Happy Halloween

I know, I know....you were hoping that I was on top of things and would have my pictures downloaded! Well it is late and the boys fell asleep on the way home. They got a huge haul in Monroe City and then we made our way to Center to see my parents and my grandma. I promise pictures will be up tomorrow night! Until then...Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Who's Out There....

Ahhhh...I finally get to sit down and it's 10:14pm to be exact. Heath is gone to a conference at Lake of the Ozarks until tomorrow afternoon. I on the other hand, had a busy night doing the "single mommy" thing. Let's see, Corbin asked me last night if I was sending treats to his class party? Since no note was sent home from his teacher, I assumed that nothing was to be sent. So, not wanting my child to suffer tomorrow in his class party while everyone else brought something, I made a quick run to Wal-mart with all 4 boys...oh I can't brag that much, I took my high school worker, Jacki, with me. We survived Wal-mart and I got out of there only spending $78! That is a huge record for us! Luckily Preston's teacher only requested that I bring juice boxes! So got of the hitch there! We then made a mad dash through the wonderful choke and puke of McD's! At Corby's request!

Came home...and the marathon began. Baths, feeding of Quin, 3 loads of laundry (completed and folded!), sight words read, Corby's homework, putting together treat bags, ironing clothes for school tomorrow, snacks, and bed....Whewww...I'm out of breath just thinking about it! I get asked so many times, how I do it with 4 boys and a full-time job! I guess I don't even think about it! God gave me this beautiful healthy family and I try to have as much patience as possible. There are some trying times (Preston's constant whining...Conner throwing things...Corby manipulating the situation....Quin is still in his perfect world), but I wouldn't change it for anything. I love to be busy and on the go!

Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying my blog as much as I am creating it! It is my down time, and a way for me to preserve my children's memories, while I have put my scrapbooking on hold, until time permits (whenever that shall be!).

I do wonder though how many of you out there are keeping up with the chaotic lives of the "Ecklers"! I have heard from a few of you through email, but would love for everyone to drop me a short line under the comment box of this message! I know we are all super busy, but please slow down for one second and drop me a line!

Hope everyone has a safe HALLOWEEN! We will have our critters out tomorrow night, and there will be pictures to follow!

Well it is now 10:25, Quin needs his final feeding, and 5:30 is going to come awfully early! Good Night to all!

Mizzou Wins Again

Mizzou once again wins! They are now 7-1 since beating the Iowa State Cyclones in Columbia on Saturday! It was a beautiful day! My Uncle Jim and Aunt Susan joined us from Mankato, Minnesota to see the Tigers take on The Cyclones. Both of them are also Mizzou Alums. Heath stayed at home to get some yard work completed, while I took Corby, Preston, and Conner. We celebrated the victory afterwards by eating at the Heidelberg. We have been coming there since I was little and it has continued to be a Palmer tradition!

Uncle Jim and Grandy enjoying the victory at the Heidelberg.

Conner enjoying some Kettle Corn while watching the Tigers.

It was a beautiful day in the 60's.

Corby and Preston before the game.

We enjoyed a tailgate that my Uncle Jim and Aunt Susan received free tickets from. They had a tremendous amount of food that we took part in!

Corby enjoyed a photo opportunity with Marching Mizzou!

Preston enjoying one of his favorites...HOT DOG!

Walking on campus to the football game.

Chicago Mini-Get-Away

About a month ago, my friend Dawn, a pharmacist, said she had training in Chicago and wanted to see if I could go with her on her trip. I was thrilled that she asked me to tag along. Before leaving, I stressed of course (those of you who know my Type A personality), about how I would leave the daycare for a couple of days, who would watch the boys, etc.

We left Thursday morning from her house at 4:30am! The Amtrak left Quincy at 6:12am to be exact. Why is it I had absolutely no problem getting up for this mini-trip, but you are dragging me out of bed any other day? We arrived in Chicago a little later than planned, but we made the most of our day Thursday afternoon and evening, SHOPPING the Magnificent Mile! Let me just tell you, I have never walked that much in my life!

