Smoke & Patch

Here are the newest Palmer family members. Smoke and Patch. Jon and I have been talking about getting Kate a new cat since Silver disappeared earlier this year. It was only a matter of time. The debate came down to getting two older cats from PetsMart that needed a home or these free kittens I heard about through a neighbor a few weeks ago. The kittens won. As much as I love the idea of giving older cats a much needed home, we were worried that the adult cats wouldn't adjust well to the dogs, Ginger (Ben's cat) or the kids. Our kids have high expectations for their animals. Cats who don't play dress-up or 'baby' would not be appreciated in this house.

Will has been asking for his own cat for a long time now. He saw the picture of 'black and white kitty' and wanted him immediately. "I name it Patch" he said. I love it. I don't know where he came up with that name, but it fits perfectly. Patch is mostly black with a few white patches and one black patch on one of his white paws. Will keeps asking if he gets to keep Patch, it's almost like it's too good to be true for him. It's very sweet. He could not be happier.

Kate our cat whisperer. She is so happy to have a baby kitten to take care of. She named him Smoke but we keep waiting for the name to change to Silver, since he looks very much like her, but Smoke has stuck so far. Of the two Smoke seems much friendlier and more outgoing. He's not afraid of the dogs, or Ginger, and will jump in your lap for nap as soon as you sit down. A perfect kitten for our animal lover. I must admit, Kate really does have a way with animals. I've never really seen anything like it. I hope she follows her dream of being a vet, she would be so good at it.

Kate got Smoke to sleep in Silver's cat bed within minutes of bringing him home. It was rather amazing and earned her the title of Cat Whisperer.

Ben is enjoying the kittens as much as their 'owners' and can't wait for Ginger to start playing with them. Ginger isn't so sure about this whole thing so it may take some time but she'll come around and eventually be happy to have some playmates in the house. Of course now that three of the kids have their own cats we will be getting another one once Camryn is old enough to realize she's the only one 'without'. "Titty" is her new favorite word. She's been saying over and over again since we brought Smoke and Patch home yesterday, I'm sure it won't be long before she puts her other favorite word in front of it: "Mine Titty" ... but she'll have to wait at least another year before she gets her own.

Mom Gets Away ...

Our Maine vacation was kicked off with a girls night away for yours truly. It was not only fabulous to see my oldest and dearest friends, but it was absolutely wonderful to enjoy dinner and breakfast with adults at a leisurely pace. Kristin, Jaim and Jess met me at the airport where I kissed my family goodbye and headed off to the coast of Maine. Mal was waiting for us at the Terrace By the Sea, soon after Lauren arrived and then Mis. (It had been three years since I last saw Missi! With her in Montana and me in North Carolina our paths rarely cross.) [From left to right: Missi, Jessica, Lauren, Kristin, Jaime, Me and Mallory.]It was about 3:oo in the afternoon and we had no agenda. Ah, it was so nice. Ogunquit is a quaint little town with great food, cute shops and wonderful ocean views. We treated ourselves to a lazy lunch, had a few drinks and relaxed. It was fabulous! That night we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at The Front Porch, after stuffing our faces we ventured upstairs to be entertained by the colorful locals at the piano bar. Can't say I've ever been to a bar that specialized in show tunes before. Needless to say, great times were had by all!
Here are the seven of us in the spring of 1993 ~ the year we graduated from high school. As much as we all cringe when we look at this (because we KNOW we look so much better now), we are all so thankful to Mal for making us get it done. Check out the hair. I guess it was the 'in' thing to have long hair, but really did we ALL need to have the same 'do'?? So funny. I do love this picture though. We had all been through so much together by the time our senior year rolled around, most of us have known each other since elementary school ... and now some sixteen years later we've grown up, moved away but are still just as close, if not closer in some ways, then we were back then. Some of us, myself not included, are now sisters-in-law ~ how crazy is that?!?!! And all but three of us married guys we went to high school with. Strange. After our relaxing night away we decided to start saving for a big 40th birthday celebration somewhere fabulous. We have six years to save and agree on a place to vacation ~ that should gives us just enough time to come up with all sorts of crazy plans! No matter where we end up, it's bound to be loads of fun!

If you have any connections in New England you are more than well aware of the constant rain they have had there this summer. We had a few nice days, but for the most part it was cool and rainy. This picture is pretty much what it looked like the entire time we were on vacation. It would have been much more enjoyable to have some sun, but lucky for us, we had summer to come back to here in NC. At least the deary weather made for some nice beach shots!

Over the River and Through the Woods ....

Here are some highlights from our road trip to Kentucky. The drive is a long 500 miles through the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky but it was beautiful. The kids were great (most of the time) thanks to 'Ma' sitting in the back keeping them busy, even reading to them while we twisted through the Great Smokey Mountains. We had so much fun visiting with my Lococo family and celebrating Mom's 60th birthday. Cory and Craig even flew in for the day to surprise Mom at her party! Big Thank Yous to Aunt Kathy and Aunt Barbie for doing all the work, cooking all the food and hosting us for the weekend. We love you and miss you all!

