The Baker's

Did I mention we LOVE visits?!?

2012-01-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Ever so randomly (in a great kind of way) my parents called and said "we are going on a road trip to see all of our children who aren't at home and your house is the first stop." Well that brought a round of cheers at the Bakers.

Austin had in mind to play some Kinect baseball with Papa. They had some good victory dances going on their.

Luke was perfecting his cheating skills with Mama Marie. She was quite surprised to find out how meanly competitive this little three year old is.

Here I am keeping my goal of taking pictures with another great woman in my life.

Then we get a call that our good friends might come and visit and we pounced on that idea. We love it when Troy and Courtney come to visit (we have kind of made it a tradition).

The Peyton/Paytons: Kind of a big deal at our house.

So these two little ladies are pretty special to us for obvious reasons. I was telling Luke that Troy and Courtney have a Peyton and Nick and Kim's (my brother and sister-in law) baby is Payton too. Luke pipes in with, "And our Payton is Birdie." I just laughed that he understood so well the differences. Never the less these little ladies are adorable and loved at this house!

Not to mention that Max is a great hit here too. He is a pretty fun and energetic kid. I get a kick out of how he calls Luke and Austin simultaneously. He is super amazing playing games on the iPad. Tad wanted to find out if he was super amazing at playing the iPad too...he should be he played it the whole weekend...Earth to Taddy Boy!

Coles first experience with an Oreo, humm a hit.

Kinect time.

Luke will try to get his hands on any baby to hold. What a sweet boy. Notice Peyton's skinny jeans. Honestly!

Look at me fulfilling my goal at taking pictures. Man I could have fixed up a bit though. This is Courtney and I attempt at hugging. We have been friends for as long as I remember. Honestly we know things about each other that well endear us for life, but hugging well that is challenging. I have issues!

What great visits we are having. If you feeling an itch to leave town for a road trip I think you know where to stop. I promise to fill your belly and enjoy your company:)

we love visits!

2012-01-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

This boy gets more personality everyday. He is truly enjoying his independence of crawling and standing up by things.

We had such a fun weekend with Auntie Mary. We love it when she comes to visit. For a fun activity I have been wanted to try out chocolate boxes with Raspberry Chocolate Mousse. I think they were a success! We also had a great time playing on the Kinect together.

A new goal... 2 years of having Mary for a roommate, associating with her for almost 10 years now we have less than a handful of pictures of us together. Before she left on Sunday we made a goal to snap a picture of the two of us together. It isn't great because we didn't have anyone at the house to take it for us, but it will do for now.

Lets finish up our Christmas break, shall we?

2012-01-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

The boys and I made cookies for Santa Claus up at the cabin. It is a miracle Santa Claus got one because they were a hot item.

Sledding with Austin was my favorite thing we did together. He is such a trooper in the snow and goes pretty hard. I loved spending time with him. I also loved that I had enough energy to do it. Last year I was super pregnant with Cole so I have a great appreciation for the ability I had to actually walk up the hill:)

This was Austin's favorite present this year...transformers. Thanks Nick and Kim:)

Here is Luke's favorite. He is a jammin' boy these days. Do people even say that any more 'jammin'

One of my fun surprises this Christmas was this great knife that Tad got me. He knows me well to know I would like such a thing as a really nice dicing knife. I'm so weird!

I know don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?

Tad worked really hard to build Austin new toy and Cole was his right hand man.

This little Hartley lady is Luke's love! He adores her. You can't really blame him she is so sweet.

The boys wanted to paint my toe nails...okay:) Luke did the right foot and Austin did the left. Just as long as they are my toes and not theirs right?

Here is little Birdie trying out the saucer. She is pretty with it for just a wee little one.

This baby has been my project for the last month. I have been hand sculpting each green orchids and purple lisianthus. The night we got back from the cabin I finished the cake. I liked the way it turned out. It was all worth it for my cousin Dayna.

Here is a little school art from Austin. Kindergarten art is the new decor at our house and I think it suits the walls beautifully.

Markle Farkle!

2012-01-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

She is going to kill me, but don't you all need a good laugh today. Well it makes me laugh. My question is how can one of the most beautiful person in the world do this to every picture? My answer is pure talent!

Look closely...serious talent (I have hundreds of pictures of this kind)

You add siblings and it just gets worse!

Getting better.

You add her favorite and then she is adorable!

Finally a picture that will work on a wall for the next 6 years ahahah.

Psst... Markle I love you more than words can say....really I do:0) Come and visit me!

Christmas in McCall- Ice Skating

2011-12-31T17:48:00.000-08:00

I know I look like a minion from "Despicable Me" hehe.

