rain, rain go away

The kitchen has come to somewhat of a standstill because of all the rain we have been getting.  We still have workers here everyday but they are usually here for less then an hour and they are doing little things like electrical or putting up trim pieces.  We are grateful for the rain but we will be pleased when our sunny California weather returns so that we can get moving on the kitchen.  I am anxious to have running water and a stove.

a fond farewell

We got the call from my mom Sunday night that President Hinckley had passed away.  We are saddened at his passing but a smile creeps in when we think of him being reunited with his sweetheart - I am sure it was a joyous reunion.

We are grateful for his leadership and counsel all these years.  Our kids know no other prophet (although he was the 3rd prophet in Megan's life span - she is just too young to remember Pres. Benson and Pres. Hunter)  We are grateful that we got to hear him speak 2 weeks ago at our Stake Conference (broadcast to numerous Stakes in Southern California)  We will miss his voice at General Conferences (his last conference messages can be found here, here and here but know that the Lord will continue to speak to us through a new prophet.

somewhere over the...

After dropping off the kids at school today I came home to this beauty high above our house.  It made me smile!

kitchen - day 4

There are only a few more drawers & doors that need to go on.  Today they worked on the template for the granite.  Painting was going to start today but the rain has put a hold on that. We are getting so excited and can't wait to use our kitchen.

fine dining

Here is is our kitchen/dining room/homework area set up.  It is pure chaos.  This was a picture taken at breakfast a couple mornings ago.  Yes, Luke is eating macaroni and cheese for breakfast.  It was left over from a trip out to eat the night before.  His food choice and the lovely dining area are sure to get me some nominations for Mother of the Year.

how much toilet paper must a kid use?

Are my kids the only ones that use half a roll of toilet paper to take care of business?

We got invited to a friends house for dinner (yeah for friends that take care of us) and then went straight to Pack Meeting.  When we got home I went upstairs and walked into my bathroom and had my feet covered in water.  Derek was at a church meeting and I had no idea what to do. I turned off the water, threw down some towels, had a bit of a cry (did we really need to add to the home stress?) and called Derek.  He had finished his meeting and was on the way home. 

When Derek checked it out we found that the toilet had been clogged and overflowed.  I think we caught the problem fairly quick so no permanent damage was done.  We are grateful that it happened now since we are planning on replacing all the flooring in our house as soon as the kitchen is done.

kitchen - day 3

Work progressed much faster on this day with the addition of a last minute hire that was looking for work - Nate!  I told the kids to stay out of the way but we all know that most of the time directions like that go in one ear and out the other.  Nate peeked into the kitchen to see what was going on and Herk (the guy doing the kitchen & a close family friend) put him to work.  Nate loved every minute of it and is so excited to be able to say that he helped with the kitchen.

It is really starting to look like a real kitchen.  They put all the cabinets up but will take them back down for paint.  All the cabinets will be painted white.  My counter tops are going to be absolute black honed granite.  The floor we are still deciding on - dark wood or travertine - we haven't made the decision yet.

kitchen - day 2

kitchen - day 1

all ready to go

Gutted and ready to go

from the living room

from the entry to the kitchen/dining room

from the stairs

when we're helping we're happy

What kid wouldn't jump at the chance to take a hammer to a kitchen counter?!?!  Our kids were so excited to help demo the tile.  They are loving every minute of this remodel.

kitchen - demo

These pictures are all out of order and I am not going to spend the time fixing it - just imagine the demo'ing sequence.  

like father, like son part 2

like father, like son

here's what he does when no one is looking

Lately when Derek and I have gotten on the computer we find videos that Luke has made. He gets on the computer and makes them when no one else is in the room and then he just leaves them on the computer for us to find, never telling us he made them.  They make us laugh hysterically, although if he is not your kid you probably won't find them near as funny. Here is one of my favorites...

You will have to excuse the mess in the background.  Our dining room table is in our front room and it is loaded with pots, pans, cleaning supplies, etc.  My house is in some serious disarray because of the kitchen remodel.

dinner, dinner anyone?

our kitchen BEFORE

Our kitchen is gone - so gone. Where our kitchen once was is now a big, empty room with cold concrete floors, ugly walls with some dry wall missing, lots of spider webs and a continuous cold breeze because of a broken kitchen window.

