Family Beach Day

Today, we decided to take the entire day off from everything. We spent the morning together as a family just relaxing. Then around 1:30 we felt relaxed enough to pile ourselves into the car and drive to the beach (only a 40 min. drive). We took along sandcastle supplies, munchies, and a change of clothes ( one change for each of us of course, that would be funny if we all tried to ride back home in the same change of clothes). The waves were nice and big. We kept ourselves in the shallows due to rip tide warnings. However, we enjoyed watching the surfers do their thing. We built a nice respectable castle and stayed long enough to watch it meet its doom in the waves. The water was nice and warm, the breeze was gentle, and company was exceptional. As we drove home, it was decided that we should do this at least once a month. Anyone want to join us next time?

Zel called

Spending an afternoon with Eric while Jeff and Emily took in a Red Sox game at Fenway. Then to my surprise I get a call from Zel. He had just crossed into NM. He is doing well, and enjoying the drive (especially after driving through Gustav rains yesterday). It was nice to hear from him, and at such a meaningful moment. Wish I was driving along this stretch with him!

Tired baby

This is Eric's favorite spot in the house. We read books here and have special snuggles here. This is the first place he runs when he is feeling out of control. It has become his safe place. The other day, he was grumpy and climbed up to read a book to calm himself down. I came around the corner and found a sleeping baby. Looks comfy.

Mushrooms

Too much rain is apparently a good thing for growing mushrooms. Too bad we can't identify them with certainty. So we decided to bag them up to keep curious little toddler types from snacking. An entire grocery bag was filled by the time we finished.

Pure fun

Hand-me-downs that rock!

A good friend recently cleaned out her basement, and we were the lucky recipients of some hand- me-downs that the kids could really get into.

So, it's been awhile......sheepish grin

Hi all! Where to begin? I haven't posted in a bit. I guess I'll start with the latest, and then proceed backwards. The last greatest adventure of the Palmer family was a camping trip with some friends from church last weekend. We spent two nights on the Connecticut river in Vermont at Wilgus State Park. It was our first family campout. It will be the first of many as we found out that we really like camping. And it even rained vigorously for one afternoon and night! We stayed dry, enjoyed the great company, and learned how to play "Mafia"(we should try this game at the beach sometime). Because of the damp conditions, this is the only photo from the whole trip. It was taken in the front porch of our tent. We planned on getting photos of our hike up Mt. Ascutney, but weather was threatening rain yet again. Just so your not too impressed, we didn't hike up the whole Mt. with a toddler in tow. We drove up to the top, and only hiked the last 7 tenths of a mile to the summit. That was challenge enough. Some very steep sections. More to come.........