Happy Birthday Haidyn!

Haidyn is 11 today! I can't believe it's true! So, to celebrate Haidyn, I will list 11 fun facts of our sweet Haidy Lady!

1. She is so sweet! She leaves little notes in my lunch to tell me she loves me and to have a good day... How cute it that?
2. She loves little kids and babies and loves to baby sit! She is amazing with little kids! Thus, she is an awesome big sister!
3. She loves to give people hugs... Sometimes a bit odd, but if she sees you and knows you, she WILL give you a HUG!
4. She just got glasses... she looks so cute and so studious! She is VERY excited to have them!
5. She will do anything to help someone else. She is a kind, sweet soul... unless it comes to doing her chores, then don't ask... She is not happy about her own jobs around the house.
6. She loves to dance! She is preparing a solo right now for competition this spring and is so excited!
7. She loves sports and loves to try anything and everything! She is always wanting to learn something new and is pretty good at what she tries.
8. She is a Daddy's girl! Has been from day one! Wants to be with him as much as possible, loves to go to work with him, help him around the house and just hang out with him!
9. She loves her friends and loves to have sleepovers and goof around with them... she has LOTS of friends!
10. She is known as Haidyn the Grrr...
11. She loves to fight with her older sister. It drives me crazy and I hope it leads to them being fabulous friends when they get older, but for now, they can't stand each other.

We love our Haidyn the Grrr... Hope you had a HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAIDYN! We love you!

Confessions of this unbalanced woman...

Just one confession this week...

I truly believe I was supposed to be P!nk in this life! I just LOVE her! But, since I am not her, I truly believe I could be her most amazing friend if just given the chance. Yes, I know how unrealistic that sounds, but I do believe it is true. This morning I was driving Caitlyn and the other middle school kids to school and a P!ink song was on... after I was dancing and singing, I explained this to them, at which point it was pointed out to me that I lack any amount of musicality to be P!nk. Oh, well. I still think she is amazing and I love her music. I love how original and honest she is in her lyrics. I love to listen to her, and frequently "rock out" to her music while in the kitchen baking and in the car... I sing it LOUD and PROUD! I love me some

P!nk!

P!nk - Glitter In The Air (GRAMMYs on CBS)

Confessions of this unbalanced woman...

• I don't like peanuts, but I love peanut butter, only Skippy creamy peanut butter to be precise. Don't try to give me that crunchy peanut butter... I won't eat it.
• I love office supplies! Did you see the movie Conspiracy Theory? Mel Gibson's character would get anxious and have to purchase a copy of Catcher in the Rye... I am like that with pens or pencils... I get antsy or anxious and I have to buy office supplies. Yep, it's true.
• I love to drive in the snow.
• I love to put together puzzles. Santa brings our family a new one every Christmas, which usually leads to a month or two of puzzle marathons. LOVE them!
• Not a fan of shopping or of the mall. If I need to buy something I just want to get in and get out. Every once in a while I don't mind browsing, but not very often. I seriously don't remember the last time I went to the mall...

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving... It is seriously my favorite holiday. There are no present requirements, just getting together with loved ones and eating... BEST DAY EVER! I love to cook, that is nothing new... but it takes me back to my childhood and my favorite memories or cooking with my mom. Growing up, I was my mom's right hand in many ways, but in the kitchen and cooking was my favorite. It was a time when we could sit and visit and share our thoughts and memories and silly stories. And that tradition still continues. I love to learn from her and watch her work. She is very methodical and calculated in so many ways, and learning from her is one of the joys in my life. I truly enjoy the time I share in the kitchen with my mom.

I also love passing that tradition and knowledge on to my children!

Caitlyn is quite a cook... I love to watch her skills develope!

Brevin is also jumping into the game!

It is a family event to get such a yummy meal on the table!

My sweet sis, Ashley and her awesome hubby, Jeff!

Brevin and the pooch, Harriet.... That poor doggie puts up with so much from that little boy!

The breaking of the wishbone!

Which one wins? I can never remember!

After the dinner was done we pulled out a puzzle... We couldn't pull Grammy away from that table then!!

Oh so CUTE!

I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Confessions of this unbalanced woman...

My friend Suzy has been doing confession on her blog and they make me laugh hysterically... so, I thought I would give it a try. Afterall, we are all human and I love hearing about all my friends and the silly things they do!