The window you ask...I spent part of yesterday afternoon harping on Derek about being careful around the window - I was worried he was going to break it. When he had finally had enough of me he quietly put his tools down and walked away to go find another job (I am assuming he went looking for the job that was farthest away from his crazed wife who was so sure he was going to break the window) I took over the job of carefully removing tile from around the window. I felt much better now that I was in control of the job knowing that I would be much more careful then Derek....CRACK! I guess I got a little heavy handed with the hammer and now I was to blame for the destroyed window. After a few minutes of complete shock I burst into tears and locked myself in the bathroom for a minute to compose myself. Derek was waiting with a hug and some comforting words "glad it was you and not me" So now we get a nice new window to go with our nice new kitchen.

The demo took about 3 hours and wouldn't have happened without the help of good friends. The Wrights, Hawkins and Smiths came over and went to town with sledge hammers, crow bars, etc. I can't even begin to tell you how much we appreciate them and all the work they did.

We now have our refrigerator sitting next to the sofa in our family room. We may never move it back to the kitchen because the current set up makes it very easy to grab the Ben and Jerry's out of the freezer without ever leaving the comfort of the sofa. Next to the fridge is a folding table to hold our crock pot, electric skillet, paper plates, paper cubs, etc. This will serve as our kitchen for the new few weeks. We are hoping that people will take pity on us and invite us to dinner so we won't have to use our make shift kitchen. We must seem fairly pathetic because today was our first full day without a kitchen and we had dinner tonight at a friend's house.

I am feeling nervous about this whole remodeling thing - wondering if I made good choices for cabinets, counters, appliances, etc. I wish I could enjoy the whole process more but if I am being completely honest it is just making me way stressed out. Derek is handling it all very well and trying to keep me sane. He has been amazing with finding all the things I want. For instance he found the sink I liked but it was on the pricey end for our budget. He spent hours searching for it on the Internet and found the exact sink plus an amazing faucet all for less then the original price of the sink. He gets a gold star for all his work on this project.

Here is just a few pictures from the beginning of demo. I ran out of room on my camera so Rona went home and grabbed her camera to document the day. As soon as I get pictures from her I will post them so that everyone can see the progress we are making.

     Rona and me trying to look busy

Derek getting ready to take down the first cabinet

but mom, everyone is doing it

Some of our nieces have been posting about their hubbies. I decided to follow the crowd so here is everything you ever wanted to know about the dude I married...

What's his name?

Derek Lee Baker

How long have you been together?

We met May 7, 1988 at an Angels game (thanks to Ryan Jones) and have been together ever since (as long as you don't count the few break-ups and missions) So what is that? 20 years this May!!!! Yikes - when did we get so old?!?!

How long did you date?

This is kind of hard to answer since most normal people stay together once they are dating. We met in May '88 but didn't start officially dating until September. We then dated until Derek left on his mission to Chile which was in June(?) of '89. We had a few minor break-ups during that time but for the most part we were together that whole time. I faithfully wrote him on his mission until I did a bad thing, a very bad thing - I Dear John'ed the love of my life after about 18 months. Long story, so we won't go into it. I left on my mission in May (1 month before he got home) We had no contact with each other until I got home in December of 1992. We met up a few days after I got home from my mission so that we could talk and "officially" end the relationship -well, that didn't happen. We got back together - he went back to BYU after Christmas and I stayed home. We couldn't handle the separation so I moved to Provo in February of 19993. We were married on June 26, 1993 and we have been together, uninterrupted, ever since.

How old is he?

37, he'll be 38 on March 7th. He is one month older then me - I will be 38 on April 4th.

Who eats more?

I'm going to say me although I'm not 100% sure of this. I have a bad habit of not eating for most of the day and then start eating at 6pm. This is also the time that Derek is home so I know that I am eating more then him at night. During the day I'm not so sure what he's eating. He definitely eats more when it comes to sweets. He loves ice cream!

Who said I love you first?

To be honest I'm not sure. I am going to have to ask the man himself

Who is taller?

He is by a long shot - he is 6'4" and I am 5'8"

Who can sing better?

This goes to him too. He has an amazing voice. He participates in our ward and stake choirs at church. He has been in a few musical productions and is often asked to sing at missionary farewells, funerals, etc.Who is smarter?

