Merry Christmas with the Raders!

This was a wonderful Christmas Holiday. Moni, Jack and Baby Jack flew in on the 18th from San Diego and spenT a week with us. We jam packed in lots of fun! We went to Kangaroo Jake's where they have inflatable jumpies and lots of space to run. The kiddos loved that! We shopped for soon to be Baby Addison, GIRL CLOTHES ARE SO MUCH MORE FUN TO SHOP FOR! Went to Sloan's 2nd Birthday party where they ate too many cupcakes...Cheered on the Chargers as we kicked butt as usual, went to the park, went to see Christmas lights which normally I think would have been fun but we had to wait in the cold for 30 min to NOT get on an overpriced hayride to see the lights. Not getting a refund was the icing on the cake, but we didn't let it get us down! We loved watching the babies play together, they really bonded this time. Savannah and Jack loved taking baths together and splashing themselves silly. Moni and I were soaked after bath time. Jack is a wonderful cook and made amazing dinners every night. It was hard to let him leave, we'll be back to pizza tonight :) We really loved having them here. The week wasn't long enough.

Christmas Eve was very fun and traditional. We baked and iced cookies for Santa, and left out celery for his Reindeer. We read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" for the 100th and final time until next Christmas. Then Kevin and I helped Santa assemble his gifts for her. She is such a fortunate little girl, the toys filled up the entire living room. She got a giant play kitchen, a vaccuum, and broom (this girl likes to clean!), a Mrs. Potato Head set, a Geotrax train set (this was a hit), a babydoll she can take in the bath, a fire truck and police car that make fun noises, a cookie monster chatter box, and a T ball set. Santa must know how good she was this year. From her Nana and Grandpa Ed she got a doll house, a play table, a Savannah puzzle, a shopping cart, a Blue's Clue's Calendar, and a funny sheep movie. From Grandad and Meme she got a pink horse rocker, a Thomas the Train ride on, another clean up set (I'm telling you she loves to clean), a Choo Choo that puffs smoke and whistles, an Avigo powerwheels bug, and her first kid MP3 player. There were other great things from her aunts and uncles that she loves too including my Pal Scout who already knows her name and fave food, and a Juicy dress! Lets just say our living room is overflowing with toys. Watching her excitement Christmas morning was truly priceless. After she opened her gifts we went over to Michelle and Toms for Breakfast and to exchange gifts there. Then we came home and Savannah promptly passed out in what I'll call a "toy coma", and Kevin passed out in a "food coma". She was definitely overwhelmed with all the toys and excitement. It was a wonderful Christmas, and I'm so sad it's over. I am glad though that Dad and Michelle will be here next Wednesday to ring in the New Year and Celebrate another Christmas! I guess that means we'll keep our Christmas decor up a bit longer!!! Yay!

Savannah and I are flying to Orange County for my Grandma Laura's funeral service on the 4th of January. I'm glad Savannah will get to meet a side of her family she hasn't before. It will be a short trip but seeing everyone will be great. Grandma Laura had a very long and fulfilling life, although she will be dearly missed we know she is in a happier place watching down on us all.

Hope you had a fab Christmas and we wish you a Happy New Year!!

XO The Palmers

Its Snowing, and the Calhoun Christmas Parade!

When we woke up last Saturday morning at a very early 6:45 it was SNOWING! And it wasn't just a little flurry either, it was really snowing! We quickly put on our coats and hats and went outside (which is why Kevin is in shorts and boots ha ha....love you babe!). Savannah was very interested in the big white flakes falling from the sky. We played with her sand toys in the grass, but we didn't have enough for even a snowball. Unfortunately it only lasted an hour or so and then the sun broke through. It was fun while it lasted though!
On Monday I had to leave for Florida for a sales meeting. It was nice to be in 85 degree weather for a change, but I missed Kevin and Savannah SOOO MUCH! Of course the day I left she came down with a horrible sinus infection.So not only did I leave Kevin with Savannah by himself, but I left him with a sick baby! She seemed to get through it ok without any trips to the dr. or meds. I was very proud of him! I was so ready to get home to them Wednesday night, so hopping on an early flight was the icing on the cake! When I got home Kevin had Savannah all bathed, a fire going, he made dinner, and the house was all lit up with Christmas lights. I WAS SOOO HAPPY TO BE HOME!
Tonight we went to the Calhoun Christmas Parade in town. It was FREEZING but we had a lot of fun. All the sports teams, and major business in town parade through. You've got to love the tractors all lit up with lights, what's a small town Christmas parade without a tractor? The 4H club had the cutest lamb on the back of their float. I've never seen a lamb with a curly coat, and Savannah yelled "Moooo" when she saw it. We're still working on our animals, Ha! There is a photo of a float with a big lit up star on it, well moments after I took that shot the star came crashing down (I think it hit the street light). Everyone was ok, but it was amusing. My favorite group was the rescue dogs, they were all walking with their foster parents. Our dogs are lucky they didn't gain a sibling last night!
We're headed to the Georgia Dome tonight to watch Calhoun play Buford for the State Championship! We're all decked out in our Calhoun Gear ready to cheer on Adam and JT! GOOO JACKETS!
Enjoy the pics!
Love, The Palmers

Last Kindermusik class until January...sniffle

Kindermusik was so fun tonight! We're really going to miss it, and can't wait for a new class to start in January! Tonight we played with the parachute which made Savannah so happy, she loved pulling it uppppp.....and down....then BOUNCE! I love watching all the expressions of the kids in there. They really have a ball, Mrs. Tamaney is wonderful and so great with them.

