinda random Paris sight.
Eiffel Tower in all its twinkling glory
The zodiac window at Chartes Cathedral. It' my sign Aries.

One of the few pictures from Oregon. Kate having a grand time on the Rouge River.

Catching Up

2009-11-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

Versailles at dusk
Overlooking the huge gardens at Versailles
Chateau Chambord
Lovely Chencenau
Can't forget B Flowers

Wow! It's been a busy month full of visiting family, fun trips, and being sick!

At the end of September we drove to SLC and went to The Killers concert with some friends. We got their early and were totally close. It was so fun and they sounded great. Brandon Flowers isn't half bad looking either.

Over UEA my whole family went to Ashland, OR to visit my brother Dave and his family. It had been a long time since we've all been together. Our time in Oregon was spent fishing, visiting the Redwoods, and enjoying each others company. Kate, however wasn't used to sharing the spotlight with her cute cousin Wren. She screamed and begged for attention the whole time. Not so fun for mom!

Next Konan and I planned a relaxing getaway to Tahiti. Well the day before we're supposed to leave I'm checking the weather and it looks like some major tropical storm is passing through. So last minute we scramble and decide to head to France. The first couple of days we rented a car and drove through the Loire Valley visiting the areas famous chateaus. We finished our trip with a couple days in Paris. We visited places we hadn't been before like the Paris sewers. I can thank my co-worker Mario for that one!

This past week Kate and I have been horribly sick. On Halloween night instead of dressing Kate up she got to visit insta-care. She had a bad ear infection. Who knows what I had but I could barely move for a couple of days and still have the lingering cough...blah! Hopefully we're done be sick for the season. I know that's asking a lot.

Anyway enjoy the pictures...

Niagara and New York

2009-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Watkins Glen State Park
Joseph Smith Frame House
Palmyra Temple
My little "Maid of the Mist"
Kate checking out Niagara Falls

Just returned from another great trip. This time to see Niagara Falls and the Church history sites in New York. Such a beautiful area. I was jealous of all the lawns. Big and green lawns that didn't need to be watered. I love seeing the Church sites. I will think back to them all the time. Kate finally got use out of her passport when we crossed into Canada. No stamp though...

Case Dismissed!

2009-09-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to court to fight my speeding ticket and won. I got a speeding ticket back in July. It's a hard story to explain, but let just say the speed posting wasn't clear. I had to talk to the city prosecutor on two different occasions, wait for the police report, and then appear in front of the judge. It was worth it end and it saved me 140$

Justice has been served!

2009-08-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

Why so serious?
Checking out the north rim of the Grand Canyon
Making friends with the donkey
Excited beyond words

Last saturday Kate and I took a day trip with my parents to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Kate did well for being in the car the majority of the day. The canyon was beautiful, but there was a fire so it was a little smokey. Here are a few pictures of Kate from our excursion. (notice the one-side pigtail)

Injuries and the outdoors

2009-08-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

This is so much better than the back seat!
Her glued together gash...ouch!!!

We were in Yellowstone for the 4th of July. One evening we went to Yellowstone Lake and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. Kate had blast riding on her dad's shoulders and throwing rocks into the lake.

The injury story: Kate was on our back patio sitting(actually standing) on her rocking chair and it tipped over and she hit her forehead on the side of the house. It was bleeding like crazy. The docs looked at the cut and decided she didn't need stitches but would go ahead and glue her back together. I'm thankful it wasn't any worse and happy she will barely have a scar.

Picture of the Day!

2009-07-28T20:05:00.001-07:00

Somehow she did this while in her carseat...

California Fun

2009-07-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Konan!!!

Love'n the Land
mmmm salty...
Surfer Girl

The final stop Paris!!!

2009-07-11T18:44:00.001-07:00

Tipsy Eiffel Tower

Paris was added to the itinerary last minute. We went to Disneyland Paris (random I know) and then we spent the evening walking the Champs Elysees and finally caping off our night at the Eiffel Tower. What perfect end to out trip! Then it was back home and back to Kate!

Crete and Athens...almost done, I promise!

2009-07-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

The Acropolis, Athens
One of the only pictures on the cruise. It really was a beautiful ship I just didn't think to take pictures.

