Techno Whiz?

If you want a picture of my son you better want to have a picture of the ipod or DS as well. He is a little addicted. We've started weaning him this week because we feel kind of bad about it. But it is so cute to hear him talk about the games he is playing. :) I downloaded cake and candy maker apps and Collin makes treats and then shares them with me. :)

(Do you like the Thor poster in the back I made for Collin's birthday? It stayed up for the rest of the month because Collin liked having it there and I was too lazy to take it down. It finally came down this last weekend. Oh and soon after this picture Collin finally got his hair cut. It was needed!)

New Books

I received a list of 21 fiction and non-fiction YA books from the Middle Level Conference. I have read a few books off of the list and I have not been disappointed. I thought I would put them in this blog to share them with my friends and families. The first three are the ones I have read. I have another two sitting by my bed. I put beside them if they are fiction and non-fiction. It is because of this list that I ended up reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik. Awesome book.

1. Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin - Fabulous book! Will be reading this with my students to help them have a better grasp on what it was like for people during Stalin's reign.
2. Under the Mesquite by Guadelupe Garcia McCall - The book was written in prose and I found it an emotional read. It is semi-autobiographical.
3. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - All I can say is WOW! This is a part of history that I sadly must say I did not know much about. That will be changing. So powerful.
4. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (semi autobiographical) Excited because I really like his other books.
5. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (semi-autobiographical)
6. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (so excited to read this because I loved her other books.) (fiction)
7. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznik (fiction)
8. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (fiction) -this won an award for fiction that moves forward the cause for special needs teens
9. Soldier Bear by Bibi Duman Tak - Fiction, Based on a true story from WWII
10. Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck by Margarita Engle (Nonfiction in verse) She is from Cuba and all of her books are about Cuba's history
11. Heart & Soul: The Story of American and African Americans by Kadir Nelson (Non Fiction with beautiful paintings also done by the author)
12. Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka (So excited for this picture book. The pictures are adorable the the Haikus are hilarious)
13. Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Pupeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet (Non Fiction Picture Book)
14. Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene 'Bull' Connor by Lary Dane Brimmmer Excited to read this and his other "Birmingham Sunday"
15. Drawing From memory by Allen Say (Memoir/auto biographical) Picture Book
16. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Advendture, Heroism & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin (Non Fiction written in the style of a Fiction book) The woman who recommended this book says that she and her husband couldn't put it down.
17. Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World by Allan Drummond (Non - Fiction Picture book)
18. Fatty Legs: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Polikiak Fenton (Non Fiction story about Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's experience in a church run school in Aklavik, Canada)
19. Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom and Science by Marc Aronson & Marina Budhos (Non Fiction)
20. Wheels of Change: How Women rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy (Non Fiction) SO EXCITED!
21. Ubiquitous by Joyce Sidman (Non Fiction, picture book of poems about nature, organisms, plants and animals) Perfect book for boys.

The majority of these books are at the local public library so I will be able to borrow them. The others I will track down eventually. Since the first three books I have read and the two books I have read by authors mentioned here have been awesome I am excited to make my way through this list. I will let you know how Scorpio Races goes. :) Happy Reading!

Our Baton Girl

A month ago Emily was able to pick a treasure from the treasure chest at preschool for her good behavior. She picked out a baton. It was glittery and all that goodness. She has LOVED it. Somehow she and her friend caused a crack in the handle and so it leaks water and glitter. I have been unable to find the tape to close it up so the baton has been up so that I don't worry about the mess. Tonight I came home from the crazy day trip to Boise to find both of my kids asleep. Emily was in her supergirl costume from Halloween. As I moved her upstairs she woke a little and started talking in her sleep. She asked for her baton. Since it still doesn't have tape on it I was worried about what to do. Luckily Emily fell right back asleep. But I glanced at her sparkly pink supergirl outfit and at the glittery baton and I thought what a funny girl she is. She will be able to twirl her baton in her glittery pink outfit. So funny!