We've made some great friends in the 5 weeks we've been going but one in particular really caught Savannahs eye. His name is Jack and he's the same age as Savannah. Every class they greet eachother and say "hi", sometimes they even hug. I snapped a pic of Jack waving "bye bye" to her last night, I missed the hand holding. But it was precious! Here is a pic of all the kids at the end of the class, they all exchanged gifts and Savannah loved the M&M candy cane, mostly because it rattled really loud. Mommy may have to eat those MMMM.

Love,

The Palmers

Savannah meets her very own Blue!

We are the worst with gifts...in fact ...Im not sure we've ever really been able to surprise one another with something. One of us always ruins it or has to give the gift early. We aren't doing a very good job with Savannah this Christmas either! When a big stuffed Blue from Blue's Clue's came in with his bedtime book, we just HAD to give it to her right away. In our defense we figured Santa had a ton of things to bring so we could give her our gifts a tad bit early. WELL...she LOVED it! Thank goodness Kevin thought to catch the whole thing on film. It was precious! She loves "blueuucuuu", and it was so fun to watch her excitement. Hope you enjoy it too!





Love,
The Palmers

Best Turkey Day Ever!

I'm so sad Turkey Day is over! It was the best long weekend! The house seems eerily quiet now that everyone is gone. I loved having the full house. We had lots of fun going to the lake, riding 4 wheelers, decorating gingerbread houses (my team won woohoo!), Riding the Santa Express, and of course eating lots of turkey!

It was so great to have my Mom, Ed, Michael, and Daniel here. We kept everyone very busy! Savannah loved seeing her uncles, she can be such a flirt. They were so good with her. She stayed very busy showing them all her toys and dances. I hope our next visit is very soon. Grandpa Ed and Nana had a great time spoiling Savannah as well. She sure loves and miss them a ton.

We really loved riding the Santa Express on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, it was a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. It started out with  someone telling us a story about Santa missing the train to the North Pole, and sure enough we saw Santa on the side of the tracks waving. Savannah waved hello and was really excited to see him, it was precious. Then they had us sing "Santa Clause is coming to town" which happens to be Savannahs favorite song, she clapped along. Then suddenly he appeared on our train car! We were in the perfect spot because Savannah was the first to get to see him! He gave out these magical sleigh bells and candy canes and of course lots of hugs. It was super cute. I admit I totally got teary eyed when Santa came on. I remember how much I loved Santa when I was a kid. Santa's buddies also made an appearance on the train, Savannah loved Rudolph's blinky nose. It was such a magical experience. We'll definitely do that every year!
Here is a video link of Savannah seeing Santa for the first time on the train.



I hosted Thanksgiving again and we had 18 people come over! It was SOOOO MUCH easier with Mom and Eds help along with Kevins amazing rotisserie Turkey on the grill. Savannah loved all the turkey sides, and she was quick to learn how to hijack things off the table...like tortilla chips. Ha! We were stuffed of course and quickly fell asleep on the couch watching football. Turkey has a way of doing that.

Enjoy our pics from a truly wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Love,
The Palmers

Lights! Christmas! Action!

Another wonderful weekend here in Calhoun! We had a little more of a wintery/fall mix of weather but we weren't complaining. We got some Christmas shopping done, put lights up on the house,  and played in the leaves! I'm so happy this is a short week, I can't wait for all the fam to arrive!

Love,
The Palmers

Only in the Country...

We had a great weekend basking in the unexpected heat. We had highs of 75, IN NOVEMBER! It was so nice to spend time outside. I decorated the house for Christmas. I know I know it's early but we have Nana, Grandpa Ed, Michael, and Daniel here for Thanksgiving and I wanted everything to be festive! We had to get some new ornaments for the tree since our old ones are glass. I just knew the first thing Savannah would do would be to pick an ornament off the tree and throw it. Sure thing, that's what she did. These are plastic so it just bounced across the hard wood floors thankfully.
We went to Adam and JTs football game on Friday night, BRRRR was it cold. But we made into the 2nd Quarter this time! Savannah loves her #99 sweatshirt, GO ADAM! On Sunday we went to take the trash down to the road. Yes this is an actual event...so I took my camera. Random I know. It just so happened they were plowing the soy beans across the street from our house. The tractor kicked up dust that created the neatest glow in the sunset. I ended up getting some amazing pics of Savannah and her Daddy. Only in the country can you walk across the street to see a combine plowing soy beans...lol. I LOVE IT! Oh and in the last pic, yes that is a snake in Savannahs hand. It's dead, obviously run over a few times by our cars, but it still creeped me out.
Savannah just seems to be growing up so fast, talking ALL the time. She now uses 3 word combos. My favorite is "you sit down" when she wants you to sit next to her. She can clearly say all the dogs names, but still has a clear favorite in marley. Every morning she comes downstairs asking "where's maweee?" then she'll proceed to mimic things I must do each morning. Like saying "Lady you eat" and point to her bowl. She still loves Blue's Clues, and Choo Choo's. We've gotten her some Thomas movies because she loves them so much. She loves to eat, and is doing it all by herself. However, we're still trying to convince her that ketchup is a condiment and not an actual food. She slurps it up then asks for "mo". Lots of fun things going on here. Can't believe Thanksgiving is next week! So happy to have everyone here in Calhoun! Oh and its someones special day today!! Happy Birthday Mom!We love you!!!
Until next week!
Love,
The Palmers