Turquoise water in Crete (we went swimming here)
Knossos ruins in Crete. Very very old!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

2009-07-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

Croatian flag and fortress of the city
Each store had a lantern with the business name
View from the walls above the city
By now we gave up on trying to stay dry
The only day it rained on the entire trip was in Dubrovnik. We still had a blast walking the walls around the city and cruising the back streets. Such a beautiful town and would love to come back some day and explore the area more.

Corfu and Olympia

2009-06-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Corfu Island
Lunching in Corfu
Pretty little cove where we rented a sea kayak.
The ruins of Olympia.

Konan just beats me across the finish at the original Olympic Stadium

Ahhhh...Beautiful Santorini!

2009-06-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Picturesque blue-domed church
The little white villages of Santorini clinging to the side of several thousand feet drop off.
The town of Oia with the Greek flag

Talk about an infinity edge pool

This had to be the highlight of the trip. Santorini used to be a normal round island but around 3000 years ago the volcano below the island blew up leaving behind the crescent shaped island we know today. To get to the top you either have to take a cable car or donkey. We opted for the cable car. We spent most of the day walking the trail around the rim of the crater taking in all the different views. We also took a short bus ride to the town of Oia and hung out in cafe for long lunch soaking up the island as best we could. I really wanted to stay overnight on the island and see the sunset...oh well gives me a reason to come back someday!

Delos and Mykonos

2009-06-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Delos
Mable lions of Delos
Famous windmills of Mykonos
I loved the winding back alleys of Mykonos with the whitewash walls and brightly painted doors and shutters.

This was such a fun day. It started out on the little island of Delos. This island was thought to be the center of the universe to the Greeks. Because it was believed to be where the Greek God Apollo was born. Fast forward 2500 years and the whole island is one big open air archaeological museum. The island is only accessible during daylight hours it is still considered sacred to the local people.

The rest of the day was spent on Mykonos. We rented an ATV and cruised around the island visiting the various beaches. Including Paradise and Super Paradise beaches. Both famous for their party atmosphere and lack of clothing. It was a beautiful island with tiny little churches everywhere.

On to Ephesus and Rhodes

2009-06-23T09:04:00.001-07:00

Konan jumping from a platform built out in the ocean off a beach on the island of Rhodes, Greece. (He's at the very top with arms spread like bird)
Looking back on Port Mandraki where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood.
Vespa on a back street in Rhodes
Back in Turkey taking a horse carriage to the local bus stop
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus, an old Roman city on the coast of Turkey.

Istanbul

2009-06-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hagia Sofia
The Blue Mosque
Medusa head in the underground cistern
Early Christian mosaics inside the Hagia Sofia
Fishing poles on the Galata bridge

Favorite memories:

Convincing Konan to go to a Turkish bath

Our hotel overlooking the Bosphorus waterway

The Islamic call to prayer five times of day

Bargaining for souvenirs in The Grand Bazaar

Sampling Turkish delights

Touring the many historic sites around the city

I'm Back!!!

2009-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

In the middle of nowhere, stopping for snacks
The Burj Dubai, tallest building in world. It's more than twice the size of the next highest, which I think is somewhere in Asia. It was actually kind of creepy. It seemed unnatural...
In the aquarium tube at the Dubai Mall
Konan shredding the dunes
Burj Al Arab Hotel

Well I'm back from a fantastic trip. It's great to be back. I cannot tell you how much we missed Kate! The next several posts will be documenting our three week long adventure. So sorry in advance for the overload of pictures and info.

After a long 14 hour flight we arrived in Dubai. I've always been fascinating with this modern city smack dab in Arabia, so I was thrilled to check it out. On the first day we went to Wild Wadi a water park right next to the amazing Burj Al Arab (sailboat hotel in the picture above.) I passed out while climbing the stairs to the top of water slide. I guess water and food are really important in 110 degrees weather? I'd been so busy I forgotten to eat or drink much.

The next morning we were picked for our desert safari. Which included sand boarding and dune bashing. Wow, I'm glad the car had roll bars! Sandboarding had potential to be so fun if the sand didn't burn my feet off. Konan gave it good try though.

Beyond that we spent time at some largest malls in the world which included an indoor snow hill, aquarium, ice rink, and more shops than you can even imagine. At times I would forget I was on other side of the world and then would look around and see women covered head to toe in black robs and the men in white. Overall a great kick off to our trip. See you next post in Istanbul!