2011-12-14T19:29:00.000-08:00

Now that my mother-in-law got her christmas present I can share some of the darling pictures that we took from Thanksgiving.

Tad's Uncle Brent was so generous and let all the kids take a ride in his carriage. Ok so I may have sneaked a ride to hold a baby. It was pretty fun. In the green coat is Austin.

Ok most of the amazing pictures, Tad is the photographer, but check out what I captured....sweet!

The boys with Great Grandma Baker.

We had a Kinect to enjoy at Ann's house and Austin thought it was the bomb! I think he is going to like Christmas :)

I'm the crazy aunt who thinks we should play Thanksgiving BINGO. This was my favorite picture of me making sure the kids really had a BINGO. What a hoot we had.

Tad, Austin, and Tad's brother Guy.

These two were good friends. How sweet:)

Grandma spoils these boys!

Grandpa and Luke... they were buds:)

Finally a little Pinterest fun... I tried the Andes mint cupcakes and they are to die for.

For Your Enjoyment

2011-12-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

Kids Just Get It

2011-12-01T08:46:00.001-08:00

Today we got out our Christmas decorations. I love to decorate my house with Christmas decorations with my boys. I gave Austin the job of setting out this Nativity set -

When I came back and saw how he had set it up I teared up. He just gets it. I pray that he always thinks that everyone should turn to look at Jesus. Wow it has given me lots to think about. I hope it inspires you to think about the true meaning of this beautiful Christmas season too. I defiantly won't be setting out this Nativity set the same 'normal' way ever again.

2011-11-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

What do you do with a house full of boys....

SCOUTS!

Tad got the opportunity to go to Woodbadge a few weeks ago. We missed him terribly, but he learned a lot and had a great time. PS for all you Woodbadge people, Tad is a fox. I have no clue why this is significant, but apparently it is cool to say what animal you are.

So to put to use the great knowledge he has just obtained from Woodbadge he needed to do a camp out for his 11 year old scouts. As I'm sure anyone who has worked with youth and their families, finding the time to do a camp out was hard. So Tad's solution was to have it in our back yard so the boys who had to come late and go early could.

Here is a few pictures of the campout in the back yard:

(What a cute man!)

Austin thought he had died and gone to heaven. He spend most of the activities with the boys. He can not wait until he gets to be a scout himself.

Luke, well, he liked to stay in the warm cozy house with his mom. I really couldn't blame him. He watched the craziness from the window in his comfy PJ's.

Adorable:)

The campout was successful. And I will give a big cheer to the scout leaders wife who let the 11 year old boys cook in her kitchen... they had no clue the pain I was in hehe.

Halloween

2011-11-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Bumblebee at his finest!

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. They are pretty buff if you ask me.

Monkey...how appropriate.

The costumes were the love this weekend. My favorite part is the stretchy backs of these suits give cute little wedgie bums.

What is Halloween with out a bit of pumpkin carving/decortating. Can you guess who's is who?

We play dress up even when it isn't Halloween. Dad is an expert at Fireman rides.

Here is my sister Allie's birthday cake. I found a lady from my parents ward who was coming this way to take it back home for me. Therefore, I had to kick it in a gear and get it made. The good news it that mission was accomplished with out too much sweat and agony:) I would only change two things on this cake. 1st: It needs a beautiful cake plate. If you find them cheap (like under $2) get it and I'll pay you back! 2. I would have steamed it to make the fondant glossy.

Happy Birthday Al! We love you!!!!

For your entertainment:

Luke about hit me with his metal box. I said, "Hey don't hit mom. I'm the only one you got and I'm pretty cool." He said, "Yeah your fat mom." Was that a compliment? Okay I'll take it. Kind of like your 'bad' right?

Pine Wood Derby Cars and More!

2011-10-27T10:39:00.001-07:00

The big man turned 6! Can you believe it?

Here he is with some of his buddies on the big day. They had lots of fun.

As promised....

Taddy Boy had fun making them, but they didn't win one prize at both derbies that they ran in. The joy is the journey right?

I think this baby thinks I'm the biggest weirdo ever, but he loves me still because I have the goods.

These are the cute craft from story time about monsters. I love story time and despite the look on his face at the moment Luke really loves story time too.

Saftey first around here haha!

He might drown with as many spills of chocolate milk that he makes so I think he wanted to be safe. Silly boy! Yes, he is making his own toast. That is what he does when he doesn't like what I made for dinner.

You might be thinking that Tad and I beat these boys from the horrible scabs on their faces. No worries they are just above average scab pickers. Nice. Not even a WHOLE pack of gum promised can stop the picking. Honestly!

