you never know what you'll get

I love finding random photos on the computer that I didn't take or have never seen.  I kinda love these kids!

mormon battalion

In January we took a ride down to San Diego to visit Old Towne and see the newly renovated Mormon Battalion Visitors Center (I would highly recommend this outing - lots to see and do & way fun for the kids)

Here's a quick summary of our day...

Lots of sliding down rails - we all did this (yes, even me) 

Modeling the clothes and supplies that the Mormon Battalion soldiers used.  The boys were so excited to be chosen to do this.

Panning for gold.

Actually got my boys to wash some clothes :)  Maybe I just need to install a hand pump in the backyard to get them to help more with laundry.

Got to check out the beautiful San Diego area from an observation tower at the visitors center.

 

Explored all of Old Towne.

Emily's nickname is Pie - hence the photo.

Megan has a slight obsession with boots.

Way to ruin the adorable picture of Emily.  Chalk me up another good mom point.

this is a first

I think this may be the first year that I haven't loved Halloween...shocking, I know.  I have been so tired and overwhelmed with health issues that the house never got decorated, no party planned and I murmured during most of the costume making process (who am I kidding, I always murmur during the costume making process)

Having said that I think the kids looked adorable this year.  We ended up with Robin Hood (Megan), Circus Ringmaster (Emily), Mad Hatter (Nathan) and Dracula (Luke)

Lets start with the  most time consuming costume of the lot - The Mad Hatter.  I found a tutorial on the internet for making this costume and it deceivingly said it would take 4 hours to complete - lies, all lies!  I started it Thursday afternoon at about 2 pm with Derek jumping in to help later in the evening.  He went to bed sometime around 1 am and I finally put down my elementary school child safety scissors (yes, we created the whole costume with a stupid little pair of scissors) at 3:15 am.  Four hours, my foot!

Looking at the costume I'm trying to figure out what took so long since there wasn't much sewing (jacket was a brown jacket from Goodwill and pants were khakis from Target - both dyed) but trust me when I say it took us forever.

The hat was the hardest to create but since I'm married to the best man in the world I had lots of help.  Let's just say we can now understand why the hatter was "mad".

Megan was on make-up artist duty and I think she did an amazing job.  This was one costume where the make-up really added to the whole appearance of the costume.

Emily looked adorable in her "I didn't have to sew a thing costume"  I love those types of costumes!  The shirt and jacket were purchases from Goodwill (man, I love that store) and the rest of the costume was pulled together with stuff from Target and a local Halloween store.  

All Megan wanted for her costume was something that allowed her to carry weapons and wear boots.  She would have loved to have been Katniss but I was not feeling terribly creative with that idea so we went with Robin Hood.  The only sewing here was the vest which turned out cute but while sewing I decided that sewing isn't really my thing.  I don't have the easiest time with it so I'm not quite sure why I keep sewing costumes every year.  Her shirt was from a costume I made her in 7th grade and everything else was Goodwill or Target.

Then there is Luke.  He wins for easiest costume...church pants, shoes and shirt put together with a purchased vest and cape from the dress up box.  Oh yea, I forgot...also a sweet little Dracula necklace.  My little blood sucker looked fantastic.

I'm glad the costumes are done and that Halloween is on its way out but I am hoping I'll be back into the Halloween spirit next year.  I'm also hoping that all my kids want to dress as Dracula next year!


And just because I love these pictures I'm including some photos that my girls (and their friends) took Tuesday after our youth Halloween party at church.

my baby is 9

Although I still call him the baby I know deep down that I no longer have a baby in the house - waaaaaa!  I say this repeatedly but here we go again...my kids are growing up way to fast.  It didn't seem that way some years back but now I can't seem to slow down time no matter what I do.

Today was Luke's 9th birthday.  Happy Birthday Lukey!

Oh how we love this kid.  He makes us smile with all his funny antics, songwriting skills, dance moves, and crazy remarks.  He is a joy to have in our family.  He is loving and kind.  He is sensitive to others feelings.  He is beyond cute!  

Happy Birthday Pookle-pants!

another school year - where did summer go?

Here we go again...another school year.  

I always have mixed emotions at this time of year.  In some ways I am anxious for my kids to head back to school (in hopes that I might actually be able to clean my house and keep it clean, at least for a few hours).  On the other hand...as my kids get older I dread having them gone for so many hours of the day when they could be home with me enjoying the last couple years they actually have at home.

I better stop before the tears begin.

Here we go with the kids pictures...

Megan is heading into her Junior year.  She is thrilled to be able to drive herself there and home (assuming she gets a coveted parking pass)

Emily is starting her high school career - Freshman year.  She has enjoyed the first few days of HS and seems to be adjusting well.  It helps to have a big sister to show you the ropes.  

Just a side note...every year when we take these school pictures, Emily's is always my favorite.  I love this shot!