Cruise'n

2009-05-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving in a couple of weeks for my first cruise! I can't wait! Do any of you veteran cruisers have any tips or fun ideas? We're going for 12 days in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Pigtails!!!

2009-04-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Kate's hair is long enough for pigtails. I love it! Here are a few pictures of the aforementioned pigtails and Kate and her friend Shaylie at their swim lesson.

Fun with Konan and friends

2009-03-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

Kristy and Eve
Little Eve
Kate and Shaylie chilling on the swings
Kate and Kendall
Konan and his "creation"

For an early B-Day celebration (which is in April) Konan planned a fun weekend in L.A. We had such a great time! The first night we ate a great Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica and then spent the evening relaxing at the hotel spa. The next morning we went for run through Beverly Hills checking out all the amazing houses and shops. The rest of the day was spent at "The Grove" it's an outdoor mall that has all my favorite shopping spots. We ate the Cheesecake Factory and Konan ordered a hamburger that was on a hard crusty roll. He couldn't eat it without tearing his mouth up. Konan got creative and took the wheat bread from the basket and turned it into a make shift hamburger bun. Don't really know why I'm writing about this, but I had to explain the picture. I can't believe the only picture I have of the L.A. trip is Konan and his ugly hamburger. Wow, I'm the worst picture taker!

Anyway, lately I've been able to catch up with some friends which has been great. A couple of weeks ago I spent some time with Cass and Kendall (I can't get over little and sweet she is.) This week I spent a few sunny days at the park. One day with some SkyWest pals and another with Kristy Allred (used to be Downey) and her newest addition Eve. She looked so cute and was such good little baby. We were there for a couple of hours and she didn't make a peep!

Also big thanks to Grandma Elaine and Aunt Karisti for helping tend Kate over the weekend. I'm sure Kate had a blast with her cousins!

The Grand Canyon and beyond...

2009-03-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

I was freezing!!!
View from the plane window

Ok, I'm a bad blogger! Since the last post there has been a flurry of activity with our family. First, Konan and his mom went to visit family in Portland. That same week I went to Ashland, OR to visit the newest addition to the Bywater side, Wren Forester Bywater (Great outdoorsy name, huh?) While I was on my way home from Ashland, Konan was on his way up to Salt Lake to take in the Jazz/Lakers game (We won!) Konan and I were able to say "Hi" in SLC airport before going our separate ways again. Finally, for Valentine's Day Konan and I stole away to Vegas for short getaway. Whew!

On our Vegas getaway we stayed at the Trump, went to the Blue Man Group and then the next day we went on a Grand Canyon excursion. Our trip to Vegas ended up being fun, but not exactly relaxing. Here are a few pictures from the Grand Canyon...

Picture of the Day!

2009-02-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Kate!!!

2009-02-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

Rocking chair from Great-Grandma Bywater
Inspecting the presents
Before
After
"Are you sure I can do this?"

Kate celebrated her first birthday last Tuesday. I can't believe she's already one year old! We love you so much! Here are a few of her favorite things...

Favorite Food: Blueberries (hence the blueberries on her cupcake)
Favorite Place: The beach
Favorite Animals: Cats and Roosters
Favorite Song: Patty-Cake
Favorite Activity: Practicing walking and going down the stairs

going back a couple weeks...

2009-01-31T14:54:00.000-08:00

Kate in her ears at D-land
Brad and Angelina!
Dustin Hoffman
b Above:Beyonce / Below:Anne Hathaway
Ok this trip happened before Kauai, but I had to show my paparazzi pictures from the Golden Globes. We were down in Cali with Konan's fam to go to Disneyland. It was the day we were heading home and we had a couple of hours to kill until our flight back to SGU. Anyway I thought it might be nice to show Konan the LA temple. We did a drive by of the LA temple and continued down Santa Monica Blvd and next thing we knew we could see the red carpet. We joined the screaming fans and paparazzi at a chain link fence outside where all the celebrities were getting out their cars. You'll need to enlarge the photos to even get a sense of who it is. It was a totally random experience, but a lot of fun!