Hey, I'm not doing to well on this. He is smarter (although he is so nice he'd probably tell you I was) Look at him...doesn't this photo of him just scream "Hey, mister look at me, don't I look smarts? You's know I do." (Note...you really should click on the picture to truly appreciate how good looking Derek is.  The mullet is one of the finest you'll ever see)Who does the laundry?

By the looks of the piles by my washer and dryer - no one does the laundry. I would have to say me but he always helps. I tend to do all the washing and then he and the kids put everything away.

Who pays the bills?

Thankfully he does. I hate dealing with money.

Who sleeps on the right side?

Looking at the bed, he does. The right side is next to the door and I want to be protected when a crazy, murderous man comes into our room so Derek gets the right side. You think I am joking about the crazy, murderous man but I am not.

Who mows the lawn?

Emilio, but we keep that on the low down at Baker family gatherings. I realize that it is appalling that a Baker boy would have a gardener.

Who cooks dinner?

Me mostly although Derek is a really good cook. He makes yummy chicken and rice and he can also make the best crepes

Who drives?

This is a toss up. Around town it's mostly him but on long road trips it is always me. I get so car sick (even if I am sitting in the front seat) I also get totally bored on trips since I can't read or do anything else because I'll throw up so I drive. Derek can sleep, read and enjoy the ride on long trips so he is always passenger for these outings.

Who is more stubborn?

I think I would say him although I'm not sure if he would say the same. Honestly he is not really that stubborn I just think he is more stubborn then me. When he is stubborn he is nice about it

Who kissed who first?

I know he will say I kissed him first but that is just not true. He kissed me first - end of story!

Who asked who out first?

I am guessing he asked me but to be honest I don't really remember.

Who proposed?

He did in Feb. 1993. He wrote a song for me (bet a few of you didn't know that he wrote music) He took me to Sundance in the snow (it was beautiful), sang me the song he wrote and then got down on one knee in the snow and proposed.

Who has more friends?

We both have a lot of friends but he knows way more people. He is very outgoing and nice and I tend to let my insecurities stop me from putting myself out there. He introduces himself to everyone and finds out their names. He is super social and enjoys being with people.

Who is more sensitive?

Depends...we both cry during movies or when someone shares a heartfelt story. He is more sensitive to others feelings then I am. I think we are both spiritually sensitive although he may have the slight advantage.

Who has more siblings?

He does. He is the baby of 7. I am the oldest of 5.

Who wears the pants?

I think we share them. At times it may be him, other times it may be me. We have a pretty good relationship and are willing to let the other one lead at certain times or during certain situations.

big in canada

One of my parties has been featured on At Home with Kim Vallee  Kim is an entertaining expert in Canada.  She shares tips, ideas and resources on her blog.  Not to long ago she shared the cookie jar idea we did for our Halloween party.  

The party that she spotlighted was a 40th birthday party I did for a friend.  Instead of going the traditional "over the hill" route we went with prehistoric man.  I loved decorating this table.  In fact I am recreating this table tomorrow night for an etiquette dinner with some of the youth from church.

Kim speaks french I believe, so it was fun to read the post and "hear" some of the words she used compared to how I would say things.  I love that parties are parties no matter where you live - we all can appreciate having a good time.

quick update...

Here is the latest...

• You are all painfully aware that we got a new computer and now do nothing but make highly embarrassing videos and take crazy pictures.
  
• I gave my Stake Conference talk last Saturday and now my sick, flu like stomachache that I had for 3 weeks is gone.
• Sunday, Derek was called to serve on the High Council at church.
• I am in the process of packing up my whole kitchen so that Derek and I can demolish it this Saturday.  We are completely gutting it so that work can start Monday on the new kitchen.  This will mean one of two things - you will not see posts from me for awhile because I will be busy with kitchen jive or you will see numerous posts from me because I will use the blog as my outlet for all the stress the kitchen will cause.
• The kids are all healthy and happy.  Megan is getting ready to start Road Shows, Emily is busy enjoying tweendom, Nate is loving the Wii from Santa, Luke is always busy making us laugh.

That is all I can think of at the moment.  No, I still have not downloaded pictures but I will (eventually)  I will try to get back to posting more then crazy videos soon.

more photo booth

I'm losing my mind

Isn't he sweet?!?!