the Baker Family

How old do you think he is?

2011-03-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

If you guessed 40, you would be correct! This is what 40 looks like! Where has the time gone? Remember when you thought 40 was SO old? And as I approach 40 and now that John is 40, it is SO young!

I'm thinking....

2011-02-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking I should update my blog... but not even sure if anyone reads it anymore. Anyone?

Happy Birthday Haidyn!

2010-12-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

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!

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?
She loves little kids and babies and loves to baby sit! She is amazing with little kids! Thus, she is an awesome big sister!
She loves to give people hugs... Sometimes a bit odd, but if she sees you and knows you, she WILL give you a HUG!
She just got glasses... she looks so cute and so studious! She is VERY excited to have them!
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.
She loves to dance! She is preparing a solo right now for competition this spring and is so excited!
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.
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!
She loves her friends and loves to have sleepovers and goof around with them... she has LOTS of friends!
She is known as Haidyn the Grrr...
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...

2010-12-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

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)

2010-12-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

Confessions of this unbalanced woman...

2010-11-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-30T19:11:00.001-08:00

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...

2010-11-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-09T08:35:00.001-08:00

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!

Another LAST First...

2010-09-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

Pre-School has started! But why am I sad about it?! Brevin is so excited, and so am I... I promise. It was such a fun morning, he was super excited to go to Pre-school with one of his best friends Owen. I drove them to school and they sat in the back chattering the whole time about the funniest things... they usually do chatter non-stop about the funniest things. John came with me to drive them, what a good daddy! As I dropped them off it hit me... The is the last time I will have a first day of Pre-school! Where does the time go!? Then that is turn makes me feel old as I remember my mom saying that sort of thing to me growing up. I remember thinking how old my mom was... Now I don't think that. He has such a fun day! I am so proud of my little guy! Love you Brevers!!

Can you tell how excited he is!?

Oh and that would be a Buzz Lightyear and Woody backpack... Just in case you were wondering!

He had a BLAST!

2010-09-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well my sweet baby boy turned 4 a little while back... I didn't get to posting his pictures from his birthday, SO here they are!

Buzz Lightyear cake... Check!

Lots of presents... Check!

Cute friends over... Check!

Toy Story TOYS... Check!

FUN!... Check!

Happy Birthday Silly Dilly!

2010-09-03T21:15:00.001-07:00

Seven years ago a beautiful baby girl came to our home!

Seven SWEET treats about Dilyn:
1. Loves to write!
2. Loves to hoard her treasures!
3. Loves mac-n-cheese and ramen noodles!
4. Loves being a girly girl!
5. Loves to laugh and has a silly sense of humor!
6. Loves her friends and they LOVE her!
7. Loves to tell her mom and dad NO... especially when she is asked to clean her room!

Happy Birthday Silly Dilly!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-09-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

New Year of School!

2010-08-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it!? School is up and running again! The girls are all back in school, Brevin starts next week with Pre-school. So far, all is looking good! And so far they seem to be enjoying it! YAY!

Haidyn was the first to start back... She is in the 5th grade and she has a team teaching thing this year. I am not very excited about that. Caitlyn had team teachers for 4th grade and I was NOT impressed. Hopefully this years team teachers will be better.

Dilyn is now in 1st grade! All day! With lunch! She is such a good student! She has good friends in her class and she is really liking it!

I especially love the face paint!

Caitlyn is an 8th grader! ARGH! Where has the time gone! She is excited about MOST of her teachers... That is all we can ask for!

A New Adventure!

2010-08-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

We decided to do the unthinkable and took the kids camping! We have talked about it numerous times over the years, but it was only that... TALK. This year we finally did more than just talk, we took action. Caitlyn was the only one that had gone camping, which was at girls camp. And Haidyn kept asking us "Really? Why!?" We went up a local canyon that had a nice little campground with "toilet"s close by. But we had so much fun! Or at least I think we did... I believe it was a success! Don't mind all the pictures... ENJOY!

Don't they look excited!

Mommie can start a fire!

They loved sitting around the campfire!

We have a place to sleep!

There was a river close by that they had lots of fun playing in!

Mommie loves to read!

Going for a walk...

Photo ops!

My beautiful girls!

Everyone had fun playing in the fire!

My sweet boy!

We are WAAYY too much alike! Scary!

**giggle**

Antelope Island

2010-08-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to do a few more family activities lately... The last year has been slightly strained so we are having some family time... It has been a lot of fun. A few Sundays ago we went on a drive to Antelope Island, we hadn't been since Caitlyn and Haidyn were little... It was so much fun!

They were quite surprised by the bug at the shoreline, it was quite funny to watch them at first...

Oh, look at my cute kids!

Walking down to the beach with my sweet guy!

Once in the water, they had lots of fun walking around and tossing rocks in...

Oh yeah baby~

Cheesey grin!

Trying to teach the boy to skip rocks on the water...

I know she was just looking at her foot, but I love this pic of her! Such form, such grace!

Brevin actually got the knack of skipping those rocks! The girls did too.

Strike a pose!

Now, be silly!

My sweet little girl... She still likes me!

He is one lucky guy!!

Mommie was coming after the boy...

Caitlyn and Haidyn actually got along and didn't fight the whole time we were there! Yay!

It was such a beautiful day! The sky was beautiful... Blue and full of white fluffy clouds!

Awwww.... Precious!

Brevin was soaked! This is evidence as too how much salt is in that Great Salt Lake!

Stadium of Fire!

2010-08-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

This year Caitlyn and Haidyn were able to participate in the Stadium of Fire... After learning the dance with Tiffany at the studio, we went down to Provo and they spent a few days practicing with hundreds of girls. They were long days! But my girls were troopers! I was so proud! I get a little emotional when it comes to the 4th of July anyway, and this was more emotional with the girls performing!

Grammy was able to come down and attend with us! Here is Grammy with Haidyn, Dilyn and Brevin in front of the Cougar... GO BYU! :)

Cait... so beautiful!

Haidyn... Pretty girl!

Mommie and Dilyn, being silly to pass the time till it starts!

Yes, I a hottie!

Funnel cake! Yummy!!

Mommie, Daddy and the boy!

Brevin was so funny.... He keeps us laughing!

Haidyn was far away from us and I couldn't find her when they took the field, so I just started taking pics hoping I could find her once I got them on the computer... I found her!!

Caitlyn was right up fairly close to us... so we were able to watch her perform!

Yes, I cried...

Then they had the four branches of the military come out... the tears were flowing! I'm a baby, yes, I know!

Carrie Underwood sang the National Anthem and was the main performer...

Cheese!!

Silly girls!

Silly boys!

Dilyn and Grammy...

We had lots of fun! I wonder if the girls will want to dance again next year...

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-08-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Sixteen years...

2010-07-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

Wow... Who knew it would last this long!

Happy Birthday Brevers!

2010-07-28T12:34:00.001-07:00

Better late than never...

My sweet little guy is 4! I can't believe it has been that long since he graced us with his presence! He is full of laughter and fun... There is never a dull moment with him around! And after having three beautiful girls... he is quite a surprise!

He was and still is a beautiful boy!

He is a heart-breaker in the making!

Four fun facts about my Brevin:

1. He loves to flirt with cute girls... especially Madz.
2. He is one of the three amigos... the other two being Owen and Canyon.
3. He LOVES to tease his sisters.
4. He changes his clothes more often than all of his sisters combined!

We love having that cute little boy in our home!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BREVIN!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

I love a parade!

2010-07-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

It is a little known fact that I LOVE parades! I have been brought to tears by them . . . usually due to the honoring of the flag and the service of those that are usually honored in parades. I love to hear and see the marching bands and I love to see the beauty queens on the beautiful floats . . . I know I have received harassment from those that dislike parades, but I LOVE them. We are lucky enough to have our own little town parade here in Herriman during Herriman days. They have a fun little parade that is just about a block from our house. And then that night there is a carnival followed by a quite surprisingly good fireworks display.

Haidyn and Brevin checking out all the fun things passing by...

The businesses in the community are represented and hand/toss out flyers and coupons. Brevin is bringing one back from Little Caesars...

And they toss out candy to the kids. Caitlyn in her happenin' sunglasses.

Brevin grabbing a candy...

We finally have a high school in Herriman! I am so excited! I can't wait to go to the football and basketball games! This is the football team...

And the cheerleaders . . . one of my cute neighbor girls is a cheerleader . . . go LaRue (Kelsey)!

And the Drill Team . . . several girls on the drill team are from our own TDC dance the girls have gone to . . . especially our favorite Maddie!

I love our little town Parade . . .

Kindergarten Grad!

2010-07-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

It is official, Dilyn is now a First Grader! Only one more little one to pass through Those blissful half days of school! She is such a good student (in spite of her mothers lack of parenting abilities!). She loves to read and write, I find papers all over the house filled with her amazing writings...

Such a beautiful girl!

I had to put this picture up with Dannon in the bottom corner . . . love the faces they have!

And I had to put this one up with the face on Ellie!

We are so proud of you Dilyn! Good luck next year, my sweet little first grader!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Father's Day!

2010-06-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

It should probably be no surprise that I am not a big fan of Father's Day . . . I have really had to force myself to be more open to celebrating it for the sake of my children and for John. He really is a good Daddy. He is a great friend and loves to play. I truly believe Dad's are just overgrown children anyway. After getting up and eating a yummy breakfast, John wanted to go for a drive. We don't seen to do that very often anymore, probably because I am usually sleeping trying to recoop so I can pretend to be a normal Mommie for a couple of days before my work week starts again. John decided he wanted to drive the Alpine Loop and stop at Cascade Springs. I love driving through the canyons . . . it is so peaceful and beautiful. We had such a fun drive . . . and only had one kid throw up . . . luckily towards the end of the drive!

Look at how well they pose!

Don't you remember being so carefree!

See, overgrown kid!

Everyone wanted to climb this tree!

Haidyn . . .

Caitlyn . . .

Even the boy!

Love Cascade Srprings . . . it is so beautiful!

Aren't they just cute!

Of course I couldn't get Caitlyn to be serious in any pictures..

Love this picture!

Doesn't it look like they are having fun?

Oh, how sweet! A cute mom and her cute kiddos!

Me and Dilyn...