Out and about

2009-01-25T14:24:00.001-08:00

Exploring the lava rocks
Kate's mode of transportation down to the beach
Cutest beach girl ever!
Not a bad view
Last weekend the girls (me, my mom, and Kate) headed for the beach. Flights looked decent so we hopped on a plane and headed to Kauai. My battery on my camera died right when we got there, but I was able to get a few cute pictures of Kate at the beach. Kate did amazing on flights I was so nervous for the 6 hour flight, but she played with her toys took two long naps. The flight attendants all loved her and one even held Kate for twenty minutes and showed her around the airplane! Another funny thing is that on Kauai there are roosters everywhere. Whenever a rooster would crow Kate would do her best crow in return. It was great little get away. Boy, do I love my flight benefits!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-30T10:11:00.001-08:00

Tis' the season

2008-12-11T19:53:00.001-08:00

I'm back from my blogging hiatus. I ran out of inspiration and I'm not sure if it's back, but here are a few recent pictures. Me, my mom, and Kate went to SLC for Christmas shopping and to see the lights on temple square. Christmas is so much fun again with Kate. It really does bring magic back to the holidays.

Halloween in New England

2008-11-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

We're back from Newport, RI and Boston. A lot my time was spent in business meetings, but in my free time we were able to get out and see the sights. It was so beautiful. The leaves were in their fall splendor and I loved all the quaint little towns. I also ate my first lobster!

We were in Newport for Halloween so we dressed Kate in her flower costume all day. She looked so dang cute! Newport is famous for its "summer cottages." In the background of one of the pictures is "The Breakers" the most famous of the mansions. It was owned by the Vanderbilt family.

It was a fun trip, but I'm glad to be home.

P.S. Hooray election day is over! Hope you all got out there and voted!

On the road again...

2008-10-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

*Last trip to Boston (circa 2005) at Fenway Park.

I thought I would be sticking around St. George for a few weeks, but I'm off again on Tuesday. I'm going for a work conference in Newport, RI and then spending a couple of days in Boston afterward. This is the third year I have gone to this particular conference. Last year it was in Kauai and the year before it was in Puerto Rico. Since I'm now part-time I didn't plan on attending this year. Last minute changes happened and now I get to go! I'll post pictures when I get back.

On a side note two of my favorite shows on TV right now are The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I've already decided on who I'm voting for so it's fun to just kick back and get a good laugh at all things political. SNL has been pretty funny too. Tina Fey does a wicked Sarah Palin impression and last Thursday it was great to have Will Ferrell back to reprise his roll as George W.

Beautiul Nauvoo!

2008-10-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

To finish off my whirlwind weekend trip spree the girls (me, my mom, and Kate) took off to Nauvoo. It's a place I've heard about all my life so it was wonderful to finally be able to visit. We had two full days in Nauvoo. The first day we went from building to building and toured around the old city of Nauvoo. We learned about the way of life in the 1840's and saw where many prominent figures of the LDS church lived. The next day we went through a session in the Nauvoo temple. The Nauvoo temple has such a special feeling and I will always remember this trip. On the way back to St. Louis we stopped in Hannibal, Missouri the town where Mark Twain grew up. We also did a drive by of downtown St. Louis and saw the famous Gateway Arch. By the end of the trip Kate completed her 35th airplane ride!

The two Ds. Denver and Disneyland.

2008-10-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago Konan and I went to Denver to visit Kelli and Brandon. We had a great time chatting and playing rock band to the early hours. Thanks guys for the fun weekend! The top picture is of Kate and Ava in their backyard.

Two weeks ago my brother Steve needed to be in LA to fly down to South America. We thought why not go a day early and visit "The Land." When we got the entrance of Disneyland it was packed. We were nervous it was going to be too busy to even enjoy. Turns out the night before it was Miley Cyrus's birthday party and the park was shut down early. Dang, that Miley! However once we got inside it wasn't bad. The longest line we waited in was at the Haunted Mansion and it still was only about 25 minutes. It was during their Halloweentime celebration. There were so many fun Halloween decorations and they completely changed the Haunted Mansion. Kate was trooper and stayed in good spirits all day long! Her favorite attraction was The Tiki Room. She was memorized by the talking birds. All and all a very successful trip.

* My battery died so the good pictures are on my bros camera. Here a few I took before it completely died.

Doctor Checkup

2008-09-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

Kate went in for her third round of immunizations on Monday. It was supposed to be her 6 months check-up, but I had to reschedule twice and it ended being more like her 7 1/2 appointment. I dread watching her being poked with needles. She did so well. She didn't even cry after the first injection and maybe cried for 5 seconds after the other. She is much braver than I am. She weighed in at 17.2 lbs (44%), 27 inches long (59%) and head circumference (17.2) (63%).

