Douglas County Parade

Austin's family and I are the only Palmers at the parade this year. Delwyn had to go to work at the last minute, and so I decided to ride my bike since parking is always so hard. I parked at Festival Park and it was fabulous! I just might have to ride my bike every year. We were lucky and got a place in the shade next to the City Building. Millie and Maddie waited in a chair for the parade to start.

When the first entry came by, Melissa decided to give Maddie a perfect view.

The Veterans always start the parade with the flag. We love America!

Millie loves horses, so she was excited to see these policeman and sheriffs on horseback.

There were also some policemen on bikes.

I thought this was a cute float with all the balloons and kids.

I just had to take a picture of this entry since the boys have become so interested in shooting and go to this range quite often.

The kids get lots of candy, and Maddie decided it was time to sample something.

Yay for Douglas County! Go Republicans! I love all the red, white, and blue.

I don't remember this being in the parade before. Cute frog!

I love the old fashioned clothes. I wonder if I would have liked them as much if I had been alive back then and had to wear dresses and big petticoats every day.

I'm not sure who this is, but the girls got a kick out of the green man with no face.

This is a fun entry every year. The big balloons are so impressive.

A throw back in history. Looks fun for a summer ride, but I'm really grateful for cars that can take us places so quickly.

I really enjoy listening to the band, the music gets your blood flowing and makes you want to get up and dance.

Perucussion! Makes me think of Ryan even though he's not in the band anymore.

The football players are always on the purple school bus. Love it!

I just loved this!! I'm not sure why. The old farmer was so cute! I have a soft spot for farmers since that is part of my heritage.

At the end of the parade, Camille sat down to check out her candy. She had a lot!

Cute Claire!

What a fun time at the parade with my girls!

Hiking the Castle Rock

I have been wanting to hike the Castle Rock with the kids for quite awhile, but have been a little hesitant to go without another adult. So happy Britta is here to go with me!

Here we go!

Dagny was a mountain goat and was eager to run ahead. Lincoln wanted to hold Britta's hand.

I love to look out over the town from up here.

It feels like you can see forever, the horizon is so pretty with the mountains.

We made it to the top! We were ready to rest on a rock! The kids did great! There were a couple of stumbles, quite a bit of hand holding, but no scraped knees or falling down. 

The happy hikers! 

We were almost to the top when we got a text that the trek kids would be home and at the Stake Center in an hour. They made good time and are a couple of hours ahead of schedule. It took us more than half an hour to get up and will probably take about the same to get down. We didn't want Ryan to be waiting for someone and get grumpy, so we just headed back down. I was a little sad that we couldn't walk around the top and climb on the rocks, but we have plenty of summer left and will have to do this again soon!

Britta's Homecoming Party

Britta was looking through my closet and saw this really old dress that I have. She really liked it and wanted to wear it to on the day she gives her homecoming talk, so she did! She took the shoulder pads out so it wouldn't look so boxy and said it would have been the perfect mission dress. 

Britta and Ryan took quite a few pictures together on Sundays the past few years, so we here's to  keeping with tradition.

I'm so glad this girl is home! Just for fun I've been growing my hair out while Britta was on her mission. She was always begging me to let it grow when she was a teenager and wanted to see how I would look with longer hair. I don't think my hair has been this long since I was 12 years old! Some days I like it and some days I don't.

Girls always want to do this leg kick pose,

and Ryan wanted in too, so here they are!

Britta loves parties and social gatherings and she wanted to have an open house to celebrate her return. It was quite cloudy all afternoon and even rained a very few drops. We were a little nervous we would have to move the party inside, but the skies cleared and it was perfect weather by the time we were starting at 6 pm. I was so happy because I really, really wanted to have it outside.

She was calling this event a "Swedish Fika" so she printed this definition and framed it:

A moment of quality time to savor with oneself or others, accompanied by a hot beverage and sweets. We didn't have a hot beverage, but we spent all day yesterday baking some Swedish treats.

We used the Swedish flag as part of the tablecloth and I thought it looked so cute.

Swedish cinnamon rolls are quite different from American ones. They don't have frosting or raisins, they aren't as sweet, and they have cardamon in the filling. They were good though.

These thumbprint cookies with raspberry jam were probably my favorite. The cookies are buttery and the jam adds the perfect touch of sweetness.

In Sweden they serve brownies with real whipped cream and fruit. The brownies are a deep chocolate and are chewy. I loved them too! According to Britta, Swedish desserts in general just aren't as sweet as American baked goods.

Lincoln couldn't wait for the party to start! He's ready to sample the treats.

I love these sister missionaries and was so happy they stopped by. Sister Millich and Sister Godwin are getting transferred. This was Sister Godwin's first area and she has been crying all day to leave Castle Rock. To me that is a sign of a good missionary--she has gotten involved and loves the people here. Good luck to both of them! The areas they are going to are lucky to have them.

Britta went with them on a few visits and teaching appointments. They all love the gospel and take any opportunity to share their testimonies.

We've had them over for dinner quite a few times, and Sister Godwin wanted a picture with the whole family. She is so sweet, I just love her!

The party was half over when I realized I wasn't taking any pictures--how did that happen?? Too busy talking, I guess. Some of Britta's friends came by, Eve Crawford, Jake and Aspyn Cavanaugh, to name a few.

Here are the Lewis' and the Blanches.

Of course the Porras family. They are practically Britta's second family.

Preston Blanch shows his baby to Sam Sheridan.

And we love the Olson family!

Britta catches up with Christen Olson and his sisters.

A fun time visiting with friends and welcoming Britta home.

Swimming with Britta

Britta said one of the things she missed most while she was on her mission was swimming, so today we took the kids to the town pool (Burgess) at Centennial Park. The kids had fun on the slide and in the zero depth area and then we took them into the deeper water. It's only 3 or 4 feet deep, but that's deep for little kids. It was really fun since we had one adult to one child. We took them for rides on our back, pulled them forward by the arms, and tried to get them to float, but that was a no go. When you take kids swimming, you do more splashing than swimming. I think Britta missed swimming laps, not swimming with the kids, but she was a good sport to play with Dagny and Lincoln. I didn't take may pictures since we were both swimming most of the time, but it was a great afternoon at the pool!