Greer-Property-Camp and Boys Night!!!

Here are a few things that we have been doing the past few weeks! We bought a piece of land with my parents and we have been fixing it up and are preparing to build a duplex. I am kind of scared but it will be a fun adventure for us. We also had a boys night (plus me) with the nephews that live in Thatcher. We had a ball! I just had to put this picture on because the boys were so excited to help with dishes!! Gotta love those boys!

Steven went to be with his family up at Greer for a week. I was at girls camp and I couldn't go but he said he had a ball! They were playing pit/spoons and if you didn't grab a spoon then you had to get eyeliner markings on your face! Steven and his younger brothers were in charge of cleaning up one of the meals while at the cabin and his younger brothers had no idea how to wash the dishes without a dishwasher! So Steven showed them how and fortunatley they were able to learn!

Girls camp was very fun and I loved being able to get to know the girls better!! We stayed up in Alpine and it was beautiful up there! We have a lot of great girls and I am glad I am in young womens!

Steven and I are trying to be better with our food storage so we decided to get chickens! I can't believe I wanted to get them because growing up we had them and I hated them so much. You would have to duck to get into the coup and thentry and grab the eggs which usually are covered in poop. They stunk like crazy and I really didn't like to clean out their water. I guess things hange when it's your own home and your own family you are trying to help.Here are two of the mom chickens. They have about 6 babys under them in this picture. It is amazing how they protect their chicks. They really gather them under their wings and protect them from everything! Sometimes we see the chicks sitting on top of the moms its really kind of cute.
We had a rough few days this week because our swamp cooler wasn't working and it was about 100 degrees outside. I was dying of heat and when you are hot you don't want to do a thing, so I would just sit by the fan and watch tv. Finally we figured out what was wrong. We had to get a new pump and new pads and now it is working like a charm!
I really love this time of year because everything is green and pretty! I love working out in the yard!! Just like with the chickens I hated having to work all day saturday when I was young, but now that it's my own house I love being outside planting, mowing, and just making our yard look good. I just love working with Steven to make our home better! I love you Steven!!!
p.s. Thanks for fixing the swamp cooler!!!

YAY!!! WE HAVE A LAWN MOWER!!

For the past year Steven and I have had to borrow a lawn mower and a weed eater every time we need to mow our lawn. Since our lawn grows so quickly we had to borrow one once a week and it was just a pain. It was a pain for us and a pain for my grandparents and in-laws. So since we have been saving some money (hence me riding my bike and Steven sometimes going with out lunch) we were able to get a lawn mower. FYI.. Steven does eat lunch most days, don't think I am a bad wife! We were so excited to finally have one of our own!! So we broke it in last night! Steven put it together and then he went to town cutting our lawn and it worked wonderfully!!! Our weedeater is also a plus! Now we don't have to call someone every week and ask if we can borrow their lawn mower!!

Steven and I have been trying to save money and like you all know it is kind of difficult to do. It always seems like something comes up and then you are spending again. Well I decided that I would try and ride my bike to work everyday. I have only been doing it for a few days now and it actually is kind of fun. I really don't like to ride it when the wind is blowing and that happens a lot here. I get a lot of funny looks but oh, well. I'm not sure if I can ride it in the summer because then it will be to hot! Steven and I have gone on a few bike ride together and that has really been fun. I used to love going on bike rides with my family! Hopefully I will be able to stick with it for awhile! Heck, maybe I will get nice legs out of this!!!

We just can't get enough of the roping at the Palmer's! We love being out there riding horses and roping. I thought I would try it this time and it was a blast. Of course I was more worried about staying on the horse then actually catching the cow!! Steven was doing fabulous out there! He really doesn't like the cowboy stuff but he is pretty good at it. Steven is done with school this week and he is so excited. He will get his associates degree this friday and I am so proud of him for reaching this first step. We are one step closer to getting done with school! We both will go back to school in august. We have decided to stay in Pima for one more year and then we will head to ASU.

Swimming in the Canal

Steven and I went horse back riding on Saturday with my sisters and his brother Levi. Afterwards we decided we would take a little swim in the canal! It was filthy water but a lot of fun! We had three of our nephews jump in with us and we just had a ball! Steven forgot to take his phone out of his pocket so he no longer has a phone! We love the summer time and can't wait for more swimming!

Cowboy UP!!!

We love going over to Steven's parent's house because there is so much to do! Steven loves being with his brothers. This is Steven out at his parents roping with his brothers! He did an awesome job. They all take turns either riding or driving the four wheeler. My little sister and I tried it to and it was very difficult. I was more worried about staying on the horse then roping the cow!

Steven's brother Levi just got his mission call to australia and he leaves in August. We are very excited for him and I know he will do a great job!!

Painting our house!

Sometimes we wish that life would stay still for just a moment but it doesn't work that way.You just have to get up and keep moving even it might be hard. We miss our sweet Aubrey terribly but we know she is watching over us.

Steven and I have been trying to stay busy this past month. I got a job at the Pima town hall working as a receptionist. I work only four hours a day which is nice because I still have my time to get things done at the house. Steven is still working for PLS and really enjoying it. He is getting really excited to be done with school for the semester.

We had been saving our money for awhile now to paint our house, so we finally did it. I don't know how much I like the color but oh, well, It looks much better then it did. We are enjoying the weather here in Pima. It is so nice to go outside and sit on the porch or work in the yard.

We just want all of you to know we appreciate so much your prayers in our behalf. We sure have felt a strength not of our own the past few months. We are so blessed to have so many great friends and family members that love and support us! Thank you so much!!

Do it anyway!!

Kami and I have had the hardest, most wonderful week of our lives! Our sweet baby, Aubrey has joined our family! On Thursday morning, we had another ultrasound. We were excited to find out Aubrey's progress over the last week. She was expected to be about 4 lbs and possibly breach. We brought my sister and my mom to the sonogram to show them first hand how adorable she is. Well the ultrasound tech came in and took just a few pictures and then left the room. At this point we knew something wasn't right. The doctor came in and informed us that our Aubrey had passed on. Kami was 39 weeks along. They told us that we would need to deliver as soon as possible. Later that day, Kami was admitted into the hospital. They began to iduce her at 11:00 pm and at 7:25 Friday morning beautiful, sweet Aubrey was born! (4.2 lbs 17 and 1/2 inches) She truly was beautiful! She has Kami's chin and nose and my, well, she was pretty much all Kami! Which was lucky for her! Kami did so well during labor and delivery! She was and continues to be my hero and my inspiration! We were able to keep Aubrey with us for about 7 hours. During that time, my family and her family were able to come in and see and hold her and feel of her spirit. We felt so strongly that as we held her beautiful little body, her spirit was also with us. I have no doubt that that is true. Seeing Kami hold her the way that she did confirmed to me that few mothers have ever loved their children as much as Kami loves Aubrey! Saturday afternoon, we had a graveside ceremony for Aubrey. We had planned on immediate family only being there. However, we had many close friends from Pima and Mesa show up and we were so grateful for their love and support. The ceremony was beautiful! Aubrey was and will always be an inspiration to all who knew her and knew of her. When we got back to my in-laws, after the ceremony, we (especially the gradkids) wrote letters to Aubrey and sent them to her by attaching them to balloons and releasing them. It was, as I said, the hardest, most wonderful week of our lives. I miss you Aubrey! I will never forget the time that we spent together for the 9 months you were in your mothers belly and the time we spent with you after you were born! I love you and your mom loves you! We will do all that is in our power to return to be with you for ETERNITY!

Aubrey Ruth Palmer