Daddy and Dilyn, self portrait!

Isn't it beautiful!

I think John had a nice day . . . we came home and had a grilling fest of salmon, asparagas, and baby red potatoes . . . Oh, plus I made rolls and they turned out SO good, even if I do say so myself!

Happy Father's Day John, hope your day was fabulous!

Duh!

2010-06-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

Last night it was my turn to bathe the boy . . . our conversation went kind of like this . . .

Mom, "Brevin, lay down so I can get your hair wet."
Brevin, "No."
Mom, "What did you say?"
Brevin, "I said no."
Mom, "Brevin, you don't tell me NO. Now, lay down."
Brevin, "No."
Mom, "Brevin . . ."
Brevin, "Mom, I'm playing . . . DUH!"

Thanksgiving Point

2010-06-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Brevin had a field trip to Thanksgiving Point with his Preschool class . . . John was kind enough to take the morning off of work so Mommie could sleep. He took Dilyn with them. Looks like they sure had a fun time!!

This is where little children belong . . . at least until the reach the age of 18.

Brevin LOVES horses!

Poor little Dilyn looks like an orphan . . . she is not fond of having her hair done.

On the little wagon ride...

I'm a little worried with how close he is to that Llama!

Everyone wants to ride a sheep . . .

Yep, everyone!

Do you see the JOY on his cute little face?

Such happiness! Thanks Daddy for taking our cute kids! They sure had fun!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-06-23T17:14:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-06-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

In honor of Father's Day . . . To a pretty darn good Daddy . . . if you ask me!

Happy Birthday Caitlyn!

2010-06-11T11:49:00.001-07:00

It is official . . . we are now the proud parents of a TEENAGER! Aahhh! Where has the time gone!? It seems life it was barely last year that they placed her in my arms and said I was ready to take her home from the hospital! And I remember thinking . . . What? I can just take her home? No one needs to make sure I am okay to take care of her? Then after those first two weeks I remember thinking that it was the LONGEST babysitting job EVER! And I was ready for the parents to come home and take their baby off my hands! She was a bit colicky, and I was not sure how to deal with her. And now she is 13 . . . and she cries on occasion . . . and I still don't know how to deal with her. :)

I am so proud of this girl . . . she is strong and capable and sure.

She has an amazing sense of humor. She loves to laugh and she loves to make those around her laugh!

She got a camera for Christmas . . . and she loves to take pictures of herself . . . and anything and everything!

Caitlyn is an amazing student! She is loving Middle School and loves all of her friends!

Caitlyn is a fabulous big sister . . . even if she tries not to be on occasion. She is responsible and conscientious of other.

Caitlyn loves to dance. I LOVE watching her dance! I love watching her facial expressions and love seeing her fun personality come out as she dances!

Caitlyn is a dedicated dancer . . . she only had ONE absence at dance for the whole year. She works hard and pushes herself to get what she wants!

WE LOVE YOU Caitlyn . . . it is an honor being your Mom and Dad!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-06-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-06-02T11:46:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-05-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

I've seen Wordless Wednesday on several other blogs . . . I thought I would give it a go . . .

Randomness . . .

2010-05-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

Just a few fun random pictures!

Brevin and Dilyn play so well together! They crack me up! Here they are hiding!

Brevin got mad at me for some random reason (He gets irritated at the funniest things!), went and hid in his bed . . . and fell asleep!

How do you not think he is the cutest! His best Shrek impersonation . . . with the help of Mommie's earplugs!

Bath time fun! Dilyn and . . .

Brevin!

Brevin is super-dee-dooper when it comes to hiding!

Dance Season in Full Swing!

2010-05-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

The girls have been in dance for several years now and this is our fourth (I think) year competing. We all look forward to this time of the year, really I'm serious! We now have 3 competitions under our belt and 2 to go. I am so proud of Caitlyn and Haidyn! They have both grown so much and I love watching them perform, sometimes it brings me to tears, yes I am a big baby! At their most recent competition, both Caitlyn and Haidyn both received first places on every dance they were in! I am such a proud Mommie! Next year Dilyn will be competing too, so excited!

Haidyn's ballet . . . not my favorite dance, but my favorite costume! Haidyn is right in the middle . . . she has the cutest little athletic body! Really not sure where she gets that from (have you seen her parents!)!

Caitlyn's Hip Hop . . . She is right in the middle, I love her facial expression, not a great picture, but she totally cracks me up!

This is my favorite sequence in Caitlyn's dances . . . they are jumping over each other . . . so fun to watch!

Proud Mommie, even if it is NOT entirely appropriate...

2010-05-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

So, Caitlyn comes home the other day from dance and proceeds to tell me that a girl, who will remain anonymous, called her a bitch. I remained calm, have gotten good at that, and then asked her what happened leading up to the name calling. She went on a long explanation dealing with spacing and placement in the dance . . . at that point I decided to ask her to gold medal question, "What did you say back to her?" Her answer, "I told her I was born a bitch and I will always be a bitch!" I must say, I am SO proud of her answer! She could have taken the low road and called her any number of names back . . . or she could have cried and got upset . . . but no, my baby girl took ownership of who she is and took the high ground! At least she did as far as I am concerned! That is MY girl! She did me proud! I know she is definitely her mothers daughter! Love her!

Easter!

2010-05-03T15:30:00.001-07:00

So, it has been a while since I posted . . . I admitted to being broken and then disappeared . . . how do I rate! Ha! Well, I decided it was time to post a few things. East came and went so quickly this year! I worked the night before, but managed to get up around noon and still prepare an East dinner for John and the kids . . . Strawberry pie included! I was fairly proud of myself, if I do say so! The Easter bunny managed a quick stop at our house too . . . We skipped church, I know, we are damned, but enjoyed having a nice quiet day to ourselves!

Coloring eggs is an art!

Yep, she's mine . . .

Oh, and they are too!

Cheesey and Oh, my!

See, I'm telling you, it's an art!

Broken . . .

2010-03-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't start out this way.

I used to be organized, on-the-ball, upbeat, happy, patient, friendly and kind. I could remember every facet of my children's lives, from parent teacher conferences to dance practices (without even consulting a calendar!). My house looked lived in but well-kept even though both my husband and I worked. I can't tell you exactly when I turned the corner into lazy, grumpy, ornery, just-doing-enough-to-get-by...but I've been there for some time now. Perhaps the slow descent was enough to fool me that nothing bad was happening. The biggest question is why? How did I let this happen to me and my family?

Am I overworked? Stressed out? Tired? Sure, but no more so than millions of other stay-at-home or working moms. So what the hell is my problem? My house looks like a perpetual tornado lives here (my4 children don't help, but I mean...seriously?). And you know what? Most of the time I just don't care. It drives my husband up a wall. He asks me all the time if I have seen such and such or so and so's room and I have, but I just don't care and I cannot for the life of me find the will or motivation to do anything about it anymore. Even when I do pick up the main areas, I feel it's a wasted effort. My children tear through the house leaving a wake of destruction behind them.

But I can't even just blame them. It's me. Working graves has taken it's toll on me, I am home during the day but so exhausted I usually don't even want to get out of bed, even on those days when I had the night off. My job as a mother is to keep the house at least reasonably tidy and I can't do it. I'm not lazy, I assure you. But now that the laundry is literally taking over, it overwhelms me to the point where I'm frozen and immobile. My kindergartner has missed 19 days of school this year . . . I have slacked and there is no excuse.

I am broken for many other reasons too. I suppose I shouldn't lay it all on the line right off the bat to keep this interesting. But you can probably name just about any area that a wife/mother/woman should find success or fulfillment in and I am nowhere near feeling successful or fulfilled. I feel like a complete and utter failure most days.

The purpose of this is going to be to find my way from Broken Mom to Whole, Happy, Healthy, Fulfilled Mom. I just have to find the courage to do it...

Freaking Cute . . . but he talks!

2010-03-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love this little boy! I mean, seriously? Can you deny he is freaking cute!? Well today, I went to lunch with my best friend Lynette. I took Brevin with me, he is and was very well behaved. That is until we had someone sit behind us . . . someone who happened to be a bit on the big side. To which my son tapped me and said "Mom . . . look! That guy is fat!". I shushed him and said we don't say that, but I didn't satisfy him . . . he wanted me to acknowledge what he was saying was true . . . so he said it again. I managed to get my hand over his mouth so you couldn't hear him, but that also made him cry. I again told him we don't say that . . . but still he was not satisfied. After he was done with his tears, he said it again . . . so I was forced to agree with him so he would stop.

A few weeks back, I was getting home from work and John was heading out the door to work . . . Brevin was in our bed, of course . . . and that sweet little boy laid his hand on my cheek and said "Mommie, you're beau-full!". He then proceeded to say "Daddy is nice . . . and hairy!"

Love that little guy!

I had to add what Brevin said last night . . . I was already in bed and Brevin came in crying . . . "Mommie, I don't like Daddy! He is mean and he is a tard! Go spank his bum! I like Haidyn, and I like Claitlyn (Caitlyn) and I like you and I like Dilyn, but I DON'T like Dad!"

Discovery Gateway

2010-03-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

John took the kids to Discovery Gateway a few weeks ago, so mommie could get some well deserved rest! Looks like they had fun! Thanks John for the break!

He must take after his dad . . . Now, is that a nice comment or a mean one? You decide!

Caitlyn is looking pretty intense . . . she gets that from her mommie!

Future scientists?

I think they really liked Life Flight! Lots of pictures to choose from in the helicopter! They get this from my side of the family . . . I'm just saying . . .

Not sure what is going on with Haidyn here . . . looks like she is about to sneeze, but Caitlyn and Brevin sure look cute!

Riding a plastic horse! Does it get any better than that!?

Seriously just had to throw this in! My favorite part is her t-shirt . . . it says "No Beer Goggles Necessary". Hope I don't get in trouble for that! HA HA! (Thank you Christenson's for the shirt!) And check out her amazing dance pants! From the BEST dance company there is! TDC! Woo Hoo!! Tiffany Dance Company, baby!!

What Will We Find?

2010-03-11T20:09:00.000-08:00

When you go out on a date and leave the kids home . . . do you worry about what will greet you when you walk in the door? I know I do! We have stopped hiring babysitters, because, well, one time I came home to my house destroyed by one, so we let the kids fend for themselves. For the most part . . . they do fairly well. On occasion, I have come home extremely disappointed! John and I went out a few weekends ago . . . this was what we found . . .