September!

2008-09-12T19:29:00.001-07:00

Ava and Kate

Wow! I can't believe it's September. Fall is my favorite season! Konan started school again and is loving his classes. Kate is still as cute as ever! She's seven months now. She is so happy and is constantly on the move. She pulls up on anything she can get her hands on. Kelli was in town last week. It was great to see her, I wish she lived closer! I want to go on vacation, even though I just got back. I love hotels. No cleaning up after yourself and no responsibility. Hmmm... what does that say about myself. Well here a couple of cute pics of Kate. I'll write more when something excited happens.

Rome Pictures Continued

2008-08-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Gelato!!!
Rome's drinking fountains.
St. Peter's Square
The Spanish Steps.
Inside St. Peter's Cathedral. St. Peter's tomb is under this alter piece designed by Bernini.

When in Rome..

2008-08-22T06:14:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Konan and I had the chance to sneak over to Rome for a couple of days. We left Kate at home and she did great! Thank you to both grandparents and Karisti for helping tend Kate. We left saturday from Cincinnati. We were lucky enough to sit in first class (a perk of being an airline employee) so we could sleep most of the ten hour flight. We stayed in Rome for three nights. Our hotel was a block away form Trevi fountain right in the center of all the action. A lot of our time was spent meandering the alleyways of Rome and eating gelato (mmm..) Of course we also saw all the major sites like the colosseum, roman forum, vatican museum, and St. Peters basilica. We loved Rome and had such a great trip!

Trevi Fountain
The Colosseum
Roman Forum
Ruins at the Roman Forum
Konan and the Emperor Constantine (the guy who made Christianity mainstream)

First Solid Food!

2008-08-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Kate's finally on solid foods now. She has been such a good eater so far. We'll have to see once we move on to the veggies. Just out of curiosity has any actually made their own baby food? I've thought about it, but I just don't know if I can commit myself. It seems like a lot of work. On another happy note Kate is sleeping through the night. I forgot what I full nights sleep felt like. What a gift!

Back again..for real!!!

2008-07-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, I went out of town again. This time is was up to Driggs, ID for family reunion on my side and then down to Aberdeen, ID to visit Konan's side. It was great fun to see everyone after so long. I think Kate is done with being on the road for awhile. She did not sleep well at all! She woke up every hour at night! Now that we're back at home she has settled into a much better sleep routine. Thank goodness!!!

Also just wanted to wish two very special people a late Happy Birthday! First, Happy Birthday Kelli on the 20th! Hope it was great and you and Ava had fun celebrating together. Sorry, this was the only picture of you I could find on my computer. Also Happy Birthday to my husband Konan on the 19th! You are such a wonderful husband and father. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. We love you!!!

I'm Back!

2008-07-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Personality
Me and Kate enjoying a break from the car
Konan and Kate with Old Faithful Inn in the background
You looking at me?
It's been a crazy month. We moved out of my parents basement. Horay! I've been up to Jackson Hole twice to visit the folks and get away from the sweltering heat. Kate has learned a lot of new tricks. She can sit all by her self and can crawl (very slowly.) She's also cutting her first tooth! I know it's very cliche to say but, I can't believe how time flies and how fast she's growing up! Hope everyones' summer is going splendid!

Alaska

2008-06-05T20:24:00.001-07:00

Last November I went to an airline conference in Kauai (rough, in know). On the last night of the conference they had a raffle for prizes. Well my name got drawn out of the bowl and I won a tour of the arctic circle and a Wii. We were totally stoked! Anyway I wanted to get to Alaska to use my prize before summer got rolling and it was too busy to make it stand-by from SLC to Anchorage. The first day in Alaska we drove down the Kenai peninsula to Seward. It was a gorgeous drive. I still can't get over how vast Alaska is. The next morning it was time for our tour. Konan and I hopped on a short flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Once there we walked down to the Arctic Circle Hangar. Not quite what I was expecting. It was a shabby old building with no formal office. Once inside about 10 people walked by not saying a word finally a burly looking man asked if we had been helped. I told him we were here from the Arctic Circle tour at 10:30. He looked at me as if i was crazy. He walked off for awhile and came back and said, "I guess we can give a ride up there, let me call our pilot." By then Konan who is already somewhat afraid of flying is looking pale. The man returns a few minutes later and says that their pilot is sick and can't take us! What a weird experience. I thought i'd won this cool prize. Oh well, we still had a great time and saw a lot of amazing scenery. Here are of couple of pictures from our adventure...