We stayed at the lovely Ritz-Carlton! I think this was the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in....did I mention that they had real hand towels in the restroom, instead of paper towels! We even got an upgrade to a Junior-Suite! We both had our own bathroom (with slippers and robes provided)! When we arrived back in our room from eating supper, they had turned on some soft music in our room...what kind of service is that! We ate supper at Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House...I was a little leery of it's name, but it was an Awesome Steak House that the hotel had recommended and even made reservations for us! Needless to say, that is the most expensive meal I have ever eating by myself! We indulged in the filet we both ordered!

Friday, Dawn had her training in the hotel ballroom, and I of course took off on my own in the Windy City. I got a great start on my Christmas shopping and of course got some more exercise! I met up with Dawn at 2:30 when her training was over, and we then headed out for some shopping on State Street!

Our train came to a complete stop on our way home for 1 hour so some freight trains could pass (why is it they had precedence over a passenger train?). So our 10:15 arrival turned into a midnight arrival!

It was an AWESOME mini-vacation and I am so thankful my friend Dawn asked me to come along for the ride!

Enjoying a Margarita

Dawn enjoying her Whiskey Sour

Katie and Mr. Leggo

Had to get pictures for Corby of the Leggo Store

Of course had to catch a picture of us

View of the city from the Ritz Carlton-We were located on the 19th floor

Our hotel room

Our lounge area of our room

Plum Tuckered

After the yogurt incident the other night, this is what I walked into. We don't say Conner is sleeping, but rather "refueling"! He is going through a very busy stage right now, and we are hoping he slows down just a bit. He is full personality and what we like to call "ALL BOY!"

Down for the count

Sleeping Vertical

It was a long day at work

One Busy Cat.....

Just when I think that I will get some laundry put away upstairs, I come down to this. Corby asked me if he could have a bedtime snack and of course I said yes. Not knowing that Conner was going to help himself to not just one yogurt, but 4! Heath and I have realized that we are not worried right now about how we are going to pay for their college, but rather how we are going to feed them! I remember my brother eating constantly after supper, but I didn't realize the magnitude until I have 3 of my own right now that are consuming our pantry and refrigerator! Well, of course I couldn't resist and thought it was the perfect "Kodak Moment". Conner kept asking me, "taking a picture of my mess". That's exactly what it was, but I couldn't get upset...because it was my fault for not keeping him in direct eyesight at all times.


On to the mischievous pictures of our angel.....

One huge mess...

The Evidence....

Caught....

How could you get mad at a face like that....

Mizzou Homecoming

The Annual Palmer Homecoming at Mizzou was once again a success! We arrived Friday night in Columbia. We stayed at a motel and ordered pizza in (much easier than last year, of trying to take 8 kids to a restaurant!) We also celebrated my niece, Maggie's 7th birthday! We then went and looked at the house decorations, displayed by the fraternities and sororities. It was very crowded and the kids only had one thing on their mind...SWIMMING! Back to the motel we went and the kids enjoyed some pool time. Saturday morning we went back to campus to watch the Homecoming parade. The kids enjoyed watching the bands and all of the candy they acquired during the parade! The kickoff for the game wasn't until 2:30, so we wasted time walking around campus, taking pictures, and had lunch. The Tigers were once again victorious taking on Texas Tech to go on to a 6-1 record. They are now ranked #13! We had a great family weekend being with everyone!

Maggie opening her presents.

Maggie reading her Hannah Montana Singing Birthday Card.

Conner and Grandma watching Marching Mizzou perform.

Preston enjoying the band on top of Heath's shoulders so he could see over the huge crowd.

Maggie and Quin in the motel.

Our own personal performance from Marching Mizzou.

The whole Palmer Crew.

Sheri, Katie, and Quinn getting ready to watch parade.

Grandy and Grandma with all the Tiger cubs.

Conner enjoying his Dippin Dots that Grandy treated everyone to.

Taking a break from looking at the house decorations.

Sheri keeping Corby warm.

Trying to get another photo shot with Grandy and all the kids...you can see which one didn't want to participate.

Enjoying a nice fall morning watching the parade.

Truman is always one of the kids favorites.

Kohler, Syd, and Preston enjoying parade.

Maggie, Corby, Kohler, and Syd are true Tiger Fans!