2011-10-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

A post? Well life is too crazy to have time to post, but well here you go...

Why make small cookies when you can make a giant cookie!

One day it SNOWED! Like 4 inches. Luke lasted only a few minutes outside. He said it was too cold. I agree!

Austin on the other hand played outside all day. It was great fun. He even played the whole next day outside.

When they were inside we played this game called Angry Owl. I worked so hard to make these cute little pom poms to use and then Ginny ate them! Sad.

Coming soon is pictures from the pinewood derby cars that Tad and the boys have been making for the Elders Quorum activity. I think the boys are a bit obessed with this project. They are all about the looks. Not winning, but best of show.

Here is Coles bowling experience. Good baby!

And the rest of the amazing bowlers.

I found this outfit for $2! Can you believe it. Cole looks pretty cute sporting the BSU colors.

Finally a taste of our family picture sessions. We did get a winner, but you will have to wait till you see Christmas cards to see the rest:)

2011-09-30T12:02:00.001-07:00

My sister Jocie says it is time for a new post. So here you go Jo:

Our Fast and Quick Trip to Utah:

We stayed with Nick and Kim for the weekend. On Saturday morning Nick had an Ultimate Frisbee game. Really? JK Nick it was fun.

My children were clearly confused with watching this. Aren't children that are half Hartley supposed to wrestle not throw a frisbee? Hehe once again we really aren't anti-fribee here. In fact my kids love to play frisbee.

We loved it when Markie would grace us with her presence. I'm not saying she is the favorite aunt but man does she ever put in the effort:)

See what I mean EFFORT!

The reason for the trip was this these little ladies (Tad's sister and new niece):

What handsome Baker grandchildren.

And this is honestly the best of all the kids pictures. There are a few looking at the camera...

Here are the four babies born in the last year of the Baker grandchildren. Sweet babies!

My little goo-er!

Well that will do for now. I'm just recovering from a horrible week with Strep-Throat. With mom out of commission for the whole week this house is in need of an enema!

2011-09-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

Here is Luke and I making his birthday cake. He really loves to help me in the kitchen.

He kept asking me about fire that he could blow. So I figured it wouldn't hurt anything if we did a pre-birthday candle:) Glad we did because we forgot them later.

The night before Luke's birthday Tad had a work meeting in Victor at Teton Springs Resort. Wowsers! It was amazing. They said we could bring the kids (never again). The rooms were amazing. Each room had a kitchen, two bathrooms, a pull down bed out of the wall, and a giant master bedroom. We thought Luke would like to be with us more than a neighbor for his birthday so we brought the kids. The food was out of this world except for a darling little boy who kept saying, "I don't like this place mom. Are you full yet? Lets leave!" I would have really loved to enjoy that $34 a plate meal that was paid for by Simplot, but oh well kids are my most important thing so...

They had the most amazing pool that was closed. So we went for second best...the huge jetted tub. Possibly it was more fun than the pool. Unfortunately again you could hear my kids screaming for joy clear down the hall way. Opps.

Look at Tad's smiling face even though he wanted to beat the boys. I was proud of him. Good thing we say prayers hehe.

Luke woke up and then he was - 3!

After Tad's work trip we headed straight for Nyssa for many festivities. The cake I made for Luke's birthday was for Heath and Jocie also. The top layer was for Heber, the middle for Jocie, and Go Diego for Luke. It sure was fun to make all three of them only one cake.

Here is Luke enjoying his present from my parents.

The next day I help throw my sister-in-law a baby shower for Payton and the boys went to watch Heber and Jocie run cross country.

Well I have been working vigorously on some projects for quite a while now, but couldn't post them until I gave them as gifts. So here is my little brag spot because man did I have fun creating these things.

A car seat cover for Payton

BOWS, BOWS, and MORE BOWS! I made tons. Here are some of my favorites.

The butterfly bow was made out of the ribbon from Nick and Kim's wedding.

Here is the bow holder that I made for my friend Courtneys, Peyton.

This one was for Nick and Kim's Payton. Auntie Meg is super excited to have a girl to make stuff for. I don't need one myself, just one to make things for.

This one was my practice on that I gave to a friend. I saw this idea at a craft show, but didn't quite know how to orchestrate it. So I eventually got it somewhat figured out. They aren't perfect, but do the job of holding bows.

Here is Kim, Me, and little Peaches (Payton) with all of the fun I have been creating.

Yup she is precious their with Great Grandpa Hartley. Grandpa is sporting the hat that Landon brought back from the Republic of Georgia.