Don't you love it!

Maid for Hire!

2010-03-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

If my girls would take just a bit of his initiative . . . there would be less yelling and more hugs and kisses! I am sure he will change as he gets older . . . but for now, he is stinking cute! He always wants to help and he see stuff that needs to be done and he tries to do it! What a fabulous little boy! Love his little smile!

Sledding Anyone?

2010-03-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

This years has not been the best as far as snow goes . . . we kept waiting for a big storm to go sledding, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen this year. So when we got a snow storm a few weeks ago, we decided that it was time for action! Nothing like an adventure in the snow!

What a good big sis! Haidyn taking that little brother down the hill!

Haidyn actually got a couple of runs in by herself!

I don't think Dilyn went down the hill once! Just played in the snow . . .

The biggest child of the group . . . 39 going on 40!

Daddy and Son . . . how sweet!

Sisters by Chance . . . Friends by Choice

2010-03-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

What can I say? Sweet aren't they!?

Christmas . . . better late than never!

2010-03-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

Ever so slightly behind on blogging . . . but I am trying to catch up! Here are a few pictures from our Merry Christmas!

Brevin had to pose with everything he opened! Love the face!

Dilyn . . . love her toothless grin!

Mommies was ever so slightly tired!

Grammy made each girl an apron and gave them each a recipe book . . . so cute!

Haidyn the Grr . . . she finally got her DS . . .

Caitlyn wanted Lego's . . . luckily she has aunts and uncles to answer the call!

What every dad should be doing on Christmas!

The Eve of Christmas

2010-03-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

Just a bit of fun waiting for the fat man in the red suit . . .

Dance . . . Christmas Style!!

2010-03-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things at Christmas is watching my girls dance . . . Well, that is one of my favorite things to do anytime! I am so proud of them! They are so amazing! I love to watch them as they continue to progress with their abilities. They never fail to bring tears to my eyes!

This year was no different in the tears department . . . I had failed to realize that I worked the night before . . . so I got home at 6:00 AM and they had to be there and ready at 10:15 . . . so needless to say, with less than 2 hours sleep, I was tired and emotional and I know I offended and was rude to a few people along the way . . . oops.

Dilyn danced to "Santa Baby". Check the bling on her finger! Dilyn has come such a long ways! From running off the stage crying to just standing there scowling to now doing her entire performance! Fabulous girl! Just fabulous!!

Haidyn is becoming very accomplished in her Ballet! Of course, she tells me it is her least favorite.

Haidyn was a present in the production number . . . I love this picture of her . . . isn't she beautiful!!

My only complaint this year was that Caitlyn only performed one dance and it was the production number . . . didn't get to see her dance much, but thanks to an extremely short costume, we saw LOTS of her!! Can you tell which one she is?!

I love these beautiful girls!

Haidyn's Birthday . . .

2010-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been a slacker as of late . . . so I will be updating over the next week or so . . . I hope there are those who still check us out!!

Haidyn turned 10 back in December! I can't believe it! She is getting so tall and is such an amazing sister! We had family over as well as a big friend party . . . she got lots of fun presents!

For her "theme" she only wanted orange and green . . . we try to deliver!!

Just look at that cake! I love the look on the little boys faces! So sweet!

For her friend party, I borrowed my wonderful neighbors dance studio (Thanks Tiffany!) as well as her daughter (Thanks Maddie!) to teach the girls a dance. They had so much fun!

We played a bunch of different games too! Silly girls, I think they had fun!
Happy Birthday Haidyn!

I Love What I Do . . .

2010-02-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I decided it was time to change jobs . . . while I loved (chuckle) working in the deli at the neighborhood grocery store, it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I grew up wanting to work in the healthcare world, first I wanted to be an ob/gyn, I determined I didn't want to go to school for that long and decided I would rather be a nurse. Unfortunately life happens. I didn't go to the school I wanted and wasted two years of my life doing what my mom wanted me to do. Then I got married and dropped out, big mistake.
So two years ago I took the first step to doing what I really wanted to do and took a CNA class and got my certificate. I then got a job working at an Alzheimers facility. I absolutely loved it!!! I loved my patients and there was never a dull day, not to mention every day was different. The only thing I didn't love was the 30 minute commute. Then a Rehabilitation facility was being built just down the road, luckily I got a job there. I have been working there for a year now and still love my job.
Back in August I switched from working in the afternoons to working the graveyard shift. So I go in at 10:00 at night and get home at 6:00 in the morning. And I couldn't love it more. A lot of people tell me how sorry they are for me to work the hours that I do, but I love it. Yes, I do lack in the sleep department, but I get to be home with my kids during the day, and get to help them with homework in the evenings and have dinner with them at night and even get to tuck them into bed before I leave for work. Another thing that is nice, I don't have to deal with management. How many people complain about their boss and the other people in the office. I don't see those people. How great is that! I see them on payday and that is about it. I also hear a lot that is must be quiet and not much goes on because everyone sleeps . . . HA! Yes, we do have nights where there are few call lights that go off, but I am usually moving all night long. Some nights are quieter than others and I have the opportunity to watch a movie, but it takes all night to watch the movie. Yes, there are some unpleasant things I get to do also, like change briefs and deal with some unpleasant people, but we all get to do things we don't want to do.
The best part of my job is that I get the opportunity to work with people that make work not seem like work. Lynette and I laugh and have fun all night long. Not to mention that she has become one of the best friends I have ever had. She has the ability to make a long and sometimes frustrating night to be fun and full of laughter!
Two weeks ago Caitlyn had to opportunity with the Young Women in the ward to spend an evening there visiting with the patients I have to opportunity to work with every night. I was so excited to have her spend time with these amazing people. It was fun to have her come home and tell me about what she talked about with my patients. I think she had fun learning a little about what I do.
I am getting my nursing degree. This isn't the ideal time to do it, but I am not giving up on my dreams and that a great thing to teach my children! I love my job, I really, really do!

Performance!

2009-12-22T12:57:00.001-08:00

Caitlyn had to either take band or choir this year . . . she did NOT want to sing, so she chose band. She wanted to do percussion, but you had to either have one year of band first or taken piano for two years . . . she only had piano for one . . . Then she decided she wanted to play the Saxophone, but first you have to take clarinet for a year. So, this year she has been learning the clarinet. She is not necessarily loving it, but she is doing a really great job! She has unfortunately gotten a little bit of flack from a few so-called "friends" but she has continued her pursuit! She had her first performance two weeks ago . . . I am such a proud mommie! She did a great job! We love you Caitlyn!

She did such a good job!

Can you see her? This is the best picture I could get . . . most of them you couldn't see below her nose.

Brevin was asleep by the second song . . . he did not even hear her perform . . . I am sure he was heart broken. And yes, he slept through the entire performance!

Here is a sampling of her work . . . Jingle Bells . . . the Clarinets play second. Caitlyn is right in the middle, second row back.

The Tree!

2009-12-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

Even though no one reads my blog, or if the do, they never leave me any comments to read, I will continue charting out progress through life. Now that it is just about Christmas, I thought I would let you know what we have been up to the last few weeks. We got up the tree . . . my favorite part. Although I gave in a few years ago and purchased a heavily discounted artificial tree (when working at Roberts) I still love the tree. I light my Christmas tree candle and call is good. I grew up with homemade ornaments on my tree and John thought that was good enough for our family too. It is one of my favorite traditions. We try to add new ornaments every year, most years we succeed at adding new ones.

Caitlyn and Haidyn adding their favorites. And of course they have to fight over which ones they get to put up.

Can you say attitude?

Can you say dork?

Brevin enjoyed and seems to understand what is going on. He is so excited for Santa to come, as long as he doesn't have to see him or talk to him.

Dilyn, what a sweet girl . . . I think she has written 3 or 4 letters to Santa this year.

The mom . . . inspecting everyones work . . . I gave it an A+. Super Job!!

Happy Birthday Haidyn!

2009-12-13T20:29:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HAIDYN LEIGH!

I can hardly believe it was 10 years ago that the sweetest baby came to our home!

Haidyn Leigh . . . born 13 December 1999, 2 weeks early, weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces! I just remember saying over and over how TINY shy was and being told she was a huge baby! Not after her sister!

From the moment she was born her eyes opened, she saw her Dad and fell in love! She has been a Daddy's girl ever since!

I love this picture of Haidyn and my mom . . . What a good Grammy!

A little girl and her pacifier! This was at Gary and Amy's wedding, wasn't she a cute Flower Girl!

Her first dance recital . . . No dancing occurred . . . she said it was because of the circles on her cheeks.

Not a fan of performing or having her picture taken . . . a little frustrating for her mom.

She started climbing right after crawling . . . which she did early too . . . there was no holding her back!

Did I mention she liked to climb?

Haidyn at one-year-old . . . such a cute girl!!

This was at Scott and Sharley's wedding . . . did I mention she didn't like having her picture taken?

My sweet girl!

She has fallen asleep in many different places, not to mention fallen out of bed and never woken up on numerous occasions! Crazy girl!

Luckily she loves to dance now! She is an amazing dancer!

One of my favorite picture of her!

She loves to play and have fun!

Thanks for being such a sweet girl! We love you Haidyn!

Living Planet Aquarium . . .

2009-12-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, when everyone else goes shopping, we decided to take the kids to the Aquarium . . . I didn't even know it was there until recently . . . The kids had a lot of fun . . .

This was checking out the eels . . . too close to snakes for me.

They have some fun interactive things . . . you can touch the stingrays and touch starfish and a few other things. This just made me think of our cruise . . . and how much I want to go back!

Look at my cute kids! We actually all got along for a whole afternoon! Imagine that!

John showing the kids this cute little fish in a homemade marsh. What a good Dad!!

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving! It is my favorite holiday! It really is! Main reason, I love the food! Funny thing, is that I hardly ever take pictures of this day . . . why is that? Probably because I am too busy cooking and shoving food in my face to pick up the camera and actually use it. This year Thanksgiving seemed so different than years past . . . probably because I was working graveyards this year and I worked the night before and the night of the Turkey day. So I was TIRED, but thank goodness for my Mommie! Shei s the best! She came and cooked up a storm for me and my family! I did help, but not as much as usual. I am so happy she came! I did take a few pics . . .