Dinner Invitations

It is the running joke in our ward to see how long you can go before getting an invite to dinner at the Palmer house. :) I don't mind. I do like inviting people over. I took advice from my mom when I first moved here. If I wanted to have friends I would have to make the first move. I couldn't sit around and wait for people to initiate. I needed to be the first. It was hard the first year. I felt I spent a lot of time inviting but many didn't come and there wasn't much reciprocation. Then Lorilee moved into my ward last August. By the end of September we were good friends. I had met alot of people in the ward but it wasn't until Lorilee moved in that I started to make friendships. I don't know if it was the security of her friendship or just timing but things began to change. I had stopped inviting people over as often after we got back from Canada. I was just too tired and overwhelmed. But starting in October I started up again. Landon was a wonderful supportive husband who allowed me to invite random people over all the time. And I have now had two people say the same thing after I have invited them over. One was after I had invited Sara, her husband and her adorable son Charlie over for dinner. (Think Ice Age baby and you know what Charlie looks like.) As they were leaving that night she said, "Now I feel like we are apart of the ward. We have friends." Today I invited the Kavans over for dinner. They sit in front of us in primary. Today I thought she might be pregnant but didn't want to ask. I did ask a member of the primary presidency and she didn't know. We laugh all the time with them. I have been meaning to ask them over for awhile. After primary I mentioned that I was sorry the invitation was coming after being in the ward for so long but I was wondering if they wanted to come for dinner. (They moved into the ward in June right after they got married. He is just finishing his counselling degree and she is finishing her social worker internship.) Heidi is usually really quiet but she quickly said, "Yes! What can I bring?" I explained that Landon was leaving after church for three days but what day after Wednesday would work for them. They said next Sunday so we set the date. He then said, "Do you guys actually want to be friends with us? Its felt like all people do is call and ask us to do something and we don't know anyone. We thought that Heidi being pregnant would get us an in since everyone is pregnant." They hadn't had anyone in the ward to share their news with. And she is almost 20 weeks along! I assured them we did really want to be there friends and they will find that lots of other do to. I am so glad that I took my mom's advice and reached out first. I have made many friends and have helped others make connections and friendships. I am not saying this because I think I am better than others I am far from perfect at this. I just want to make sure that I can remember the advice when I start to feel lonely and to pass it on to my kids. The next family on my list is a new family to our ward that is a blended family with 8 kids. Both came to the marriage with 4 kids each (between the ages of 11 and 3). They both have custody so it makes for a full house. His name is Jon so Landon always forgets her name because he wants to call her Kate. Landon even agreed to me inviting them over. Now that is a miracle. :)

Friday and Saturday

On Friday I headed to Idaho Falls for the Idaho Middle Level Conference. It was AWESOME! It was probably one of the best conferences I have ever gone to. I am a better educator because of what I learned. Lots of laughter and lots of great ideas. Not going to bore anyone but it was a lot of fun. Jack Berkemeyer was the keynote and he had me laughing the whole time. He really helped put into perspective what it is to be a middle level teacher. I found out about a great site called whole brain teaching. It has been around for awhile but I wish I had known about it 10 years ago when I first started teaching. It is awesome. Rita was fabulous and took our kids for Friday night so Landon could come stay with me in Idaho Falls. He was leaving for the annual three day fishing trip with his dad and brother on Sunday so it was nice to get some time together before he left. We got some shopping done and had a great dinner together. I am so grateful he is my husband. The conference ended on Saturday at 11:30. We headed back to Pocatello, picked up the kids, bathed the kids, did some grocery shopping, and watched Hugo after a brilliant dinner made by Landon. We will miss him while he is gone but it was a really nice weekend.

Our Little Man

I picked up some new church clothes for Collin. He was loving them this morning. Landon took the pictures on his phone. He forgot to send me the one of Collin playing on the ipod touch. It was priceless. Check out our little man! (I am setting up a hair appointment for Collin as his hair has gotten out of control!)

Mel Hammel

(I swiped the above picture from his daughter's facebook page. I hope that is okay Sally. I just loved how he is singing and smiling. Just the way I will always remember him.)
My Great Uncle, Melvin Charles Hammel passed away today at the age of 88. My dad called me today to let me know. I am so glad I picked up my phone even if it meant I had to leave a meeting. To hear my dad give me the news was the strength I needed to make it through the rest of the day. Uncle Mel became a surrogate grandfather to me after both of my grandfathers passed away when I was 4. He told me a couple of years ago that he felt that the best gift he could give to his best friend Ray (my dad's father) was to look after his family. And he did. Uncle Mel and Aunt Rita are in many of my childhood memories. They came up from California to visit us in BC and Alberta. They even visited me when I was at Utah State University. They were welcoming to my husband at every family reunion. Landon loved sitting and listening to Mel tell stories. I will always remember his voice when he sang. I could listen to him sing for hours or just tell stories. This last November on Veterans Day I felt strongly to write him a letter thanking him for the service he gave during WWII. I talked about what a great influence he was in my life and that I would pass that knowledge on to my children. My parents were able to visit with Mel and Rita a few weeks ago. They went down and spent a week with them. I talked to my dad after the visit and he talked about how wonderful the trip was. How Mel and Rita sat and told stories about my grandparents, their lives, the war, everything. He told me that Mel mentioned how my letter had made him happy because he worries that people will forget the sacrifices made. I am grateful my parents were able to make it down to spend time making a few more memories. Life is so precious and fragile. I know that Mel is up in heaven causing havoc and singing his heart out; waiting somewhat patiently for his wife to join him. I am grateful for the knowledge that I will see him again one day. Thank-you Uncle Mel for your love, your example, and your generosity. My life is better because you have been in it.