Super long post, sorry, but I have been excited to share:)

2011-09-16T09:46:00.001-07:00

The Baker Family gives 'Walter the Farting Dog' 5 thumbs way up! A must read with kids. It is a great series on this wonderful dog Walter that I'm pretty sure everyone can relate to:) Sure to get everyone laughing.

Visitors and Bowling! Fun labor day weekend.

2011-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we enjoyed the company of my sister Markie, my brother Smitty, and his darling 'friend' Miss Amy. A few days after they left we were at the park. I overheard my boys talking to other little kids about Amy. I think she has a charm effect on these little men:) While they were here we enjoyed some great games of Rook, Rummikub, and Farkle. We also took an adventure bowling and to Reed's Dairy for Ice Cream. Enjoy the pictures of our adventure.

We really appreciated the visit and we had a great time...minus the diaper incident with the dog:(

Cole - 6 months old!

2011-09-12T13:14:00.001-07:00

Oh what a cutie pie he is. So cuddly and sweet. We just kiss him all day long. He has such a tender personality.

Camping in the Yard and School

2011-08-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

We didn't get to go camping somewhere, so we decided to do it one night in the back yard. What cute men we have at our house!

Luke ran inside to get 'his' hammer to help out Dad. How sweet!

Seriously... he is just so cute. I think I write this on every post, but I can't get enough of this little man!

Introducing the new love at our house....Ginny!

I think we have had so much fun that Austin was a little tired.

We had over some neighbors for some games and pie. It was really fun. I love that Tad is great at organizing the kids to play some fun games. PS that is also a fun neighbor playing with the kids, not Tad if you were wondering. Nothing better than playing with the kids right?

Yup we have a kid going to school. Kind of exciting. He was ready. No I didn't cry when I dropped him off at school this morning, but Lukey did. Am I really old enough to have a kid in school? Well... I don't look old enough hahahahahah!

Message from Taddy Boy!

2011-08-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

Sweet huh!?!

I love this man who creatively expresses his love for me.

Fun Fun Fun!

2011-08-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks we were spoiled to have my siblings come to visit. First Heber came to 'entertain' my kids for a whole week. Man it was awesome! Then we did a switch and Allie and Jocie came. Allie actually went to OYA for most of the time, but it was fun to have her for a bit. Jocie was the bomb. She was my right hand lady. She held Cole all week while we attempted to do some fun projects.

Here is Jocie and Luke at the splash park in Rexburg. What an amazing Aunt to go in the freezing water with Luke.

We decided to take a trip down to Utah. The first stop was to visit the fun boy cousins. My kids were very upset every time we left.

We so enjoyed meeting our darling new niece, Payton. Oh man Tad and I both were in love.

Man I love this family.

Landon's Home!

2011-08-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well this sweet family of mine hasn't been together in SIX YEARS! We are missing Nick's wife because she is about to produce a darling little Hartley lady. We were really missing her.

Here is some pictures of us anxiously waiting for Landon to fly in.

The cute little girl cousins had a great time drawing signs for Landon. They are pretty adorable so it was wise to label themselves with this sign.

Here is Landon getting introduced to my boys. Luke was a little older than Cole when he left. Its amazing how fast they grow.

Is this baby not the cutest thing ever? If you were around him you would say he is the sweetest ever too! We love our little Cole leioli-rolly-poli.

Once Landon had gotten acquainted with the boys, the boys were in trouble. Landon loves to tease and the boys thought this was so fun. Really?

While we visited for the week I got to help throw my friend Courtney a baby shower. We are pretty excited to meet this new little girl. Pink is not a color I get to work with much. No worries I'm not complaining, but it is still fun on occasion.

Courtney and I took a cake decorating class together two years ago. We have been creating ever since. Out of all the people, I figured it was most important to make a cake for Courtney. She is just about the only person who could know the time, sweat, and desire to make one.

It's Christmas in July!

2011-07-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Didn't it snow at your house?

So yesterday morning my house was spotless. I mean floor scrubbed, carpets vacuumed, toilets sparkling the works. Then these two little men entered the scene. I got this cool new cake plate that had foam packing material to keep it safe. I turned around to take care of the baby and then I get, "Look Mom it's Christmas!" Christmas for who I think? You can not imagine the mess everywhere. The picture doesn't even do it justice. Therefore, I thought of the quote on my fridge from Sister Hinckley (also on my blog) about laughing or crying. I choose to laugh and take pictures and wait till Tad got home to clean it up. Good call!

For family home evening this week we went on a hike with some friends. It was great fun. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Yup you see it... TWO boys watering the plants. I'm 2 for 3 so far! Yahoo!

T-Ball, Family Reunion, and Cuteness!