Isn't that boy just the cutest! With Caitlyn and Dilyn having, what I can only imagine, a very interesting conversation!

Look at that little posing boy! I think he learned it from his sisters! My mom, I'm sure giving lots of extremely helpful advice! Haidyn trying to avoid the picture altogether . . . so like her!

John carving that yummy turkey!

I thought I would list a few random things I am thankful for in the spirit of Thanksgiving, not the typical family and stuff . . . I have to be different!

Four-wheel drive . . . how do people drive in the snow without it!

My sleep mask and ear plugs . . . with working graves, a must!

Snow! . . . yes I know, lots of people hate it, I don't!

My 64 ounce mug . . . love it!

The funny things my kids say . . . they keep me laughing!

Trashy Romance Novels . . . don't ask.

Pink, Funhouse CD . . . gets me through cleaning the house with much fun!

My kitchenaid mixer . . . seriously, how did I get by without one!

the Internet . . . how did we get by without it!

NASCAR baby!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

He Likes IT!!

2009-12-11T20:13:00.001-08:00

My boy! He likes his sugar! He gets it from his daddy! I am sure of it! Whenever I am doing any baking of any kind, I have one little guy that must inspect everything! he grabs the stool and climbs up to see what Mommie is mixing up! And of course he always just wants a little taste. He comes at me with a spoon begging PLEASE and then puckers up those cute little lips to give me a kiss. He knows how to get what he wants!

Look at that face! Isn't it the cutest smile ever! He has started saying some pretty entertaining things, I am not sure where he comes up with them . . . for instance, the other day I was getting him dressed and he lifts up his arms and says to me "Mom, my armpits look like cheese." Now, if anyone can explain that one to me, I would greatly appreciate it! I love my little guy! He is full of fun! I love his hugs and I love it when he tells me he loves me! Nothing can be better than that!

Zzzz . . . . sleeping . . . . Shhh!

2009-12-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs sleep . . . and sometimes we have to take it where we can get it . . .

This is Haidyn, the day after a sleepover . . . One reason I don't like sleepovers, they come home tired and ornery!

Brevin was watching a movie in the office . . . I'm guessing he got a little tired too.

And this would be me! This is how I have to sleep now, at least when I get to sleep. Please note the purple earplugs! They block out phones ringing, children yelling and the complaints of a husband. I highly recommend them!!!

I'm Alive!

2009-12-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

I have neglected my poor blog! What's a girl to do! I told John he should take a picture of me this weekend with my sleep mask on and my earplugs in . . . seems to be the only way I can sleep anymore. Working graveyards 4 and 5 days a week has taken it's toll on me! I have been neglecting my family, my house, my cooking, and most likely my husband. I haven't even kept up on my favorite TV shows! How depressing is that! I just wanted everyone to know that LIFE still exists in the Baker house! The girls are all doing well at school. Caitlyn is seemingly adjust to middle school thus far! She has taken to her 7 classes and playing the clarinet surprisingly well! Haidyn is thriving in the 4th grade and will be 10 this next Sunday. Dilyn is loving Kindergarten and is enjoying her new friends! All the girls are still going to dance every week and I am impressed as usual at their abilities! (I am just glad they haven't taken after me! Not sure where they get it from, hard work most likely, because John ain't that graceful himself, remember falling off the roof?) Brevin . . . is adjusting to Preschool. He never seems to want to go, but I am told he warms right up after I leave and he says he has fun! Oh, and of course his teacher says he is brilliant! John is still with Richmond American Homes, he has survived all the lay-offs and is actually really busy at work! That is always a good thing! I will post some recent pictures this week . . . I promise! And I will let you know everything we have been up to!

All Hallow's Eve

2009-11-02T19:01:00.001-08:00

Love Halloween! Love the little kids all dressed up!

Dilyn as Super Girl! Brevin as Mr. Incredible! Love his muscles!! Dilyn said he had a "six packet"!!

Haidyn and her friend Kylie . . . they were "Lazy Heads" . . . which means they walked around in their pajamas!

Caitlyn and her friends . . . she was a PowerPuff girl . . . Blossom I believe.

I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get a picture of all my kids together this year . . . I guess they are just growing up and doing their own thing!

The Carving of the Pumpkins!

2009-11-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween! I love to carve pumpkins and decorate the house and help the kids with costumes! Here we are getting ready to carve up those Pumpkins!!!

Get a load of Cait's face.

First you must gut . . .

I don't know what it is . . . but I love to gut the pumpkin! And I must say I am VERY good at it! I get the inside so clean . . . and I and super fast at it! I dare say, it is a talent I possess!

Dilyn actually did her own carving this year! With a little supervision from Daddy!

Haidyn . . . getting her pattern just so!

Do you think he is proud of his pumpkin? I am guessing he is!!

Family Pictures!!

2009-10-29T06:28:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we got all gussied up and went to Wheeler Farm to have family pictures done! I am so excited how they turned out! I have never been this happy with family pictures before!!

John and the estrogen sisters!

Mommie and her little guy!

Love my little girls!

Who is that good looking girl with that old guy!?

My mom came down to join us for pictures!

Grammy and us!

Daddy and Brevers!

Look at the ducks Mommie!

Are they not beautiful! They take after their Mommie!

Riding the tractor!

What a good looking bunch!

Caitlyn's grin kills me!

Love the Fall colors!!

Thanks Mindy! I love them all! You did fabulous! Check her out! www.mindylynnphotography.blogspot.com

She is just like her mother!

2009-10-09T11:11:00.001-07:00

I have never professed to being a perfect mother . . . and perhaps my children have learned just a very few improper things from me. What can I say? I am imperfect, extremely much so! I get in trouble from my children for my love of using a few swear words here and there. I make inappropriate comments and speak my mind, usually without the use of a filter. Now that my children are getting older and have the ability to think for themselves my errors are becoming more apparent. A few nights ago, my entire little family went over to my friend and coworkers house for the first time. Lynette was impressed with how much Caitlyn is like her mother . . . the sarcasm, whit and silly gestures are all quite apparent. It has been obvious to me for quite a while, in fact, John and I took Caitlyn shopping and out to dinner one night last month and after one of her sarcastic comments I looked at John and said "Oh my, she sounds just like her mother!". John immediate relief was ALL to apparent when he yelled "Thank you! I have been wanting to say that! Thank you!!!".
John and Caitlyn have been at odds as of late, she being twelve and her hormones just banging on the door to be heard and John pushing mid-life crisis mode, are loving life! I tend to spend much of my time as their referee. John will come to be begging me to talk to her and she will do the same for me to talk to him. Needless to say, it can be exhausting! Well, this past Sunday was no different than any other day. John was trying to get Caitlyn to do her dishes and Caitlyn was trying desperately to avoid doing them. After plenty of arguing and harassing back and forth, said dishes were finally done, save for the silverware. Caitlyn was waiting for Dilyn to empty the silverware from the dishwasher before the dirty silverware could be put in, and we know she was not going out of her way to do Dilyn's job. This is what we found on the counter . . .
Needless to say . . . Caitlyn is still on dishes this week. But secretly, I laughed my guts out! She is definitely my daughter!

One day . . .

2009-10-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have one of those days when you think . . . Why am I doing this? Why am I here? No one listens to me, no one appreciates anything I am doing. What is the point!? I must admit, I have having these thoughts all too frequently as of late. I get tired of not having any help, and when asking for help I am inundated with whining and crying, and that it just from John! Seriously though, I have those days when I really wonder if they would even notice if I didn't get out of bed, other than the fact that they didn't have clean clothes or no food. Would I be missed at all? I know this is extremely selfish of me, but it doesn't hurt to be a little selfish on occasion. A few Saturdays ago, I was feeling sorry for myself, wondering "Why me!?" and one by one the kids came in to my room and climbed on my bed with me. I looked at each of them and thought how truly lucky I am to have such beautiful and amazing children . . . Now don't get me wrong, they drive me crazier than I am sure I drove my mom, but I love them. There I admit it! We played and tickled and most importantly laughed. I told John to hurry and grab the camera, because I wanted to remember the moment when all my kids actually wanted me and liked me, all at the same time! Will miracles ever cease? I hope not!

Love these precious moments!

And these precious kids!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch. I love Fall, the colors, the cooler weather, decorating the house and it really makes me want to start doing the fun seasonal baking along with it. Last weekend we got all the Fall and Halloween decorations out so this weekend we decided it was time to go pick out our pumpkins. We have been going to the same pumpkin patch for a few years now, one reason because they have tractors lined up for the kids to sit on and play.

Aren't they cute! (Warning! Though they might seem cute, they have a naughty side to them!)

John always takes the longest to pick his pumpkin . . . it is quite the process!

Brevin, always has the smallest pumpkin.

Haidyn always has the largest pumpkin.

Dilyn likes to strike a pose!

We can never get Brevin away from the tractors!

Caitlyn . . . need I say more!?

Peace Out!

2009-10-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

Haidyn thinks she is all that and a bag of chips! So she has to get her brother to be the "gangsta" that he is . . . peace out!

So, of course Dilyn has to participate . . . I love Caitlyn's face in the background!!

Daddy, pretending he is cool too!

He is G-funk, and O.G. . . . Gangsta baby!
(that is for you Carlye!)

The Boys . . .

2009-10-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

Brevin firmly believes he can help his Dad with anything! When and if John gets out a tool of any kind, Brevin is by his side helping! How cute are they!

My boys! Gotta love 'em!

Leave a comment with a caption . . . best one wins!

Many Firsts!

2009-09-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

This year we had four first days of school! They each started on a different day and they all have school start at a different time . . . I thought last year was confusing with two kids on different tracks. I was definitely wrong! Now that we are a few weeks in, I think I have the schedule down.

Brevin started Preschool this year! He is so excited, until he gets there, then he rethinks his decision for being excited. When I pick him up he says he loves it!

Dilyn started Kindergarten! Can you say deer in the headlights? I have the hardest time getting a normal picture of her! Silly girl!

Haidyn started 4th grade with Mr Foote. She was so excited to get him as her teacher! My first male teacher, Mr. Rogerson . . . I cried!

