Everyday Moments

September 9th

The CAPOOT (Collins Area People On Old Tractors) Tractor Ride is one of Chris' favorite days of the year. The ride this year didn't disappoint, but was a tad dusty. Zach got to ride into town with Chris and partway back to Great Grandma's. After the dinner in Collins, we headed to the farm to see lambs & ride vroom vrooms! Both of my boys were in heaven.

September 8th

Saturday we headed to Mimi & Papa's to watch the ISU/Iowa football game. It wasn't pretty to watch, but a win is a win! We had a great time cheering for the Cyclones and enjoying the most impressive game day food spread to date. Although the football teams didn't bring their A games, the Palmers/Huntrods did!

...this is what a 3 year old who didn't nap all day because he was worried he would miss the excitement looks like by 6pm...

September 7th

Friday night we went to Claxton's in Altoona to celebrate Papa H's birthday. Zach had my little camera and took lots of interesting pictures. Happy Birthday Daddy! I hope you had a special day!

September 4th

Zach is playing Fall Wee Ball in Altoona and Tuesday night was his first practice. There are only 6 or 7 kids on his team and no coach. The parents take turn helping, so it will be quite interesting! His games are at Lions Park in Altoona at 5:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in September...no Saturdays because of football season.

Tuesday, Sept 11th at 5:30pm
Thursday, Sept 13th at 5:30pm
Tuesday, Sept 18th at 5:30pm
Thursday, Sept 20th at 5:30pm
Tuesday, Sept 25th at 5:30pm
Thursday, Sept 27th at 5:30pm

September 3rd

Happy Labor Day! We spent a beautiful morning at Lake Red Rock just hanging out and playing in the sand. I love laid back family days!

September 2nd

Sunday Chris worked at the Hy-Vee Triathlon. Zach and I had a quiet morning at home making this big fort, which we later decided was a castle. It's amazing the games you can come up with if you are tired and just want to lay around!

September 1st

This year we got season tickets to the ISU football games. We had a great time Saturday cheering the Cyclones on to victory over Tulsa! Zach loved tailgating (eating his brownies!) with Mimi & Papa and the bounce house and face painting with the Lil' Cyclone Club. Go State!

August 31st

Friday afternoon I got off work around 2:30 to kick start the holiday weekend. I headed to Hy-Vee and blissfully shopped by myself for 45 minutes before I picked up Zach. When we got home, we starting preparing food for Saturday's tailgate. I made taco pasta salad, low carb BBQ pulled chicken, no carb buns, zucchini chips, and a cucumber & onion salad. Zach made brownies. He cracked the eggs, measured the water and oil (with a little help from me), and stirred them all by himself. He was SO proud of the brownies! He of course had to taste test the badder at least 5 times. He is his mama's boy!

August 30th

Going along with my week of avoiding actual work and sitting at my desk...Thursday I bagged food for Meals for the Heartland at Vets. It was fun and so exciting to think of all of the places the meals we were creating would end up. Sometimes we forget how blessed we are to live in an area with a safe and reliable food supply.

August 29th

This has been quite the interesting week. Tuesday I visited a Pioneer production plant in Dysart to learn more about final field inspection and spotting soybean offtypes. I, Sara Marie Palmer, walked a bean field in steal-toed boots and a high vis hat looking at bean plants in 90 degree heat. I didn't even scream when I saw a spider and a ton of snake holes. Wednesday I spent the day at the Farm Progress Show. Who am I becoming? haha I actually had a fun time at the show and got a TON of awesome free stuff. My favorite part of the show was the inflatable combine bounce house and the Pioneer photo booth!

August 26th

Sunday night at Craig & Peggy's the boys found a toad. While the toad may be unremarkable, the fact that they shared and got along so well all night was! Love those two! (Zach & Noah...not the toad!)

August 25th

My boys sharing a Peanut Butter Cup snack

August 24th

Zach and I have been talking about Halloween for weeks. I LOVE that he is excited about it as I am. Friday night after work we stopped at Party City to see if they had their costumes out yet (they do!). We spotted a plain white mask and he asked what superhero that was for. I told him it could be for any superhero; that you could paint it or color it any way you wanted. He was so excited about the idea. We brought it home and this weekend he started working on his creation. He is also obsessed with paper punches, so he added some paper-punched pumpkins and circles to it with glue all by himself. He calls it "Pumpkin Man" and thinks it is really scary. I love his creativity!

August 23rd - 1st Day of Preschool

Thursday was the first day of preschool for Zach. Chris and I both took the morning off so we could take him and pick him up together. Normally the teachers will be waiting outside for the kids but today they wanted the parents to walk them in and get them settled. The first 5 minutes everyday they can play with items from the puzzle station. Zach played for 1 minute and looked and Chris and I and said "When are you going to leave?" There are 11 kids in his class, 9 boys and 2 girls. Lillian, Carter, Monti, Deakon, Topher, Ayden, JJ, Trenton, Rory, Aurelia, and Zach. When we picked him up, he was kind of a zombie so he must have been stimulated the whole time. His favorite part was bouncing a basketball by shaking a big parachute outside. We got an email from the teacher that he did wonderful and was a great listener. I took a ton of pictures (imagine that!), but it felt like a big day! Chris and I are so proud of how brave Zach did. I teared up only once when another little boy in the class started crying for his mom.

August 22nd

A couple of weeks ago we set out to Ashton Park to take some pictures of Zach to celebrate starting Preschool. We took an old vintage school desk that my Uncle David bought for Kyle & I when the Collins school closed. The 12 year old me thought it was cool to write the names of all the boys my friends and I liked on top with permanent marker, so I had to refinish it. Our plan it to take pictures of Zach every year before school starts with this desk to see how he grows and changes. I can't wait to see a 10th grade Zach sitting on top of the desk giving me a look of embarrassment...but I love a tradition! (He is holding up a 3 since he is 3 years old)

August 20th

Monday was the annual Dog Swim at the Altoona Aquatic Center. Zach had fun swimming with Couper, Gracie, and Rami.

August 19th

It's beginning to feel like football season! Sunday was ISU's Fan Fest. There were a TON of people there, but we managed to see Cy and QB Steele Jantz. We also did a bunch of shopping at the bookstore, which was my favorite part! Go State!

August 17th

Chris was out of town this weekend in Marne, IA leading test drives at Baxter Cycle's open house. Zach and I headed to the lake with Papa H. It was nice and warm when we got there, but got cloudy and cool. We were prepared with sweatshirts and sweatpants and had a great time playing in the sand.