2011-07-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Austin had been playing T-Ball and boy do we love watching him play ball. Our favorite is when he gives us thumbs up from out on the field:) We love to watch him get so excited when he hits the ball, attempt to slide, give his coach 'hard' high fives, and run fast around the bases.

Luke will periodically ask if you would like to see his belly.

Well, would you like to see his belly?

Here are some pictures of the 4th of July family reunion. What is camping without some cool light pictures taken by Dad. (For those relatives that were present I will soon e-mail pictures of your families- be patient though:0) )

We loved all of the help from my siblings with the boys. I don't know if the boys would have played bingo if it wasn't for them. Only Markie is shown in this picture but the other three were equally as loved.

Excellent bingo prizes still enjoyed by the boys.

My sweet man making balloon animals. I love his talents and I'm not afraid to offer them hehe.

Here is Heber's contraption. Cute diaper.

Like Father, Like Son

Look how much the baby has grown. I don't think this child could be loved more. All during Sacrament meeting Tad had to ward off the boys from kissing him too much. Look at those feet fly. He is just simply a delightful little man!

Finally for my favorite picture. Here is a picture that Austin drew at church yesterday. I didn't know he could draw like that. It is a temple (with Angel Moroni). For a boy that I have to beg to color, I was super impressed.

Ode to Tad

2011-06-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Oh Tad,

You are Rad!

You are such a great Dad.

You hardly ever get mad,

or sad

That is why we are glad

to have you our Tad!

Seven years with this man and I love him more everyday!

Here a few birthday pictures. Wish you were all here to taste the deliciousness contained in this cake.

For your summer enjoyment!

2011-06-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I just couldn't help but share the fun! To stay sane while Luke is recovering I worked on this project:

It really is a project because the flowers have to be made a few days ahead to dry. They were super fun to learn how to make. I tried a few more kinds of flowers, but liked these best for Markie's cake. Then I used my cake cricut to decorate the rest. That machine is awesome! I have found a great recipe for the material you need to make it and it works. Previously I have been frustrated with the machine because it just didn't work right. Got to love YouTube you can learn anything. Well all in all it was a fun project and most importantly it was for my darling Sister who I would do just about anything for.

Another Hospital Visit

2011-06-05T21:05:00.001-07:00

Luke got his tonsils removed and umbilical hernia fixed this last week.

Here is Luke pre-surgery. Cute little devil.

He didn't really like the hospital gown, but was a pretty good sport. He did however LOVE the slippers and has worn them often since.

To entertain him before surgery (because they have you come so early) we played some horse races. It was great fun and he makes some amazing (LOUD) horse noises.

Here is Luke with a little sleepy medicine in him. After surgery he looked like this too, but the camera's battery went dead so we don't have pictures to document it. He was awesome in the hospital and ate popsicles great, mashed potatoes, took a nap. Don't worry he was saving all the misery for his mom to deal with.

My Aunt Cherie made his hat. It is so cute with monkeys on it. We got the package when we got home from the hospital. I showed Luke and set it by him. When I came back he was like this. Cute. - As a side note, no I didn't make him lay on the ground he insisted.

Here is Austin's cool hat from Aunt Cherie. It has jingle bells on it like a Court Jester. So so cute.

Cole's role this week was "the Luke whisperer." When Luke wouldn't calm down I just laid Baby Cole by him and it did the trick. Such a good baby!

This is the spot where Luke has dwelled this week. He has his Mickey Mouse paraphernalia.

Aunt Markie helped Austin make this super sweet 'get well card.' He drew pictures of Luke, him, and a snowman and car of course.

Our Projects this week:

Tad is working on making a radio controlled paper air plane. The boys think this is pretty cool.

We made a count down chain until Uncle Landon comes home.

Finally a picture of the battle wound.

Trip adventures.

2011-05-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

We had quite the trip last week.

First stop was to visit my amazing cousin who just had her fourth boy. Their must have been something in the macaroni and cheese we ate all the time when we were kids that makes us only make boys. We think that is great though!

Next we stayed with my family for two days. The weather has been so bad so my dad was home lots. My boys really enjoyed spending lots of time with him.

We visited my grandparents.

The boys held Ginney LOTS!

Enjoying some good food with their Papa. Does life get any better?

Then we drove to Monmouth,OR to watch Allie run and jump at state track. Allie did really well. She placed 8th in the 300meter hurdles and got 2nd in Pole Vault jumping 9 1/2 feet. We really enjoyed watching her!

The shirt says it all. Cute, but stinky:)

To get out some energy the boys all played football at the track meet.

We got to stay a few more days after we got home from Monmouth to enjoy the family. We saw Heber and Jocie each play a ball game. We also spent a wonderful afternoon hanging out with good friends Courtney and Max. What a fun trip we had. Now for catch-up laundry...