Caitlyn, my Middle School test child! I was nervous for her, had a few friends that freaked me out about it, but she is loving it and doing really well so far!

Anyone know CPR?

2009-09-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

I want to get this down before I forget all the details . . . so here goes. Last Saturday night, thinking I had the night off, I was called in to work. I got there at 10:00 PM, received report on all the patients we had for the night (we being Matt, Jonathan and I). Just thinking it was going to be another evening of helping patients to the bathroom and getting pain pills for the night, things changed quickly. We had all made our rounds checking on patients, getting vitals, nothing too unusual. Jonathan checked on patient D, took off his glasses turned off his light and TV, because he had fallen asleep. 15 minutes later, Matt went in to check D's vitals, but he was unresponsive and not breathing. After coming to inform us, grabbed the crash car and we all went in running. We got him on to the floor, Matt was on the ambu-bag while I started compressions. Now, I had never administered CPR before, and there is no way to explain what it feels like to be giving compressions on someones chest, it is almost disturbing. The feeling of pushing, the pops and almost cracks that you feel is like no other! The nurse had called 911 and we had them on the phone while I was doing compressions, they wanted me to do 600 compressions by the time the paramedics got there, doing 2 compressions per second. The paramedics got within minutes and I continued doing compressions while they were getting everything situated, and lines in. I have to say it was amazing to be right there first hand watching and participating. They worked on him for almost 30 minutes, managed to get a faint pulse, so they loaded him up on the gurney and took him to the hospital. Unfortunately he didn't make it. I didn't think he would, I knew he was gone when we started CPR, but we have to do everything possible to help him. I was so impressed with the paramedics and all the things they do. There were several sheriffs that came to, I wasn't expecting that, but I am sure it is protocol for a death, and they kept a log of everything that was done and noting the times, as well as talking to us to find out exactly what happened. While all of this was going on, I felt so inadequate, felt like I didn't know what I was doing, but when questions were asked I knew the answers and after everything was over Matt said I was calm and that I was amazing. I sure didn't feel that way, but I am glad he said that. During, they asked me several times if I needed to be relieved, but the adrenaline was pumping and I didn't feel tired at all, I was rather warm though! The next day, I was exhausted and my arms were sore, but I would do it all over again. Truly an amazing and humbling experience.

Happy Birthday Dilyn!

2009-09-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Dilyn! I am very behind on my blogging, so in an attempt to catch up, I had to start by wishing my sweet Silly Dilly a belated Happy Birthday! Dilyn was born, very quickly, on September 3rd, 2003. My doctor induced me a week early and less than an hour after he broke my water, Dilyn was born by the nurse and John, without even one push from me. The doctor came in to the room just after John had cut the cord. Dilyn was my smallest baby weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces.

When we found out we were having our third little girl, I was so excited! I was terrified of having a boy. I was supremely shocked and disappointed how others reacted to us having a third girl. Dilyn was such a beautiful baby! How could I not be excited to have such a sweet little girl come into our home!

Dilyn's first Christmas!

Dilyn at 9 months old . . . she was the sweetest baby! Very easy going and so happy!

Dilyn's first birthday.

She always has a smile on her cute little face!

She loved her pacifier!

And she loved her bottle! I loved this, she rocked herself to sleep in the rocking chair.

Cute, right?!

Dilyn is a wonderful big sister! She loves those sisters too!

She loves her swimming suit and loves to swim!

One day when she was about 2, Dilyn just disappeared. I knew I hadn't heard the door open, so I thought she had to be in the house somewhere. After a few minutes I started to panic, I kept calling and calling her name, but she wouldn't answer. I walked in to my closet for the second time and I finally saw her, curled up on a pillow under my clothes!

How can you not love that face!

Dilyn loves to dance!

And she loves to play dress-up. Doesn't she look fabulous!

Did I mention that she used to call herself Dilyn Princess Jade Baker! When asked her name, that was her response.

My sweet Dilyn . . . Love you!!

15 Years!

2009-07-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official . . . John and I have been married for 15 years! July 30th, 1994 doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but when I think of all the things we have done and been through, it seems like forever ago! Instead of doing a lovey-dovey post, which I am so over, I thought I would list some of the things we have been through in the last 15 years . . .

10 vehicles

4 babies

9 pregnancies

5 miscarriages

4 moves

built 2 houses

6 hospitalizations

1 perscription of Xanax

3 broken bones

4 perscriptions of anti-depressants

7 surgeries

1 perscription of Valium

59 birthdays

2 house remodelings

11 jobs

1 career change (for John)

3 dogs

1 hamster

1 bird

8 fish

5 speeding tickets

6 minor car accidents

3 nephews

5 neices

2 bad perms

2677 times I've told John how to drive

3419 times John has used "we" when meaning me, not him

countless illnesses

5 major family vacations

1 cruise

dozens of small vacations

12 dance competitions

3 children that have thrown up while traveling

100's of trip to Cafe Rio

cases and cases of Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper

22 family photos, his, hers and ours

Our Engagement Photo, Tiffany 20, John 23. So young, so naive!

I was so skinny, but didn't realize just how much so!

Look how young we all were! Crazy!

The classic Salt Lake Temple photo.

John was so skinny and his ears stuck out . . . kind of funny.

I fattened him up quite nicely though. And he didn't think I could cook! HAHA!

Fall of 2008 . . . My how we have changed!

He has always been a bit of a loon

I have never been a fan of having my picture taken, but I actually liked this picture of us. Fall of 2002.

An attempt at being sexy . . . didn't work very well. :)

Grand Caymans . . . swimming with the stingrays . . . one of the most exciting events of our lives! Loved that trip!

At dinner on our cruise . . . want to go back desperately! Thank you Tom and Tiffany and Kim and Shane! Seriously was the best vacation we have ever been on!

Aren't we funny . . . looking!

15 years is a long time! I wonder what the next 15 years will hold in store for us!?

Happy Birthday Brevin!

2009-07-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

My little guy turned 3 on the 28th! (Yes, this is late, but I have been havng issues with my compter!) I can't believe it has been three years since he was born! It really does seem that long ago! He is such a fun little boy. It has been a learning experience as well. After 3 girls, it is definitely different having a boy around the house. Brevin was born about 8 in the morning on July 28th. He was my longest labor and the first time I actually considered using pain meds, my doctor told me I was fine and then asked me to rub his back. Love that doctor of mine! Brevin was the longest of my babies at 23 inches long and weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces. We knew we were having a boy, but because everyone kept telling us we would have another girl, we didn't say anything except for a few persons. We didn't tell the girls and managed to decorate his room without them finding out we were having a little brother. As soon as he was born, I was trying to see him, just to make sure that he was truly a little boy!

Seriously, wasn't he just a beautiful baby!

Dilyn was so proud to be a big sister!

Caitlyn was SOO excited! She had been wanting a little brother forever!

We started him on NASCAR early! His bedroom is decorated with cars, we like to start them young.

Amazingly cute, right?! Everyone kept asking me if it was weird having a boy, if there were a lot of differences, the biggest difference was I did a load of laundry that was BLUE! At least that was the first main difference I noticed.

Brevin's blessing day . . . one child always has to NOT cooperate, it is the Baker way.

I love babies right after they get out of the bath! Smell so yummy!

Brevin's First Christmas!

In Pocatello at a park, he loves to swing!

This poor boy has been to so many dance recitals and competitions! I keep telling the girls when he gets started in sports, they will have to be to every game to cheer him on. It is only fair!

He has always loved to be outside and in the water!
Love it when they are trying out those legs! He didn't walk until he was 15 months old . . . he always had someone to carry him around, he had no reason to learn to walk.

Brevin's first Birthday! Loves cake, loves frosting!

His first haircut . . . I cried.

At the pumpkin patch . . . my boys!

Halloween, he is just cute all of the time, can you tell.

All tools belong to him . . . and he must be with Daddy when fixing anything!

Climbing on mommie.

This was his favorite game, pull everything out and then put it back.

Why buy toys when they have more fun with the boxes?

Having 3 older sisters, he gets dressed up frequently, poor kid!

Brevin, two-years old!

John had to get this for Brevin's birthday. He is a pretty good driver.

What is it with little boys and their hands down their pants?

He was so excited to get his big boy bed!!

One night he escaped outof his bed and when we went to check on him, he was gone and this is where we found him!

I seriously love this little boy! Never a dull moment!

Happy Birthday Brevin!

My son . . .

2009-07-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

I really have no words . . . John and I were outside talking to Papa Bear, John's dad, Brevin was playing in the dirt in his swim suit and the next thing we know . . .

Yes, that is our boy, standing naked on top of his dad's car. What can we say?

Week in Review . . .

2009-06-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

This week has been a busy one. School is almost out, thank goodness! I get annoyed with year-round school this time of the year. They have to have all their year end stuff in by the end of May, so the last few weeks of school, they don't seem to do anything. They have their dance festival and Field day and their Award Day.

Caitlyn got the Gold Star award, which is given for having a high GPA, not just for 6th grade, but for the cumulative GPA of 4th,5th and 6th Grade. What a good girl I have! Hopefully that will continue in Middle School!

Haidyn received the High Flying Hawk Award, most of the work for this has to be done at home. Haidyn is a hard worker (for everyone but me!).

I actually went to Enrichment, only because they were doing CPR training at the Fire Station. I went in hopes of getting some exciting and gory stories. The guys at the station were so very nice! They took a few of us on a quick ride around the block. And I convinced them to take me on a ride-a-long!

Brevin has become my little chicken boy. He is terrified of everything! Currently his biggest fear is dogs. He will hardly go outside because of a couple of neighbor dogs. Well, we were all outside the other night and the neighbors dogs got out, Brevin started freaking out and Tom came to the rescue. Tom gave Brevin a Sharpie to hold. He told him to hold it out and the dogs wouldn't come near him. Worked like a charm!

Then, one day I got home after running a few errands with Caitlyn, only to find Brevin had fallen asleep in the office chair . . .

He does not look very comfortable!

But he sure is cute!