Preston's Playdate Lila's 6th Birthday

Preston's good friend, Lila, celebrated her 6th birthday over the weekend. Preston and Lila became good friends over the past 2 years while attending preschool together. Almost everyday after preschool, Preston would go to Lila's to have a play date. Needless to say, Preston gets teased quite frequently about his play dates. He and Lila now attend Kindergarten together at Holy Rosary. Preston would much rather play with Lila's brother, Parker, who is the same age as Corby. It will be interesting down the road to see how their friendship survives all the teasing. Even though....Lila has been such a great friend to Preston.

Preston picked out Polly Pockets for Lila

Preston watching as Lila opens his present


Lila the Princess

Best Buds- Preston & Lila

3 Months Old

Quin turned 3 months on October 9th. He is developing such a happy personality, and his smile is contagious!!! We rarely catch him without a smile on his face. I took him to get his 3 month pictures the other night and the lady had to wait to get a smile where his cheeks didn't make his eyes squint! Was she telling me that he is fat??? He is our chubby little thing! He is up to 5 oz. at a feeding! You can definitely tell that he hasn't missed a meal! He is really starting to coo. His has mastered his milestones so far for his age and we think the best part is that he has not seen the MU Tigers lose a game! That in itself is a huge milestone! :)

GO MIZZOU!

MIZZOU ROCKS! What an AWESOME game! Despite the 95 degree day, it was a very enjoyable one! We started the day off by tailgating at 1:30pm...even though the game didn't start until 8:15! I've never seen so many people tailgating! There were as many Nebraska people in the parking lot as Tiger Fans! The Tigers proved that they were ranked #17 for a reason...not allowing Nebraska 1 touchdown! Bring on Oklahoma next week! We are all looking forward to going to Columbia in 2 weeks for Homecoming.

Corby showing he's a true Tiger Fan

Conner enjoying the game on Grandy's lap

Tiger Fans packed Memorial Stadium showing off their GOLD!

Final Score of the game-TIGERS 41 Nebraska 6

Our Tailgating Tent

Enjoying the hot sun hours before game time

Conner enjoying cupcake that other MU tailgaters had given us

Conner's been in front of a camera a little too much. Grandy enjoying 2 of his grandsons before the game.

Too much heat and fun for Conner in one day

Grandy, Kohler, and Chris in their GOLD

Quin taking in his Mizzou apparel

Grandma and Grandy love to tailgate before the games

Conner and Katie enjoying tailgating

Kohler (My brother's son from O'Fallon) loves coming to the MU games.

Pumpkin' Painting

Conner showing off his crafty side

Conner was pretty proud of his pumpkin

Corby was intense about his painting

Corby concentrating on his painting

Masterpiece

Preston painting his checkerboard

Heath helping Preston make a checkerboard

So proud of his pumpkin

Well both boys brought home a flier for this weekends festival called "Arts In the Park". One of the events that is held is a pumpkin painting contest, or decorating a pumpkin to the best of your ability. Corby was wanting to paint a Mizzou Pumpkin (I know SHOCKING!). Well since we will be headed to the MU/Nebraska game on Saturday night, he thought his pumpkin should have something to do with that. He decided to paint one side of his pumpkin black and the other side red, the words that he wants to paint on it is Mizzou 50, Nebraska 0. Well...of course Preston didn't want to be left out in the painting, so he decided that he wanted his pumpkin to be painted like a checkerboard...if that is what you call it...oh, I guess you call it ART, no matter what it looks like. Anyways, Conner got in on the action as well and decided his pumpkin was going to be a mixture of all the paint he could get his paintbrush on. Anyways, I don't know how well they turned out, but it was the time well spent that matters.

Some Much Needed Pumpkins

I have looked all over for some decent pumpkins, and we finally found some on our way home from Kansas City. As if we hadn't done enough already in a day, I made Heath stop at a Pumpkin Patch in Columbia....only to realize that it was closed. We then continued on our way home, and just my luck the McCoy Pumpkin Patch in Centralia was OPEN!! Yeah! Another reason to take pictures with my camera! The boys enjoyed each picking out their own pumpkin. I really wanted to get some corn stalks, but Heath told me there was no way they would fit in the car...unless the boys road back to Monroe City with their heads out the window! :) So, I was just relieved that I finally got some much needed pumpkins for our front porch!

Conner the Clown peeking through the pumpkin

Corby trying to pick out the best one out of the patch

Preston sitting on the pumpkins

Quin taking in some much needed fresh air after being in the car for several hours!