Enjoy the feature presentation!

2011-05-14T20:08:00.001-07:00

Why I LOVE being a Mom...

2011-05-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

He may sing opera when he gets older.

When you got an itch you...

I can't kiss those cheeks enough. I'm loving this baby!

I love the sharing and brotherhood.

He comes up with the most creative contraptions. I love love love this brain!

I happen to also love the chocolate cookie that we made together all around his lips. Their is something so exciting to me when we make something and I watch them enjoy it too.

He wanted a picture so he posed for me. Cute. I love his expressions. Never duplicated I have found.

Check out my roses I got for mothers day. They are origami roses. The boys and Tad worked on these a lot. I love them. It really was all Austin's idea and the great man Taddy Boy made it happen. What men!

The new hobby of the boys is to make parachutes and let them drop off of Tad's remote control airplane. They have to test their parachute out on the stairs first. It is pretty cool to watch them drop. The 'guy' on the parachute is a Mickey Mouse that has goggles and a pilots hat. The boys picked him out special for this mission.

I wouldn't trade any of them for all the money in the world. I have the best/hardest job being their mom. I feel pretty blessed to have a great partner to help me out too. Taddy boy lets me fly and fly I will:)

Cole's Baby Blessing Weekend

2011-05-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed to have most of our families here for Cole's baby blessing. They all had to travel so far, but we loved that they came! Here are pictures to capture our fabulous weekend.

Tad and Jim enjoyed spending time together flying airplanes and helicopters.

Nick was excellent at entertaining the boys. They love to play with Uncle Nick. He makes a lovely horse! YeeHa!

This little lady is pretty darn cute. We tried really hard to keep her. We need a sister around here, but her mom said no. Bummer. Luke loved to play with Little Lottie.

My brother Smitty came from Logan after having collar bone surgery only two days before. If it looks like he is on drugs well he is:) Thanks for coming Smitty.

Markie is going to love me posting this picture of her hehe.

Here is the look-a-likes playing a little duet. Cute.

Jocie and Cole

Kim pregnant with Little Lilli (opps did I just type that...it may or may not be her name. Can you guess what I'm rooting for hehe) holding Cole.

Here is Luke trying to get Lottie to play with her. She really was a great sport to put up with him. Grandma Elaine is a good hiding spot from Luke though.

My Dad doesn't hold babies. He looks pretty cute holding this one though.

I finally got us to play a game of Farkle. Nick is taking a picture of the dice because he rolled 6- ones. It was awesome. I still won hehe.

My Grandma drove all the way with my family for the baby blessing. It was pretty awesome that she came.

This is one of my favorite pictures. I love the angles, the color, the baby, the way Smitty is looking at him. It reminds me of my Mom telling how Smitty would just look at the babies when she would have a new one. That he was just fascinated with them. I think this picture depicts that perfectly.

Tad's sister Shirley and her family (6 children and one amazing husband to be exact) drove to our house from Alpine, UT on Sunday for the baby blessing. It was so nice of them to come all that way.

Here is Marie, Tad's sister with baby Cole.

I love this picture of Lottie looking at Cole. I think it is amazing how little kids love other little kids. They are so fascinated.

It is unfair how photogenic Allie is. She is so beautiful! Not to mention the little man she is holding is beautiful too:)

Tad really didn't want to take pictures after church of the baby in his suit with people, but I insisted. Boy am I glad because he took some beautiful ones! That is what you get for being talented. Sorry dear:) We didn't get any pictures of just the baby in his suit and us because we were all sick with a horrible cold. Poor Cole had a horrible cough and red eyes. So hopefully this Sunday we can get some great pictures.

Easter

2011-04-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Some of you have sweetly asked how I'm doing. Well I'm feeling good enough that my desire to create is back. I'm telling you the boys have missed it. I'm loving being able to function properly. I still get pretty tired, but we are really doing great.

We enjoyed making these cute Easter cupcakes for my gals I visit teach.

As you can see (well maybe) Austin eyes have slowly gotten better. Man was that a bad case of pink eye! Poor kid.

This is how we roll. Luke is teetering on whether to use the potty or not so pants are ... optional:) Cole hangs out lots in this little life saver bassinet. I cart him where ever I go so that big brother doesn't mall him too much.

This Saturday it was such a beautiful day so we went to the park. You got to love little easter Idaho children, when it hits 50 degrees they think it is summer time. Even some older women have this mind set since at the park their was a lady in a halter top. Seriously it was 50 degrees hehe.