Grammy Skirts

2009-06-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

My mom is a wonderful seamstress! She is extremely talented when it comes to sewing, a talent that was NOT passed on to her eldest daughter and I am okay with that. Several times a year my children are the benefactors of that talent. At Christmas they get pajamas, they all have a quilt on their bed made especially for them from their Grammy. We have more pillowcases in our home then probably all the homes on our street combined, because we all have one for each holiday and then just some extras for fun, made of course by Grammy. We recently received a package for Caitlyn's birthday, that contained not only presents for the birthday girl, but also a skirt for all three girls. So Saturday we all set out in the rain in search of shirts to match the new skirts. And luckily, we were successful in finding shirts to match! Check out our finds!

And to not leave my favorite son out of the limelight for a minute . . . isn't he so cute!

He was being some kind of animal that growls and we were having fun scaring each other! He totally cracks me up! So in love with that boy!

Birthday Weekend!

2009-06-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a birthday fest for Caitlyn! We had a lot of fun! And I think Caitlyn had fun too, but she is entering the teenage-dom where emotion is kept hidden. First off, her birthday was Thursday, so I delivered donuts, per her request, to school. Then after school I took her to get her hair cut! Oh wait . . . she requested that she get new clothes to wear on her birthday . . . I gave her 3 outfits in the morning.

This was her new outfit and her new haircut . . . she hasn't stopped touching her hair yet! That night we went to Red Robin for dinner . . .

A proud mom and her 12-year-old! I love this girl!

John, Brevin and Dilyn, enjoying some tastey morsels!

I had to sneak to get a picture of Haidyn . . . if anyone knows Haidyn, she does not like having her picture taken on occasion, it can be a major fight!

Is there something on my face . . .

She wanted a Luau themed birthday and cupcakes . . . thus the lovely creations!

The naughty girls . . . Madison, Winter, and Maddie (you will see why I say they are naughty!).

The not naughty girls . . . Samantha, Kaitlynn, Jaici, and Blakeley.

Do you see why they are naughty? I hid in the office, so they could have their fun and I wouldn't get upset. John took care of it . . . thank goodness!

Naughty girls! I must admit, it was pretty funny!

They all ran home and showered, then came back and cleaned up their mess! We had all these silly girls spend the night. Finally at around 4:30 AM, after having cream and whipping cream spread around, they finally went to sleep! At least, some of them. The funny thing, at least I think it is, Caitlyn got tired around 3 AM and went into her room, crawled into her bed and fell asleep, totally deserting her friends! Although she does insist she asked if any of them wanted to come with her. I thought it was funny!

On Sunday, John's family came over to help us celebrate some more.

The girl had no emotion when she was opening her presents . . . I kept giving her a hard time and asking her if she liked what she was getting.

So then I started getting this kind of a face! Caitlyn was totally spoiled! She got many, many clothes, shoes galore, 3 DS games, and Webkins a plenty!

Happy Birthday Caitlyn!

2009-06-11T11:21:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it is here! Caitlyn's twelfth birthday! I have a 12-year-old! It doesn't seem that long ago that we brought her home from the hospital! Caitlyn came into the world, screaming and she hasn't stopped! Caitlyn was born weighing in at a hefty 10 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches long! You would never know it to look at her now! I tenderly called her my sumo baby. I remember getting ready to leave the hospital thinking, they are just going to let me leave with her? And then, two weeks later thinking, this is the longest babysitting job ever! When are her parents coming home! She wasn't your typical smiley baby, which was sometimes difficult on me, she was a studious baby. She loved to watch people and try to figure them out. We got lots of comments that she didn't like whomever it was we were with, but it wasn't that she didn't like them, she was just trying to figure them out. Caitlyn has always been content, no matter the situation. She has always loved to watch others, but when it is her turn to be on, she loves the spotlight! She has developed quite the sense on humor and has got her mom's quick whit and sarcasm (not sure yet if that is a good thing or not). Caitlyn has become a beautiful dancer, through much work and dedication! We love to watch her perform, it brings tears to my eyes, everytime! While I can't say I have enjoyed every minute of being her mom, I have loved every minute! She is beautiful inside and out! I have loved getting to know here for the last 12 years and look forward to the next 12!

Sumo Baby . . . 10 pounds 3 ounces!

Our first Family photo . . . Caitlyn was one month old.

Is she not the most beautiful baby you have ever seen?

Caitlyn, 3 months old . . . she had all this black curly hair! I loved it!

My absolute favorite picture of Caitlyn! She was nine months old! Beautiful girl and she still is!

One year old! Do you think Brevin looks like her? I do!

Can you say Goofball!

Beautiful Girl!

She is a very attentive big sister! She was thrilled to have a little brother!

Loves Adventure! Never lose that!

Loves her friends and is a wonderful friend to have!

Loves her sisters! (as long as they are not touching her stuff!)

Quite the dancer!

Can't wait for the temper tantrums to be over with! She is not a fan of her chores!

Loves to have fun and make others laugh!

Can you say, I'm in trouble!

She likes me! Maybe . . . Can you feel the love?

Busy Boy

2009-06-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Brevin is our crazy, busy boy. Some days I just don't know what to do with him. He really is a lot of fun, but he is just a different animal from my girls! I am not saying it is a bad thing, just different. He really is a lot of fun and he never seems to have time to stop, not even to eat! He is always making us laugh and he is always laughing!

My big boy, thinking he will take off on a bike any day now!

Over Memorial Day weekend we potty-trained Brevin! I found this Three-Day Method on the internet. After having two out of the three girls being simply awful to potty-train, I was not excited let alone interested. I did have some incentive, because Brevin is starting preschool this Fall and I had to have him diaper free! I can't believe it worked! He did wonderful! By day three, he was done! Today he actually went to the bathroom all by himself without getting me or John to come and help! He has only had 2 accidents since that weekend and one was when he was outside playing. Smart little boy!

Yep, he is eating sugar directly out of the sugar bowl! I blame this on John mainly, because I don't have a sweet tooth. I have teased John for years that he could eat sugar directly and say it wasn't sweet enough.
We love having a little boy in the house, there is definitely never a dull moment! A few weeks ago, on a Sunday, I was at work and John has taken the kids to church. I got a phone call, Brevin has swallowed the little plastic cup the pass the sacrament water in. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy. John called the doctor and they said we needed to take him to Primary Children's Hospital just to be safe. I left work after hearing that. We spent several hours in the Emergency Room. They took a few x-rays, then let him drink a little and then finally had him eat, just to make sure nothing was stuck and he didn't start throwing up. It is always exciting when you can provide the medical personnel with something they have not yet experienced! Luckily everything was fine, and I didn't have to be too mad with John!

Boating!

2009-06-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned what wonderful neighbors we have? Well, we have the best neighbors! Always there when we need help, are great travelling companions. Willing to watch the kids when we have to run one of the up to Primary Children's Hospital (that is another story for another day). Well, last weekend they took John and the kids boating, while I had to work, of course. They had such a fun day! Tiffany and Tom have taken the girls several times, but this time they took all of us, minus me. Thank you Christenson's!

Haidyn and Olivia plus others on the raft . . . I love this picture!

Does Dilyn look like she is having fun? Didn't think so!

Caitlyn, Maddie and Maddie's Friend . . . I have been told that Caitlyn can come any time because she does not get scared being pulled on the raft . . . she loves it! That's my girl!

Dilyn and Brevin . . . I am told Brevin loved it . . . the reason I say that is because he ended up like this . . .

ASLEEP!

Good Night, sweet prince!

Nationals!

2009-05-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Nationals this year was at Skyline High. It was such a long day! With a slightly disappointing ending, but we had lots of fun during the day! We got there at 8:30 (a late start for us) and Caitlyn and I didn't get home until after 1:00 the next morning!

Caitlyn in Indiana Jones . . . isn't she a lovely Egyptian?

Haidyn in Indiana Jones . . . lovely Village Person!

At the end of their Natives Dance Haidyn gets to cary Kylie off with the help of Taite.

The girls have so much fun goofing around together!

Caitlyn has come in to her own so much this year at dance! I am so proud of her! She makes me tear up! And I don't consider myself one to cry. She had really pushed herself and she has truly impressed me!

Nationals Results:

Caitlyn's Dances:

The Way I Am: 3rd
Big Spender: 1st
Can't Touch This: 2nd
Rock the Casbah: 3rd

Haidyn's Dances:

Music Box: 1st
Stray Cat Strut: 4th

Indiana Jones: 2nd

Champion Dance had a few issues, there sound system kept going out, and by about 2:00 in the afternoon, we were an hour behind schedule . . . then their computer supposedly went down. When givng out awards for highpoint at the end of the evening they were giving awards to dances that our team had placed higher against them. Tiffany kept intrrupting the awards to try to figure out what the heck was going on! Our girls should have received awards that went to other tems. It was very frustrating. Caitlyn was a little bummed that some of her dances didn't place better, but I am so proud of her and Haidyn! All the TDC girs did such a good job and have a great sportmanship that so many of the other teams don't have! I want my girls to have fun and to have a good attitude, and luckily they do!! Congratulations TDC! You girls kick butt, what?!

Taylorsville Dance Competition

2009-05-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Our third Dance competition of the season was held at Taylorsville High School, another long, but very fun day! We had to be there at 7:00 AM, which is one hour before our first dance went on at 8:00. Caitlyn and Haidyn are such troopers, they never complain about it, they just love it and enjoy it so much! (If they didn't there is no way I would be there!) For this competition, Uncle Steven, John's brother, and Aunt Michelle came for the whole day! Steven taped all of the girls dances for me! THANKS STEVEN! I hope to get a few up on here for your perusal!

Caitlyn's Dances:

Way I Am: 1st

Can't Touch This: 2nd

Big Spender: 3rd

Rock the Casbah: 1st

Haidyn's Dances:

Music Box: 2nd

Stray Cat Strut: 3rd

The highlight of the day was Indiana Jones, not only did it win FIRST PLACE, it won the HIGH POINT AWARD!

Congratulations TDC!!!