Mel and Rita

One of the greatest Love Stories ever and its REAL

The New Teacher

My car made really funny sounds pulling into work yesterday morning. I was really worried about it so I called Landon and asked him to take a look sometime during the day. Halfway through 5th period he came out with the kids. Collin had fallen asleep so he slept on the floor of my classroom (not very comfortable) on top of my jacket. Emily loves coming here and know the routine. She grabbed some change from my wallet and headed down to the vending machine to get cheese and crackers. She is hilarious about having to get food when she comes to visit me. She loves our cafeteria and was sad that we had already had lunch. I had a meeting during 6th hour so the kids were left in my room. I showed Emily where I was for my meeting so she could find me. I found her skipping up and down the hallways just for fun. :) When I got back to my room I found that she had filled in my homeroom's job chart with times copied off the bell schedule. She had also written letters on my board. She told me that she was being a teacher to all the students in my classroom. She asked me to take my seat. She "introduced" me to a few of the students. She got down my globe and started showing "us" different places. She pointed at the Atlantic Ocean and said, "It has an A, a T, and an L and says it is a river." She gave me a stern look when I corrected her and said Atlantic Ocean. When we went to leave she showed me that she had been hiding the letters to her name in the letters she had written on the board. Can you find them? :) She asked if she could stay with me until I was finished with homework lab. She was so excited to spend time with me. Collin was sad to have missed time in my class. He loves it too. On the way home I asked Emily if she was going to become a teacher. She said, "No, I am going to be a dentist and poke needles in people." :) No idea where that came from. (PS Landon took my car across the street to Les Schwab due to the sound came from my wheel well. They rotated the tires and couldn't find anything wrong. Car is running great now. No idea what was going on.) The pictures aren't great because I took them on my cell phone which is old. :)

What is up with us???

Not been very good lately at keeping up with my blog. Life has been coming at us fast and I feel like most days I am just treading water. I hope to be better at this as I keep these as our family journal. So many fun and funny things have been going on and I don't want to forget them. Such as:

The Thor's Hammer Incident
My hammer had gone missing on Friday. I used it to hammer in a nail in the kids room, put it down for a minute and when I turned back to pick it up it was missing. Emily was the only one in the room and she swore she didn't have it. I figured it would come up and forgot about it. On Sunday morning I was getting the kids ready for church (as Landon was down in Utah with family). I had asked Collin a bazillion times to get his shoes on. He was running around as the Hulk. (Wish I'd known that it was a forshadowing for Church) I finally got him into his room and asked him to get his shoes out of the pile in his closet. He looks at me with his hands on his hips and said, "This is a job for Four's (Thor's) hammer!" He goes into the pile of shoes and comes out holding my hammer. I grabbed it from him and doubled over in laughter. That kid cracks me up!

The Family Picture Incidents
Emily is quite a little artist. A few weeks ago in church she drew a family picture. I need to take a picture of it and post it. While she was working on it she asked me for Landon and my "numbers". That is her way of asking you how old you are. I passed on the information which she promptly put on our shirts. She then added hers and Collin's "numbers". I went back to listening to the speaker. Next thing I know she proudly hands me the picture. I see fabulous pictures of each member of our family. Plus three more kids. Yep, three. According to Emily she has a sister Kate who is 5 (from the number on her shirt), a brother named Hashmakaka who is 2 and a baby brother who has no name that is 1. I found out the names when I asked her who the other 3 family members are. This picture was not a one time occurance. My friend subbed for Emily's primary teacher at church and had them draw pictures of their families. Emily drew our family and three more kids. I think she is trying to give me a message. Too bad I'm not listening. (The name Hashmakaka is a running joke between Emily and her dad. It is the name of a camel in a Christmas book my grandmother gave us.)

The Girls Night/Couple Night Incidents
A few weekends ago I really wanted a date night. After talking with Landon we decided to invite a few of our friends to come out with us to dinner and a movie. The Johnsons and the Dances came out to dinner with us. (We got a joint babysitter for all of our kids as we are the only ones who get babysitters on a regular basis). After dinner Landon and I joined the Higbees at Sherlock Holmes. Lots of fun!
Last weekend was my friend Lorilee's birthday. She wanted to have a girls night and a night where her thre closest friends plus their spouse's got together to play games. So Friday night after our ward potluck and the Elders Quorum moved a family I had 13 ladies over to my house for a girls night. We sat around and chatted, giggled, laughed, played games and had lots of fun. For many of the people it was the first time they had hung out together. We all made plans to do it again. Landon is actually encouraging me to do it. He thinks that it was good for all of us. My friend Alicia's husband Blake came over to keep Landon company. Good food and good company equals success.
On Saturday Landon headed down to Utah for some time with his brother and parents. The Johnson's and Dance's came to our house that night for cake, ice cream and games. We hung out for a couple of hours. It was lots of fun even though I did miss Landon. All of our kids played nicely together so fun was had by all. I ordered the cake from a local bakery owned by some of our friends. It was SOOOOO good. We were sad that the Moores couldn't make it as their daughter suddenly was very sick to her stomach.

The Changing Majors Incident
A few weeks into the semester Landon had a life changing experience and coupled with some excellent advice from a school counsellor Landon took a leap of faith and changed majors. I can't remember the name of the program but he will be able to do x-rays, ultrasounds, etc. IT is a bachelor program and ISU has a really great, well rounded program. It only puts him back a year and he is so excited to complete the program. And we are excited for him to. He dropped all but one class and will be going full time this summer.

I will leave this long post now but expect more in the future, especially if I get around to downloading some pictures from my camera. :)

Are you excited???

I sure am!