Em is not the only one starting at a new school...Nate is a big middle schooler this year - 6th grade!  He enjoys going to different classes and having a locker.  

My last elementary aged kid.  Luke is in 4th grade this year and couldn't be more excited to have two of his good friends in his class.  He came home from the first day of school so excited about the year that he was literally bouncing around.

L.O.V.E these kiddos!  Here is to a great school year with limited homework drama, good grades, good friends and straight A's (it's possible, right?)

let me set the scene

Thursday night/Friday morning get to bed at 3:15 am.  

Alarm goes off at 6 am so boys and I can get up and spend 7 hours at Cub Camp.

It happens to be mud and water day at camp

The boys love it!

I only worry for a minute about my car's interior when I think about driving kids home.

Get home from Cub Camp to do showers and baths and then get ready to meet Derek and head out to Disneyland to meet the girls, friends, and the Arizona Bakers.

Home a little after 1:30 am on Saturday.

Fun day - very fun day!

Long day - very long day!

Tired - very tired!

Frustrated because even after all of that you'd think I'd be fast asleep in bed right now.  Instead it is a little after 3 am and I am typing this post and feeling way to awake.

Desperate woman looking for ideas on how to sleep!

going bald for a cause

Hi, this is Nathan and Luke Baker and we are going bald.  Our mom is a little sad to see our hair go :) but it's for a good cause.  

Our cousin Talitha has cancer.  You can read about Tali here.  

We wanted to help so we decided to join with St Baldricks and have our head shaved to show support to those that have cancer and to raise money to help fight cancer.  We are each trying to raise $500.  If you can help us that would be great.  If you don't have the money right now, that's ok too.  Please just say a prayer for Tali and her family - that would be a big help too.

You can check out our websites.  For Nathan go here and for Luke go here.  You can read more about Tali and other kids fighting cancer on our site and there is also a place to make a donation.

You can forward this on to anyone you think would be interested in helping.  We hope that we can get lots of us together to help fight cancer and help lots of kids feel better.

Thank you a lot

Nathan and Luke

is anyone else grossed out by this?

Family tradition dictates that the birthday boy or girl gets to choose what to have for dinner on their birthday.  After Luke's birthday I am seriously considering changing this tradition.

Luke's birthday menu...

mashed potatoes

Kraft macaroni and cheese

chicken noodle soup

I felt so sick after eating this meal.  The potatoes are to die for yummy (recipe here) but the combo of those three things was major starch overload.  Ick, I feel nauseous even typing this.

Here's to hoping his 9 year old palette will be more refined.

so long saturdays

Saturday marked our first soccer games of the season.  There go our Saturdays :)

Nate had an 8 am game which made for nice weather (at least for most of the game)  The kids played well but lost the game by one point.

My mom, little brother and sister from Utah were able to go to the game with my other brother, sister and law and nephew Carter that live in Vista and my dad joining us for Luke's game later in the day)

Between games Derek took everyone over to shop at Oakley while I stayed home with a very traumatized Luke and got him ready for his game.

About being traumatized...

After Nate's game Derek and Nate left in Derek's car, the girls and I drove home in my car and my mom had my brother, sister and Luke in her car (or so we thought)  Once everyone was home we realized no one had Luke so I go tearing out of the driveway and head back to the field to find a very scared Luke roaming the parking lot.  

The tears (both his and mine) started the moment we saw each other.  It took him a long while to calm down and I apologized 100 times.  We are glad it all turned out well.

Luke had a late morning game and by the time he played it was getting pretty warm.  I like soccer in cool weather (which California seems to be lacking at the moment)

The Dynamites won the game and Luke played really well with only a few moments of staring off in the distance or kicking around grass.

This is what you get when your kid gets tired of you pointing the camera in his direction.

As much as I dislike Saturdays being tied up with games I have to admit it is nice to be together as a family enjoying the games.  The kids are all supportive of each other although Megan has a funny way of showing her support. 

a big birthday

Look at him with all his littleness and curly hair.  Luke is growing up and celebrating his 8th birthday!

To honor him on his special day here are some things to know about Luke...

He LOVES to climb trees.  When asked what his favorite thing was about moving to our new house he said it was the trees to climb.

He loves to play video games - he often has his DS in hand.

He is a great helper/worker when he wants to be - "when" being the key word.  When he is in a helpful mood things get done quickly and right.

He loves Halloween (whose child is this?)  He even requested a Halloween birthday this year so we are celebrating with a party a month after his birthday - is that weird?
He is an explorer.  In fact just a few weeks ago he told me he wasn't going to college because he was going to be an adventurer (we'll see about that)  He loves to climb, explore, collect, etc. He is happiest outside in the dirt with bugs, sticks, shovels and more.
He has a great imagination and loves to play creatively.
He is the family comedian - he is always trying to make us laugh by being the family clown.
Did I mention he is the family clown?!?!

Happy Birthday Luke!  We love you and are so grateful you are part of our family.