Our little family had a quiet Easter. I made the boys all matching ties. They looked so cute. We went and took pictures together as a family. Here is a little sneak peak.

2011-04-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

For My Delight

Introducing

"Ear Infection Man"

"Sir Pink Eye"

"Mr. My Mom ate a Stupid Snickers Bar"

Adding to the mess of the day was a delightful visit to Wal-Mart to pick-up eye drops. After they said they would cost $70 (thats after insurance) I said maybe they should call the doctor and get a generic medicine. 2 hours later, 4 very tired people we got the $4 eye drops. Nice.

All in all we are happy and enjoying some "Wonder Pets" episodes.

2011-04-10T21:17:00.001-07:00

We represent the Lollipop Guild....

Got Milk?

The baby is getting so big quickly. We are really enjoying this little bundle.

Cole is sporting the cute blanket that Mary made for him.

I caught him sneezing... cute.

Austin's Summary of my Umbilical Hernia Surgery

2011-04-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

My sweet friend Mary came to help us this week. Austin says to her, "You know my mom got a new belly button.... we like the old one better." Humm Nice. (On a side note, I agree with Austin, but it had to be done)

Another great Austin comment as Mary left to go out with a friend for the evening. Austin, with a concerned disappointed look, says "Mom is someone else going to come and babysit us all?" (Us includes Me, Austin, Luke, Cole and sometimes Tad) My reply was, "Sorry Austin your stuck with me again."

We feel blessed for all of those who have come to do lots more than just babysit 'US' all!

A Little Advice- Random thoughts of Meg

2011-03-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

This post is for all you expecting mothers or those of you who will someday expect.

Here's my advice: Paint your toe nails before you have the baby. Why...

Whey they curl you up in a ball to stick a huge needle into your back to numb you from the chest down you can look and see

Oh my toes are beautiful!

When they have you stand up for the first time after having the baby and you feel all of your stomach jiggle like jello

You can look down at your feet and say...

Oh my toes are lovely.

When you are taking care of your baby at 2 in the morning and he pees and poops all over your bed, him, and you (like a spraying action)

You can look down at your feet and laugh as you realize that your toes are still beautiful.

Sorry not a great picture, but you get the point.

It maybe simple, but it is true. Don't go to the hospital until they are painted beautifully!

Totally Smitten!

2011-03-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

At the Baker's house we are overwhelmed with the blessings we have received. We feel pretty blessed to have these three wonderful boys in our home. We have been spoiled rotten by family and neighbors. Thank you is not enough for all the kindness and service we have received.

It is that time of the year when the boys have a little cabin fever. Therefore, Tad took the boys to his friends batting cage for a little entertainment.

Tad and I played photographer today. We had a great time with sweet little Cole. He is such a delightful baby.

I can't help but give this boy freckles all day long!

Now lets play a game:

Notice something different in the bottom picture?

Introducing Cole Tad Baker

2011-03-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

Our little man arrived on Friday March 4, 2011 at 12:47pm.

Weight: 7 lbs. 2 oz.

Height: 19.5"

Condition: Perfect!

I had had tons of contractions for a month or so. Come Thursday night they started to get a little more consistent. I couldn't sleep so I decided to call the doctor to get checked out. My luck the doctor wasn't open on Friday. So I called him and he said to go get checked out at the hospital. Thinking it was nothing I took the kids to the neighbors (thank you lovely neighbors) and headed to the hospital with nothing else. Tad met me their (which I was so glad about). They hooked me up and I started to have some pretty good contractions. At about 11:30 the doctor said we would have a baby in 45 minutes. Crazy!

Being awake for this C-section was really scary, but I survived.

It was quite exciting to meet our new little man! He is so beautiful (we are pretty biased). He has a super sweet demeanor, loves to eat, loves to sleep. Our boys can NOT get enough of him. Austin begs to hold him and says, "You can sleep mom and I will watch him." Luke loves to just look at him. We are so grateful to have had my Dad and two brothers come to visit for the weekend. We are even more grateful that they allowed my Mom to stay for the rest of the week.

Recovery is slow, but the rewards are so great. We are really loving our new little man!

Some favorite moments at the hospital:

My Dad wrote this on the board. Cute:)

For the TV they only remote was a single button on my bed (stinky). So Tad took matters into his own hands and brought a universal remote from home. He programed it for the TV and DVD player. It was awesome. I explained to each nurse and they all thought it was awesome too. Cute man.

Our Entertainment for the Weekend

2011-02-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

We have been loving our subscription to Family Fun magazine. I'm always looking for some great "BOY" crafts and they have great ideas.

This weekend we made these cool monster hats.