Midnight Visitor

2009-05-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

For the last several months, or so, we have been exchanging "gifts" with our next door neighbors, the Christensons. The "gift" is this big stuffed German Shepard. Olivia apparently purchased the dog at a garage sale. Olivia's mom, Tiffany (great name if you ask me), was attempting to de-junkher house and decided to toss the lovely animal, but on her way out to the garbage, decided to place the dog in our trailer. Later that day, I was leaving the house and caught a glimpse of the dog in the trailer and it scared me, I thought it was a real dog (there is a story of a german shepard chasing me to schol when I was a child, but that is a different story for a different day). Dilyn decided to adopt the dog for a time. Then one day, I got tired of it being around my house and decided that the garbege was truly the place where this animal belonged. On my way out to the garbage, I noticed that the Christenson's garage was opened, and knowing the day and time and that Tiffany would be leaving shortly for dance, I decided to place the dog in her garage right in front of the door for her to stumble upon as she left her house. It is my understanding that she screamed, just a little! Thus began the back and forth giving of "gifts". You never know when or where he will show up!

One night we found an early Christmas gift out in John's car.

We got a late night visitor at our hotel in Clearfield the night before a dance competition.

Clearfield Competition

2009-05-23T18:01:00.001-07:00

So, I have not been very good at keeping my blog updated, (I have been playing a little too much on Facebook). So, I am going to do some backtracking. April 18th the girls had their second dance competition of the season. It was up in Clearfield and since we had to be there early Saturday morning, John and I decided to make a little mini vacation out of it. We went up Friday night and stayed in a hotel and went swimming with the kids all evening. That was the best part of the night, because John and I didn't get much sleep that night. The hotel had a club on the main floor, which was where our room was located and there was some sort of party going on there. Some of the party-goers were in the room next door to ours. They were SOOO loud! Finally, John complained at around 2 AM. Needless to say, we were exhausted, but luckily the kids slept through it all!
Saturday's Competition went reallly well for the girls. They had so much fun! They did really well!

Caitlyn's Dances placed:

The Way I Am: 1st

Can't Touch This: 1st

Big Spender: 2nd

Rock the Casbah: 2nd

Haidyn's Dances placed:

Music Box: 1st

Stray Cat Strut: 3rd

And their production number Indiana Jones placed 2nd.

While I had the girls at the competition, doing the dance mom thing, John took Dilyn and Brevin to Hill Air Force Base, to the Airplane Museum with neighbors, Tom, Canyon and "Boy"Hayden. John has been wanting to go there for some time and he finally got his wish.

Apparently Brevin took it upon himself to run under the ropes to climb in this little airplane. John, of course, being the responsible parent, had to snap a photo before pulling Brevin back to the appropriate side of said ropes.

Brevin, Dilyn and Canyon had lots of fun!

Although it is not in focus, I love this picture of Brevin and Haidyn . . . this was on our way home after a long day!

DUKE!!

2009-05-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Our "backdoor" neighbors got a new puppy, his name is Duke. Brevin LOVES him. He takes it upon himself to wander out on to the deck and call for him. It makes me laugh every time! I'll be in the bedroom or office and hear him yelling "DUUUUUUUKE!" over and over again. When Duke is outside he travel down to the fence and pet him under the fence and coax him under. Not a small feat, if you consider that Duke is a Saint Bernard. We have had to walk Duke back home more than a few times, and I always feel bad, because it is my kids that get him to crawl under, but at his growth rate, I doubt it will continue for much longer!

"DUUUUUUUKE!!" Can you see those cute lips all puckered up calling his friend?

This is a very unhappy boy, when Duke is not outside to play!

Preschool Graduation

2009-05-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby girl graduated from Preschool today! Dilyn will be starting Kindergarten in just a few short months! Does this mean that I am getting older, or just my kids! Dilyn is such a sweet little girl. She is SO shy, but not my shyest child. (I still don't understand how I can have such shy little ones, except for Brevin, of course.) I am so proud of her! She has gone from sitting in my lap whenever her class had a performance to standing there and singing all of her songs, but as you will note by the photographic proof, she is NOT comfortable standing there! Dilyn is ready and VERY excited to start her Kindergarten career! She has been begging to go to her sisters school for a LONG time!!

We love Miss Teresa at our house! She taught Haidyn for a year, has had Dilyn for 2 years and Brevin will get her next year! Thank you Miss Teresa for all your hard work!!

Can you tell she doesn't want anyone to see her? She does NOT like the spotlight!

I love this picture of her with her big green eyes sticking out beneath her graduation cap!

The Weight Continues . . . .

2009-05-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

So, John and I are 5 weeks in to our weight loss challenge. Any guesses as to who is ahead? . . . . . You guessed it! Me! Much to John discontentment. Ha ha! As of this morning, I am 10 pounds lighter. John is not doing too badly, although I know he wishes it was more. John is down 5 pounds. We still have 7 weeks to go . . . so you never know what will happen. Although if you ask me, I can tell you exactly what will happen . . . I'm going to win! Skydiving adventure for Tiffany!!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves Easter! And it is no different at the Baker house! Since I had to work on Easter Sunday, we had our own Easter dinner Saturday night. Sunday the kids woke up with surprises from the Easter Bunny. Then we had much fun decorating Eggs.

Brevin was having so much fun! He was the cutest little painter!

Do you think she is proud of her egg? Silly Dilly!

Caitlyn is just getting too old! Fun, exciting . . . scarey!

Haidyn showing off her creativity!

After church, John took the kids over to his parents house for dinner. They got to have an Easter Egg Hunt.

Brevin . . . Looking so cool in his shades with the Spiderman egg!

Caitlyn . . . She is either bored or just plain grumpy!

Dilyn . . . Hunting those eggs with her shades.

Haidyn Leigh . . . will not give up the hunt!

St. George Dance Competition

2009-04-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Dance competition season is well under way! April 4th we had our first competition in St. George. We made it into a mini-vacation for our family. We went down Thursday night and got there late. (Oh yeah, Brevin threw-up before we ever reached I-15 . . . I was a little worried our trip wasn't going to be much fun). Friday morning after we all got ready we went to this little restaurant in St. George call the Bear Claw, the have delicious breakfasts!

John, Brevin and Dilyn . . . trying to decide what to eat.

Caitlyn and Haidyn . . . enjoying some yummy grub!

Mommie, Dilyn and Brevin.

After breakfast, we did a little shopping and met most of the Christenson family to see the movie Monsters and Aliens. Very FUNNY. I laughed the whole way through! I highly recommend it!

After the movie, we went back to the hotel and John took the kids swimming and I decided to take a nap (yes, I know, I am not much fun). After swimming we went to eat dinner and then went to the high school where the dance competition was being held to support a couple of our girls who were competing in the Solo portion. And I feel really bad, but I really don't know how the solos placed . . . Tiffany, want to help me out here?

Saturday was the big day. The girls had there first comptition! I hope I am not too much of a dance mom! We have so much fun and I just really want my girls to enjoy themselves! I can honestly say they bring me to tears!

Caitlyn's lyrical . . . The Way I Am. Won First Place!

Caitlyn's Hip Hop (This is her first year in Hip Hop, I'm pretty sure she likes it) MC Hammer's Can't Touch This. I'm lovin the parachute pants! They won first place and Grand Champions in their age group! WOO HOO!

Haidyn's Stray Cat Strut. She is not a fan of the "hat" portion of her costume . . . It's really hot, Mom! They took second!

Caitlyn . . . Hey Big Spender. Very cute dance! They took Second!

Caitlyn's Rock the Casbah. I love this dance they perform it so well! It took first place. Madison twisted her ankle during this performance and landed hard on her bum, but she kept going and was a real trooper!

Haidyn's ballet, Music Box. This is Haidyn's first year in ballet. She is really loving it! They took second.

I didn't post any pictures from the production number, which is Indiana Jones. It is amazing! We were sitting on the wrong side for pictures of our girls . . . so I will post some of them later. All of the girls from TDC did such a good job! My favorite comment/quote that I heard thus far this year was from Tiffany . . . after the awards were all given and because all of Tiffany's Hip Hop dances won first place she said "Not too bad for a couple of white girls!"

Saturday night we went to visit one of my cousins that lives in Hurricane. I hadn't seen her since Haidyn was a little baby. The kids all had much fun playing with their cousins and Jenn and I had lots of fun reminescing back to days gone by!

Sunday morning we got up and did some more swimming and were on the road by noon. We had so much fun! We have been told that next year we might skip St. George and perform in Disneyland . . . We will see what happens!

We'll weight and see . . .

2009-04-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't spell weight incorrectly. John and I are having another weight-loss contest. We had one about a year and a half ago before we went on our cruise. I, of course, won. I lost 15 pounds than and have kept most of it off (I think I put 5 back on). John, of course, lost nothing! So, we have decided that it is time to improve our health and lose a few more pounds. John set the stakes this time. If I win, I get to go skydiving and if John wins he gets to do the Nascar experience. We both are wanting to lose around 25 pounds. We started last week and we have until the end of June. So, the race is on . . . We will keep you posted! I can't "weight" to see who wins!

In Memory of Bob

2009-03-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's Day we bought a little fish tank and each of our kids picked out a little goldfish. We had our first casualty yesterday. On Monday, Bob, Caitlyn's fish, somehow got caught behind the filter . . . well, he didn't make it. It appeared to be a slow, painful death. He attempted to swim around for a day or slow, but when Caitlyn got home from school yesterday, he had passed (You can see him just above the plant, he is slightly upside down.). Bob was a good fish. He loved to swim and play with his roommates. He never gave us a moments trouble. We would like to thank him for the love he brought to our home . . . we hope his replacement will be as cold and fishy as he was. We love you Bob! Just keep swimming!

It is time!

2009-03-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

I have the strong desire to put this off . . . I don't want to do it . . . it is my least favorite thing in the world . . . but I really have to do it. POTTY TRAINING! Brevin will be three in July and starting Preschool in the Fall. It has to be done by then, but needs to start now. I don't have great luck with it. I would rather give birth several days in a row. I really think he is ready, which doesn't make me happy. He will tell me right after he has wet his diaper and lay down to be changed. That is a good sign . . . right? I will sit on the potty and even ask to go potty, but he has yet to put anything in to the potty except a lot of toilet paper. I need HELP! I need some great, wonderful, fabulous ideas! Please, I am begging you, my friend! Please tell me what has/did work for you. My hope is to start next weekend, it will take me a week to work/talk myself into it! Thank you in advance! I will update you as we go aong, unless for some unknown reason I get hit by a car or train . . . accidently of course! ;)

Excitement and Apprehension!