Tunnel through the Smokey mountains.

Playing at Great Grandma's house with Aunt Barbie, Ma and Grandma.




Three generations!

Cory and Craig about to surprise Mom.

Aunt Kathy presenting the cake to the Birthday Girl. (Will's expression cracks me up!)

Birthday Boy!

Today is Ben's SEVENTH birthday. (I really don't see how I am possibly old enough to have a seven year old). Ben invited all the boys from his kindergarten class over to swim for the afternoon to celebrate with him. What a great group of boys. What a great day!!

The Birthday Boy!

The gang being goofy before the 'long jump contest'.

Taking a break and having a snack with his buddies.

Excited about the 'loot'!

Snuggles after a tiring day, he's almost too big to sit on my lap anymore.

Silver Glitter Butterfly Jase Palmer

That's what Katie named her kitty when she first laid eyes on her. Kate was 3 1/2 at the time and the kitten just a few months old from what we could tell. A pair of sister kittens had found their way to my moms house looking for a good home. Mom brought them to us. We had lost Monroe right before Christmas that year and our house was 'catless' at the time. Once we saw them we were hooked. Silver was beautiful and Ginger (as Ben named his) had the most unique markings I have ever seen. They turned out to be the best cats. Silver would let Katie do anything to her and always slept in these 'beds' that Kate made. Kate loved her with ALL her heart. Sadly Silver disappeared about a month ago. We all miss her very much, especially Katie. She really was a sweet kitty. I sent out a neighborhood wide email but no one has seen her. It was about this same time last year that both cats were bitten by copperhead snakes (and survived thanks to the vets and us willing to empty our bank account!). I have a feeling she found another baby copperhead to play with but this time didn't make it home in time. Rest In Peace sweet kitty.

The look on Silver's face makes me laugh!

It's so funny to look back at these pictures of Katie ~ she never had any clothes on!

Funny thing about Silver. She always climbed the artificial Christmas tree I put up in the foyer, she would climb to the top and sleep there for hours. She never tried it with the real tree in the family room. Maybe she knew they were more likely to fall over!

Mom of the Year

I screwed up. Big time. I won't be getting any Mom of the Year awards this year, heck after this they won't even let me run for it. Kate's dance rehearsal and recital were this past Friday and Saturday night. After the swim meet on Friday, we grabbed some dinner and headed over to Ovens Auditorium. Kate and her dance class were on stage at 8:15 tapping away to "Wee Rockettes." It was adorable of course. We decided to bring the entire family, Ma included, to see Kate on stage on Friday at rehearsal because it's much more laid back and casual. The kids can run around while the parents take pictures and videos etc. It's a good thing we did. Katie never made it on stage the following night. And it was all my fault.

Kate posing before we left for rehearsal.

Showing me how to do it.

My pretty little thing.

On stage. This is her favorite move. I think she calls it the 'rock back' ??

Tapping away (but keeping her eyes glued to her teacher).

So what happened you ask? I thought she was on stage at the same time Saturday night as she was Friday night. I had it written on the calendar. I had even sent an email to the director of the dance studio inquiring as to why a four year old class was on stage so late. I never once questioned it. 8:15 both nights. Saturday night was supposed to be a very special night for Kate. Jon and I were going to spend the evening with just her, something we rarely do. We left here at 4:00, stopped at Micheals to get some extra tulle for her tap shoes, and then had a nice relaxing dinner at Charlies in Cotswold. Katie was really enjoying being the only child for a night. After dinner we headed over to Ovens to watch some of the sets before hers. We got there at 6:15. Plenty of time before she had to be on stage. I took her into the bathroom, got her changed into her costume and headed back stage to find her class. I couldn't find them anywhere. Starting to wonder what was going on we walked around looking for them. Then I heard it. "We are the Wee Rockettes" ... coming from on stage. My heart sank. Oh, no! Did we just miss her routine? We met up with her class as they were coming off stage. It was 6:30. Katie took one look at them, looked up and me and the tears started flowing. It was awful. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Apparently she was supposed to be on stage at 6:15 Saturday night. I had no idea. We missed it by a few minutes. It was horrible. I'm not sure which one of us cried more. We ended up staying for the rest of the show, went out for ice cream, got a book at Joseph Beth and went home. On the way home Kate said "This was a really fun day!" I'm glad she's over it and has forgiven me completely. I wonder how long it will take me to forgive myself??? I'm the worst mom ever.

Katie 'Phelps'

Ben and Kate joined our neighborhood swim team this year. They are in the youngest age group called the 'shrimpers' consisting of 5 to 7 year olds. Their first mock meet was held yesterday to prepare them for the first real meet next Thursday. Kate has always been a natural in the water, but we had no idea she was this fast and competitive! When she jumped in yesterday and started swimming I was in complete awe. She has never had a swim lesson or any 'instruction' in the water. She not only won her heat, but placed second over all! Check her out ~ isn't she amazing?!?! I would love for Kate to stick with swimming as a sport!