• 1. I love to cook! Probably not a big surprise, but I love to try new things and learn new cooking techniques. Cooking with my mom is my favorite memory and probably why I love to cook so much... I love cooking with my kids too and hope to pass on the traditions to them.
• 2. As a little girl I had a crush on Terry Bradshaw, quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers... oh, and the bald guy on Sha Na Na. Don't ask me why, but I still have a thing for bald guys.
• 3. I live on Diet Dr. Pepper. I can't get enough of it. I believe the love of it stems from my childhood when I would go to stay at my grandparents house during the summer... They always had Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew available in large quantities...
• 4. I am NOT from Utah. I moved here when I was 9. If I live in Utah until my death I will never say I am from Utah. Not that there is anything wrong with being from Utah, but I just don't want to be... I don't claim to be from anywhere, because I am an Army brat. That is where I am from.
• 5. I can't stand the show "The Office". I don't understand what the draw to it is. I have tried a few different times to watch it, but I end up turning it off. Why is what they are saying and doing supposed to be funny? I just don't get it.

Halloween...

I love Halloween! I love getting the kids all dressed up... I love answering the door and seeing all of the cute little kids all dressed up...

How cute are they!!

Caitlyn was such a cute Bat Girl!

Haidyn was the cutest prisoner you ever did see!

Yeah, Dilyn was dressed as a bride... I tried to change her mind... she was so beautiful! I don't want to think about when this will be a reality!

Brevin was awesome as SUPERMAN!

Caitlyn and a few of the kids she went trick or treating with... Maddie, Samantha and Winter as characters from Super Mario.

The night started out a little rainy, but it cleared up!

In search of CANDY!!

Olivia and her friends... I had to take a picture! They looked so good as KISS!

We must CUT!

We love Halloween! We love our pumpkins! We love to cut into them! We love to make our Jack-O-Lanterns every year! It is always a fun night at the Baker house!

First, we gut!

Scrape out those seeds!


I have this talent... I can clean out a pumpkin, super fast, and it is clean... super clean! I cleaned out four pumpkins in the same amount of time that John cleaned out one! I know, I'm amazing!!

We get the pattern books that helps you put the cool pictures/designs on our pumpkins...

Brevin was so excited to check out all the pumpkins and the carving process!

Daddy and the little guy carving...

Photo by Dilyn... a VERY intense process!

Check out the concentration!

Caitlyn with her finished pumpkin.

Dilyn's Jack-O-Lantern....

Brevin's... Love the cheesey grin!

Haidyn... a headless horseman pumpkin!

And the mom...

Oh yeah... we are AWESOME! John won't carve his own pumpkin any more... in fact he won't even get a pumpkin for himself. He says all he does is help everyone else... Some day soon, he won't have that excuse anymore!

Silly faces... Love it!

I love our pumpkins every year! I love carving them out together as a family! It is so much fun!

Slacking...

So, I have been slacking on the blogging... Sorry. Life just seems to get away from me what with 4 kids, a hubby, a house to upkeep, working full-time, not to mention they are graves that I work... Does it sound like I am complaining? I promise I am not trying to. Life seems to happen so fast and a lot of days I feel out of control. I have always prided myself on being organized and working graves has proven to me that I am not... or at least I am not anymore!

Annual Pumpkin Hunt

Every year for the past, oh, seven years or so, we have gone to the same pumpkin patch to hunt out the perfect pumpkin... I love this time of year! I love the colors and the fun! It is always a good time!

Haidyn and Brevin on one of the many tractors out for the enjoyment of the little kids as well as the big kids! We have a hard time getting Brevin to leave... He HAS to sit on every last one!

Haidyn must ALWAYS choose the biggest pumpkin!

Isn't he a good little brother! Helping his sis!

So many pumpkins to choose from... WHICH ONE!?

My sweet Cait...

Strike a pose.

Precious!

He WON'T stop climbing!

Those two are inseparable!

Does this pumpkin make me look fat!?

My beautiful GIRLS!

Celebrating Dilyn

Dilyn had all of her wishes granted for her birthday this year! She is such a sweet, silly girl!

Oh yeah, she is super cool!

Dilyn was adamant we go to Chili's, where Rory works, and have her as our waitress... Well, she is the best waitress after all! Thank you Rory!!

Grammy came down for the celebration! Dilyn and her Grammy have a sweet, special friendship!

I love my Silly Dilly!

Can you tell how much fun everyone had! Caitlyn was not happy or not feeling well... Good times!

Ha! Love their faces!

Taylor Swift CD... She loves to sing! It always makes me smile when she sings...

Daddy and the boy... Cute picture!

Clothes... She takes after her sisters!

Ken and Barbie from Toy Story 3... She was so wanting them!

Happy Birthday!

We took Dilyn and her friends swimming then came home and ate yummy cupcakes... I slacked on the cake for her birthday this year... Next year I will be better!