Conner sitting on his pumpkin so no one can get it

Conner would not let anyone pull the wagon except for him.

Our Kansas City Weekend

Taken in motel

Matt, Quinn, Sydney, & Chloe in Lobby of Motel

Conner loving the water

Kids in front of Bear at Great Wolf Lodge

View of Nascar Track From Motel

Quinn and Sydney at T-Rex Restaurant

Outside of T-Rex Restaurant

Digging for Dinosaur Bones

Chloe not liking the water

Conner enjoying his bedtime snack that he took away from his mom....even though he had already had a bowl of chocolate ice cream!

Eckler Family Photo in lobby of motel

Kids in lobby of motel

Sitting in chair at Great Wolf Lodge

Conner is our little fish

Chloe and Sydney enjoying water park

Corby and Preston enjoying one of the eight water slides in the water park.

Preston getting drenched as the bucket of water tipped

Conner on the move in the water


My friend Shelly and her boy Aiden before our big trip



Well let's just say that Quinn and I win "Mother of the Year Awards!". We started our journey from Monroe City at 8:53am yesterday morning to be exact! That is all 6 kids in their car seats, bags packed in the car, and ready to head out! How is that! Heath and Matt left for Kansas City for the Nascar race around 4:50am... is what we were told. Well needless to say, we had to make our first pit stop in Columbia for some seat rearranging. Miss Chloe did not want to be confined to the car seat at all. Quinn then decided that she would buy them snacks (sugar) to share. Ok, 5 kids, and 2 bags of candy to share...how do you think this went over??? Well we got back on the interstate only to realize that we forgot to start the DVD player..WHAT WERE WE THINKING! Pit stop #2 was taken at the Boonville rest area, so movie could be started....ok think we had at least 45 minutes of peace.

Quinn and I realized that because Chloe did not sleep at all the night before, we were both living on about 2 hours sleep MAX!!! Heath and Matt were put upstairs in the boys bedroom, so we would not be awakened when they left..like it mattered! :) So Pit stop #3 was taken in Sweet Springs for some fresh air and to refuel. We finally made a stop at my friend Shelly's house for some much needed stretching! We enjoyed our visit with Shelly and her two boys! Ok....onto our final destination!

We then started out for our final stop...The Great Wolf Lodge! We encountered a completed downpour going through downtown KC! It was crazy! By the time we got to the motel, it was sunny and clear skies. Ok, at 2:45, we ARRIVED!!! YEAH!!!! Quinn and I thought that if the race started at noon, the guys would be back to the motel, no later than 4:30...wouldn't they???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! The race ended up having a 3 hour rain delay and 12 caution flags (I'm talking like I know what I mean! ) We received updates from my mom on the cell phone, keeping us posted as to when the race would be completed. In the meantime, Quinn and I survived the ARCADE, SUPPER, and WATER PARK with all 6 kids! WHEW....

Well the men arrived at the motel at 8:30! Quinn and I took in some much needed time at the hot tub! Needless to say it was a great weekend getaway, even though it didn't go as planned. Today we took in the T-Rex Restaurant and now it is back to reality.

Kesler Wedding Reception

On Friday night we attended my friend Amber's, wedding reception in Hannibal. We took the older 2 boys thinking they would enjoy the night. I will say that Preston enjoyed the night on the dance floor, and Corbin I think spent the entire night at the Chocolate fondue fountain! I knew both Amber and Derek while working at the Junction through my college years. Their daughter Nealee is Corbin's age. I watched Nealee for a year when I first started baby-sitting out of my house. She is a beautiful little girl.

Football Pictures

Well here is the team photo of the boys. I've also included Dane, another boy from Monroe City that is on their team. I have to say, even though this is my Alma mater, it is very hard seeing them wearing blue and white! I guess because we reside in Monroe City, you just root for your hometown! The boys lost to Palmyra on Saturday. I think that Palmyra did some recruiting, because those boys were huge compared to ours....is this just some bad taste that has been left in my mouth of playing them so many years ago! Even though, Heath never had to play them, he bit his tongue the entire game...their fans are still the same (no comment! ) :)

Team Photo

Preston the tough guy!

Preston, Dane, and Corbin-Future Monroe City Panthers!

I can't believe how tough they look at such young ages. They learn at such a young age that football players are not to smile!