Third Annual Palmer Nativity

I was planning to do the Nativity last Sunday, but we chimed and Wade and Kimberlea wanted to celebrate Dagny and Calista's birthdays and we ran out of time. Claire was so disappointed and so was I. She asked when we were going to do and I told her we would do it today, even though Christmas is over, it's still the holidays and we can still celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

Everyone picked what character they wanted to be except Denya. She always has the starring role of the donkey and wants that to be her role for life. The actors lined up in the kitchen to begin the Nativity and wait for their turn.

Mary is riding the donkey to Bethlehem. You can't see Britta's hand, but she has a dowel stick to prod the donkey forward. The primary song "When Joseph Went to Bethlehem" has  a line that says "He urged the donkey forward then, with Mary on its back" and Britta wanted to make sure we didn't leave that part out. You will also notice Joseph's linen sack of bread and goat cheese that comes from another line in the same song. Three years ago when we did the nativity for the first time, Austin was Joseph and used a little bag for a prop and we have made it a tradition each year. 

The little family makes it to Bethlehem,

and baby Jesus is born! Everyone is so happy!

The angel brings the good news to the shepherd. Notice he carries his sheep in his pocket.

The star appears to guide the shepherd to the baby Jesus.

The shepherd worships the baby Jesus along with Joseph and Mary.

The wise men give their gifts to the baby.

The cutest wise men I ever saw!

I love how Millie looks like she is praying for the new family!

It makes me so happy that the grandkids like to dress up and act out the nativity story. I hope this becomes a tradition and a memory they will cherish.

After the play we sang some Christmas songs. We were only planning to sing a few, "Away in a Manger," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and "Silent Night," but we had so much fun we sang for almost half an hour! We sang some Primary songs that the kids knew and then some more from the hymn book.  We ended with "Angels We Have Heard on High," and the grandkids didn't know the words but they caught on quickly to the "Gloria" part and just sang their little hearts out. I was filled with joy and love and it brought a little tear to my eye. Music really brings the spirit to me and my family is so musical, which I am so grateful for. It was such a fun night to be with my family remembering the night Christ was born. I couldn't ask for more. This was my favorite moment of the Christmas holiday.

Celebrating Dagny's and Calista's Birthday

I bought this Barbie cake pan a few weeks ago thinking it would be fun to have for birthdays since we have so many girls. I had one when Denya was little, but I can't find it and don't remember what happened to it. I planned to experiment with it, ya right! When do I have time for that?? So I was a little leery about using it today for TWO birthdays, but Britta said she would help me. And it turned out so cute!! Britta did all of the decorating.

Any girl would be ecstatic to have this cake!

Calista was in awe of the candles.

Dagny is ready to get this party started! She was so excited when she saw the cake and was running around the house shouting that she had a princess birthday cake.

The cute birthday girls are ready to eat! It is Grandma Palmer's sour cream chocolate cake, so we know it is going to be delicious!

The best part of birthdays are the presents!

Dagny had seen this animal playset in a catalog and she told me several times that she wanted it for her birthday. She was pretty excited when she saw what it was.

Calista waited so patiently for her turn. She was pretty gentle and didn't rip the paper.

A unicorn shirt with a headband! She wanted to put the headband on right away.

There were lots of oohs and aahs from the girl cousins when they saw Elsa. I think "Frozen" and "Frozen 2" is every girls favorite movie right now.

A big present for a little girl. After being told not to open presents under the tree for a couple of weeks, she is so excited to finally get to open some. She was soft and gentle on the first gift or two, now she knows what to do.

This was from Grandpa and I, some little dolls and boats to have in the tub and a puzzle.

Matching nightgowns for Dagny and her doll.

This picture and the following ones were taken on Monday, their actual birthday. Dagny got some ballet clothes. She wore this outfit most of the day and spent a lot of time twirling, leaping, and standing on her tip toes. I wish I could sign her up for dancing, I know she would love it so much. Maybe after Covid ends, which I hope is soon!!

Dagny is very girly and loves dresses, skirts, and getting her nails painted. I gave her this outfit for her birthday. She has been so excited to turn 6 and has talked about her birthday non stop since the beginning of December. Unicorns and princesses are still are favorite things. She likes to color, draw, and jump on the trampoline. Goulash or spaghetti is her first choice for dinner.

 The birthday girls! Calista's favorite things are stuffed animals, books, and pushing a doll in a stroller. She is a fruit fanatic and loves all fruit and string cheese. I'm so lucky/blessed to have them be such a big part of my everyday life!

Labor Day

It seems so strange not to be in Malad for the Palmer Reunion on Labor Day weekend. I'll take a wild guess from out of nowhere and say it's probably been 10 years or more since Keri put the first one together. It's also a little strange to be empty nesters. I'm thankful the grandkids come every day to give me some company, and it's only been one week, but the house seems empty during the evenings. 

Britta had some spare time this summer and she likes to keep busy, so she sanded the playhouse. It needs to be primed and painted before winter, so today was the perfect time to start working on that. The primer is a gray color.

The plan was for Delwyn to get me started and then he was going to work on some other things outside.

The wood is so dry that is really soaks up the primer and one roller full doesn't go very far. I don't like to paint, but I was thinking this would be somewhat fast and easy since no taping is required and it's outside so no worrying about drips.

It did roll on pretty quickly, but we ran out of primer because the wood is so dry.

We got the front and one side done is all. There is also a wasp nest inside the wall facing the fence, and several wasps were swarming around a crack in the top where they get in. Delwyn wanted to work on the sprinkler system out front, so he didn't want to take the time to go to the store for more primer and wasp spray. I guess we'll be doing this again next Saturday.

I ran to Landon's for a minute and when I came home I saw a most wonderful sight!! Water was sprinkling across the lawn!! Who would have guessed that a girl would get so happy over that?? It's not totally hooked up, but all you have to do is hook the hose up to the pipe and most of the front lawn gets watered. Hurray!!

 We got burritos from Santiago's for dinner, one of our favorite take out meals. Some restaurants are open for dining at 50 percent capacity so there is 6 feet between tables and diners, but we just pick food up and eat at home when get dinner. It's been a fun and productive day!

Austin's Stock Tank Pool

Stock tank pools are a hot idea right now. Lots of people want outdoor pools since swimming in public pools is so limited because of the pandemic. It's impossible to find pools and trampolines since all people can do for fun is go outside and everyone wants to make their yards more enjoyable. When you live in Elizabeth and the closest public pool is 30 minutes away, it makes even more sense to have your own pool. Austin and Melissa both love water and swimming, so this is perfect for them! They invited us (Dagny, Lincoln, and I) over to swim one afternoon. Austin managed to sneak out without the kids seeing him and got some time to himself to relax.

What fun! They have all the pool toys to go with it--floaties, noodles,  beach balls, and goggles.

There was plenty of room for everyone. I didn't realize the adults were also swimming, next time I will bring my swimming suit!

So much fun for everyone!

Austin sent me this picture when he got the tank and was just starting to set it up.

He's worked really hard getting it all fixed up with a little deck, some chairs, rock, edging, and signs. He also has a place to hang towels. It's all so fancy and nice!

Austin covers the pool with bubble wrap when they aren't using it and it works to keep the water warm. He's got an idea to make a solar panel heater with some black pipe to heat it even better.

Lincoln got out of the pool for awhile to swing,

but the girls stayed in the pool all afternoon.

Best summer day!

It was almost 5:00 pm when they finally decided to be done for the day. Perfect deck chairs to relax and dry off.

 Then it was inside for popsicles. What a perfect summer day! Sure love these cute people!