2009-03-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

The excitement is more for Caitlyn and the Apprehension is for me! Tonight I took the night off work and took my "baby" to her Middle School Orientation! Can you say freak-out!? I am excited for Cait to go to Middle School, but I just can't believe she is actually "ready"! It doesn't seem that long ago that I held that sweet, albeit, large baby in my arms (you know she weighed 10.3 when she was born, right?). I have been asking her if she is excited, to which she responds "No.". I asked her what she was thinking/feeling about it. She of course responds to me "Nothing.". After the orientation and we walked around the school, she finally admitted that she was excited, she was of course very serious when she said it. Love you Caitlyn! I am very excited for you! Just promise me you will always be my sweet little baby!

Vegas, Baby!

2009-03-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

Every year for the last six years John has traveled to Las Vegas to attend the NASCAR race. Before that time, John and I would watch the race on occasion, but not necessarily fans. After John went and we both learned more about it, well, we became diehard fans! It has become an annual event. We have even converted a few friends who thought that it is boring! Don't knock it until you try it!

Do you like my white trash look? I especially like the dirt on my face. We sit on row 12. Amazingly the debris from the track ends up on my face!

This year we bought Neon Garage Passes for Friday. That is the day they qualify and practice, so they work on the cars. John has a nice view of the infield behind him.

I was mesmorized watching the crews work on the cars! By the rear tire you can see the blue fan, they had one one each tire, where I assumed they kept the tires warm? Leaning in the window is Matt's crew chief Drew Blickenderfer otherwise known as "the Blick".

Matt Kenseth is standing next to the tool box with the "Blick" next to him. And looking in at the engine is the car owner Jack Rousch, aka the Cat inthe Hat.

This is for Craig Shipley! We know you love Ryan Newman! He is in the car you know, heading out for practice. Hello, NNNewman.

Dale Jr., the crowd favorite. I actually like the guy . . . unless that is, if a Jr. fan is nearby!

The DeWalt trailer, Matt is in there . . .

That is Matt there on the left . . . the Daytona 500 winner of 2009! He is won two of the three races thus far in the season.

Me watching practice. We stood right next to the cars as they filed out on to the track . . . they are so loud and rumble so much I could seriously feel my ovaries shake as they went past.

This place is so big! This is the cars filing out on to the track.

Jeff Gordon driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet. Not necessarily a fan, but good driver none the less.

Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge. Probably one of the least liked driver, along with his brother Kyle, who actually won the race. He is a good driver, with a titch of attitude.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway! There are 142,000 seats, which were sold out. On top of that number add all those working the race from the concession stands to the safety personnel and the crews for each car . . . not to mention all those that are in the infield in their RV's. Whole lotta peoples!

I am amazed by the pit crews! See if you can change 4 tires in 13 seconds!

The race off of Pit Road. Try doing that without going over 45 MPH. And when you go over, penalty!

The start or restart of the race, amazingly loud! Awesome!

Dave and Jen Park. They had never been to a race, didn't know a lot about it, but wanted to check it out.

My white trash sugar, John, and Dave and Jen

After the Race . . . what do you think . . . do you think they liked it? Of course they did! Even though our driver, Matt Kenseth, had his engine blow before lap ten, we had so much fun! Thanks Dave and Jen for joining us! Next year? Same time, same place?

Family Fun!

2009-02-21T22:28:00.000-08:00

We met up with some friends from our ward in Magna today out in Tooele. They were penning cattle. The kids had fun watching the action and our friends let us ride a horse around outside. The kids thought that was lots of fun! Thanks Tuttles for the fun afternoon!

Caitlyn looks mighty comfortable and relaxed up top. Don't you think?

Brevin was SO excited to be near the horses, but a little timid of their size! He loved sitting up there and was not interested in getting down!

Haidyn and Dilyn had lots of fun too . . . until the horse decided he had an itch and started shaking. Haidyn was fine, but it scared Dilyn a lot! She wanted down and would not go near the horse again!

Yeah, we couldn't get him out of the tractor either!

John even managed to get on top of this poor animal. I was repeatedly asked to ride. I love horses and would not have minded, but I didn't want to at the risk of looking like a little kid at a pony ride . . .

Need I say more?

No appreciation . . .

2009-02-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

And no, this isn't about my family. It is about all my blogging friends. No one appreciates my love of Nascar and my posting on Matt Kenseth winning the Daytona 500. How sad it is! Can I get a comment on happiness for Matt? It makes my poor little heart so sad. I feel no love, no support from my friends. Give me some love!

DAYTONA 500

2009-02-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500! WOO HOO!! Does it get any better than that . . . Nope, sure doesn't! Congratulations Matt!!

Happy Valentines Day Mom!

2009-02-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

So as some of you may know. I was a butt head and did nothing for my wife on her birthday. I guess I thought that we do not have the money to do anything fun, but that is no excuse for not doing at least something. Not only did I do nothing but I wasn’t even the first one to tell her happy birthday, my dad was of all people. I didn’t even remind my own children of it, although that night when we went out with friends I asked the kids to try to make her cards. Yet again I did nothing, no card, no happy birthday, nothing. I tried later that night and even the next day, but it just did not work out for me. It wasn’t until my sweet bride said something to me a few days after the fact. But then at that point it is too late. Nothing would make up for my doing nothing, its just out of guilt now. I must say that to this day I feel so bad, and I know that this will not make up for it, and that you, Tiffany, will not let me live it down for the entire year. I’ll I can say is that I deserve it. So here it goes. I have to share some of the things that I love about my wife on this Valentines Day.

1. I love that you get up each day, get ready, and look beautiful before I get home from work.
2. You are one amazing cook, we eat so go. (Just look at me I love to eat)
3. You love to watch NASCAR with me, and go to the race. (Vegas baby)
4. I love that you scrapbook, it’s so fun to look back on the memories.
5. I love that when ever you call me or I call you, you ask if I am naked.
6. You have put up with me for all of these years, I don’t know why, but I love you for it…
7. I love that you enjoy to work, and teach our children the importance of school and work.
8. You make me laugh.
9. I love the way that you have been doing your hair.
10. I love the way you cut my hair.

This is just some of the reasons that I love you Tiffany. I love all that you do for me; I truly hope that I can make it up to you this year. You make me so happy...

I asked each of my children to give me a list of at least 10 things that they love about mom. We will start with Cait, who at first e-mailed me some things that I should do.
1. Buy her almond joys. 2. Make her cards. 3. Make Valentines. 4. Make a list of "10 Ways I Love you". 5. Take her to dinner. 6. Take her to a movie.
All of which are great things. I then asked her again to tell me what she loves about mom, and again this is what I got. “Why not do something nice”, yes I total agree. In fact one of the items on the chore list for our children is to do something nice for one of there siblings without them knowing. I need to do that also… So yet again I asked Cait for that list and this is what I got.

1. Her cooking.
2. She is loving.
3. Going shopping.
4. She is nice.
5. Doing my hair.
6. Helping with homework.
7. She is happy.
8. Taking me to lunch.
9. Taking care of me when I am sick.
10. Getting me a soda. “like you should be drinking it or me for that matter”

I asked Haidyn the same thing; this is what she e-mailed to me.

1. I love the presents.

2. The clothes that she wears.

3. The food she makes.

4. She is my favorite mom.

5. The games that me and her play.

6. The puzzles we do.

7. The stuff she buys me.

8. The name she gave me.

9. The things she does for me.

10. The things that she gets for me.

I love it. Both of them came up with some great things and I am sure that they could each come up with more.

So Dilyn’s turn to give me a list. (with Haidyn’s help as the scribe)

1. The presents she gives me.
2. The toys she buys me.
3. I love WOC (I could not figure this one out.)
4. I like that she takes me to fun places
5. I like that she takes me out to eat. (To the star) that’s Carl’s Jr.
6. She lets me go to my friend’s house.
7. She buys me books.
8. She takes me to preschool.
9. She helps me.
10. She takes care of me.
11. She picked my name. (I believe dad picked her name)

Now this one is kinda fun and hard to do, but let’s see what Brevin says. So I asked him what he likes about mommy.

1. Cakes. I am not sure where that came from. Maybe because we have some frosting that mom made for the sugar cookies. I come into the kitchen this morning to find him with the tub on the floor, open, and him eating the frosting…
2. Snowman. He was looking out the window at that time.
3. Drinks. He was looking at my drink on the counter.
4. Piggies. I am not sure on that one. Mom loves to collect pigs.
5. Pizza, pizza, pizza. We had pancakes for breakfast, not sure on that one ether.

But in all, it was fun to find out from each one of them how they felt about mom.

Tiffany, mom, you are the one that keeps our house going, we love you and need to show our appreciation towards you more often. Thanks for all that you do.

Scary Moment . . .

2009-02-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

This morning was just like any other morning, John left for work, Caitlyn was up getting ready for school, nothing unusual. I was doing Caitlyn's hair for her, she wanted it a little fancy for her Valentine's Day class party. Anyway, she said she was dizzy . . . I look at her face and she is that lovely pale green and going even more pale. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp. Luckily I was right there with her. I was trying to remain calm, but was panicking ever so slightly . . . I kept saying her name over and over. I laid her down on my bathroom floor and said her name again at which point she jerked a little. I was worried she might be having a seizure, but she only jerked the one time. She was only out for a few seconds, but it seemed like forever. Here I am kneeling over my baby and she is unresponsive! What do you do!? Her eyes suddenly flew open and she is staring at me with these huge questioning eyes. "What happened?!" she asks me. Half-way between a sob and a laugh (my laugh was only due to my relief, not because I thought this was funny!) I tell her she passed out. She immediately starts to cry. I asked her if she had eaten yet, she hadn't. I helped her up to sit for a few minutes, then got her into the kitchen to eat. I called John at this point, because I was a little freaked, and needed him to calm me down. When I told him Cait had passed out, he asked me if she was still out? I was calm after that. No, she is still passed out on the floor I just thought I would call and tell you where she was, unconscious on the floor. And he wonders why I think he questions my ability as a mother?! Anyway, she ate and said she still wanted to go to school. I told her what to do if she ever feels like that again. Poor girl! I hope she not still freaked out about it! Love you Cait! Thanks for the exciting morning!