Rock and Rhett Ride

It is well known in several small circles that we are loser parents who have not taught our children how to ride bikes. This became extremely obvious this last week when Rockwell turned 7, and had no idea how to ride a bike. So we got Rockwell a bicycle for his birthday and the belated lessons to go along with it. He wasn't sure he wanted to learn how to ride at first. "I'll just ride the scooter. I don't need to ride a bike." Fortunately that mentality went right out the window the first time he got on the bike and I was able to let go. He was hooked. Now we just have to work on focus...



All Rockwell wanted for his birthday was to play basketball with all the kids from the neighborhood and have pizza and cake. The sparkler candle was a huge success. (Yes we had his birthday in the garage.) We are really going to miss this little cul de sac. It has been perfect for us and the kids. It's exactly where you want to raise your children. Lots of good kids, similar ages to yours all tucked away in the worlds longest cul de sac. I love watching the front of our house fill with all the neighborhood kids, and then my boys put down my least favorite thing in our house, the Wii, and go outside. It's a boys paradise. We also have a huge yard and cute screened swimming pool. I would be willing to sacrifice the size and space I originally thought was so important to be able to stay in this home. Oh, well, we'll have to find paradise somewhere else!

Rhett learned how to ride a bike on his second day. But he couldn't start or stop on his own. The only way he could stop would be to throw one of his legs over the bike to the other side and bail as fast as he could. It was funny and dangerous all at the same time. I took a video of him riding in pride, but refusing to stop:



The only way he could get himself to stop was by "natural" means:


Finally, a good stop.



We also tried to teach Drake at his constant pleading, but he just can't focus. He's so excited to see his feet turning the pedals and the wheels rotating he can't watch where he's going. We'll stick to training wheels for awhile.

More on the Move

We found out a couple days ago that the house we are in really sold and we have to be out next week. Why did we unpack again? That was a little stressful and we couldn't find anywhere to move in such a short time. Then yesterday we got an email from the real estate agent saying the family who bought the house will let us rent it for April so we have more time to find something. That was especially gracious of them since the father is already living here in an apartment and could technically move in next week. So that was a huge blessing and stress relief and hopefully the extra time will help us have more choices when it comes to figuring out where to go next.

A Cougar in Gator Country

Well it happened. BYU and the University of Florida got to play against each other in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament. A group of our friends from church, half Cougars and half Gators, all got together in a Bowling Alley Bar to watch the game over lunch. Fortunately we were the only people who had such a brilliant idea so we got the place to ourselves. (Or maybe since it was the middle of the day everyone else went to work.) We had a lot of fun, especially since BYU won. Sorry Gators! The funny thing was, as I looked around the room, I thought only a group of BYU fans and Mormon Gators could go to a bar with all their kids, to watch a game, not have a lick of alcohol anywhere, and have the Bishop, Relief Society President and a member of the Quorum of the Seventy present and have it be a dang good time! Afterwords, the owners of the bar approached Brad and asked him questions about the church and talked about their drive through Salt Lake when they went through the tabernacle and visitor's center. They said they like a lot of things they have heard about the chruch. Lesson learned? You can have a missionary experience anywhere! Even in a bowling alley bar!

Even though it could have been dangerous to do so in this environment, we all dressed in our BYU gear and braved Gatorland to watch the game in style.

Rockwell Finally Lost It!

He's been waiting and waiting and the week of his 7th Birthday it finally happened... Rockwell lost his first tooth. He was so proud and excited. The toothfairy made her first appearance at the Palmer household and I'm sure we'll continue to received her visits a lot over the next handful of years.

Bye-Bye Binky

Well I've been reminded again how the binky isn't so much a crutch for the child as it is for the parent. I knew I was going to take London's binky away at 18 months but then events just kept happening that I didn't want to have to deal with the repercussions of her being binkyless. First we were packing, then we were moving, then someone was going to babysit her the following week, then we were going to Orlando, and on and on. I just kept putting it off. Then I was about to put it off again when I realized there is never a convenient time to have a psychotic and er rational child. So I just decided to do it despite the fact I was going out of town that weekend and leaving her with Brad. So when she woke up on Monday and I took her out of bed I removed the binky and said, "All gone." She was a little disturbed but I put her down and went into the kitchen, and without her seeing I cut the binky off. She came and asked me for it and I handed her the cut binky and said again, "All gone." She asked, "All gone? Where is?" I stuck with my story, "All gone." She said, "NO!" and threw the binky across the room which she immediately regreted and ran and got it again. She tried to put it in her mouth which was impossible. So she did something next I never expected. She handed me the binky and said, "All gone." and never asked for it again. That was it. The binky was all gone. No other confrontation or conversation. Wow, maybe I should have a little more faith in my kids and stop using their age as an excuse for doing or not doing things. It's so nice to now see pictures of her without that silly binky in her mouth! It makes it so you can see how chubby she is!


When I was looking at this picture I thought, "Who does she look like?" Anyone have an answer for me?