Portage Glacier
Feeling Chilly!
Konan and Kate in Seward
Cute Kate checking out the scenery
See how bad it was!

Picture Update

2008-05-24T16:56:00.001-07:00

Not much has been going on these past couple of weeks, but here are a few recent pictures.

The face says it all!
Such a cutie!!!
We've been on a hiking kick lately. These were taken at Red Rock conservation area near Las Vegas.

Beautiful Zion

2008-05-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Not sure she's digging this...

I realized I never have any photos of me since I'm always taking the pictures, well here I am!

Also just wanted to give a quick shout out to my older brother Dave. He's going to Washington D.C. to be presented the Award for Valor by the Secretary of Interior. He's receiving the award for an intense rescue he did in Alaska on Mount Denali. Good Job Dave!

Random Thoughts

2008-05-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Going to work last week was actually really fun. I forgot how much I love to talk travel. Of course I was sad to leave Kate, but she was in good hands. I was very nervous about the whole feeding situation. Kate hadn't fed from a bottle all that much and I wasn't too excited to pump at work. Thankfully both worked out.

Kate learned to rollover last week and since then she rolls every chance she gets. They say to always put your baby on their back to sleep, but what do you do if she rolls the second she's laid in her crib?

The past few nights Konan and I have been watching the documentary called "Long way around." It's about Ewan McGreggor's (Moulin Rouge and Star Wars) journey with his friend around the world. They ride their motorcycles from London to New York traveling east. It's a fantastic watch! They ride through some of the most remote spots in the world and traverse unbelievable terrain. I highly recommend! ** Disclaimer there are few "f" words in the mix.**

Konan has started riding his bike to work. Go Konan!!!

Bridal Tag

2008-05-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Cassidy so here are a couple of weddings photos. It will be six years in November since we got married. Crazy how fast time goes!

I tag:

Staci S.

Emily H.

Kelli E.

Karisti

Family Fun in Phoenix

2008-04-30T14:40:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we flew down to Phoenix to visit Konan's brother and family. I totally failed at taking pictures on that trip. I managed to snap a few at the Mesa Temple. For pictures of the family see Karisti's blog she did a great job!

Well today is officially my last day of maternity leave. I will be going back part-time working Thurs and Fri. Even though it's only two days it is going to be so hard. For the past three months a couple hours is the longest I have been away from Kate. Wish me luck!

Kate's Blessing

2008-04-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

More Pictures of Kate!

2008-04-12T16:48:00.001-07:00

Hang Loose
Nap Time
Smallest Frequent Flier
Cute New Outfit
All Bundled Up

California

2008-04-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

For my Birthday Konan sorta surprised me with a trip to California. We had a ton fun! We went to Disneyland, which is one of our favorite places. Even though Kate won't remember anything , we loved seeing her reaction to all the sights and sounds. She was able to go on most of the rides with no problem. Except on Pirates of the Caribbean a gust of wind hit her in the face and she screamed the rest of the ride! I felt so bad for the other people on our boat. Also if you wondering Disneyland has a baby center on Main Street where you can nurse and change. All and all it was another great trip to "The Land!"

The next day we went to Laguna Beach. (No, we didn't go there to look for LC and Kristin. I've been going there with my family since I was young.) We ate at my favorite taco stand "El Taco Loco" and hung out on the beach. Kate loved griping the sand with her toes. The rest of the day was spent hitting favorite shopping spots (South Coast Plaza and The Grove.) That night we hopped on plane back to St. George. Kate slept the entire plane ride home. It was a great way to spend my 25th Birthday!

Travel Pictures

2008-04-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

South Africa

Great Wall of China

Hallstatt, Austria

Rothenburg, Germany

Monopoly!!!

2008-04-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here is Konan and Kate playing Monopoly. I have no doubt that she will be a fierce competitor when she gets a little older.

2008-04-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I'm excited to be part of the blogging world. It's so fun to see what everyone is doing.

Pictures of Kate

2008-03-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

Our Kate!

2008-03-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

Kate Palmer

Feb 3rd 3:18 p.m.

6 lbs. 13 oz.

20 inches