Tad and the boys built this box. They put dirt in it with grass seed on top. Then in a few days they are supposed to have a little play area for their animals. They can also cut the grass themselves. They are pretty excited to watch the grass grow and water their grass.

Austin went to a superhero birthday party and made this yellow mask. Before the party I said, "I don't know if you are supposed to dress up or not" (it was kind of implied in the announcement). Tad said to Austin, "Just wear you cape and some underwear on your head." We laughed but didn't think any more of it. So when Tad was helping Austin get ready for the party Austin said, "Dad can I not wear the underwear on my head?" Haha No we didn't make him wear it on his head for the party, but later we decided to be a little more creative with the mask. We are superheroes at our house you know!

Wrestling

2011-02-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

Austin started wrestling practice last week. He has learned so much in only two weeks. Not knowing any one and being pretty young we started out wrestling with some fears. Now he is independent and tough! It is fun to watch him learn basic things such as stretches. Wrestling practice is a big help to get out some wiggles during this long winter we are experiencing. Austin won't participate in wrestling matches for a few years, but we are sure enjoying watching him practice.

Luke would desperately like to join his brother in any activity, but especially wrestling. So he participates on the side line. Here is a picture of Luke doing "push-ups." I don't know what I'm going to do with this child for the next 3 years. He is ready for anything NOW!

BUILDING, BOXES, BABY things, and BUBBLES!

2011-02-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here is the boys putting together the baby's bassinet. They love to help build things, but even more LOVE the boxes that they come in. They played in the box for days straight. They have also enjoyed helping me get ready for the baby by washing the baby clothes. I get a kick when they pull a little outfit out and say, "Did I wear this mom?"

Of course it helps to play in a box when your dad cuts out a wonderful house with shape windows for you. Yes, one of the activities was 'decorating' their box. I didn't know we would have such a melt down about getting marker on our hands as we did though. Any tricks to getting marker on your hands off please let me know. We tried soap and hairspray. The next day it was fine, but man they were upset that night.

One our favorite pastimes lately is letting the boys play in the jetted tub with bubbles for like an hour. I was folding clothes in the room next to the tub, just listening. I overhear Austin say to Luke, "We are best friend brothers aren't we?" It was defiantly a proud momma moment. I really love that by boys are best friends (most of the time). We are getting so excited to see our new brother any time now. Most likely we will just go ahead with the C-Section on March 8th though.

It must be love!

2011-02-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

We have had such great weekends!

Two weekends ago my whole family, except for my brother who is on a mission, came to stay with us. I love love love when my family comes to visit. Here are a few great pictures that I happen to find that we took. P.S. not many pictures to document our fantastic weekends... I'm way useless!

One Monday before work Austin woke up and said Dad "I want to make something that is straight, a puppy, and a sword." Tad had no clue what he meant. So when Tad told me about this I investigated further to find out that he wanted to do balloon animals for family home evening. Tad is getting pretty creative these days with his balloon creations. Austin loves to alter and create further with Tads creations: hence this picture.

This weekend our good friends came to visit for the weekend. We had such a great time playing games, eating yummy foods, going to an Army Surplus store, watching our children wrestle etc. On Saturday morning Tad was making his famous (stick of butter) pancakes. I had just gotten out of the shower and came to find that he had made me this fantastic pancake. He must love me! It is like identical... such talent in that man.

Well the Bakers are still ticking besides having a mother out of commission. I'm working hard at laying down so this baby will stay in me for at least one more week. Tad is being super duper amazing doing everything else. We are getting super excited to see our new baby!

New Pictures!

2011-01-30T18:18:00.000-08:00

We had a spectacular week. We got to enjoy Tad at home quite a bit. We took advantage of it with sledding, story time, gym, Pizza Hut, cleaning, taking new pictures of the boys to put on the walls, and a long date of lunch, an attempt at the temple (it was closed opps), and Harry Potter 7. We are so grateful for his job, but it is a treat to spend some time with him doing everyday things.

What a good Dad! Unfortunately this sled was a dud and we had to take it back. They are still so cute all bundled up.

I have been begging Tad to take some pictures of the boys for my walls. The ones I have up are two years old! Tad's buddy let us use his warehouse and lights to attempt to take pictures of the boys. We finally got a few that will work.

Here is me pregnant at 34 weeks. Man I love these children enough to get stinkin' huge! Seriously, it is all for the love!

2011-01-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

This has been an eventful last few weeks. We have had the flu at our house. Pretty much everything has been washed. That is good and boy do I have an appreciation for my washing machine and dryer! Tad had another work trip and I was so glad when he got home on Wednesday before I pulled out all of my hair! I think this week we are going to have to get outside because the boys are sick of being cooped up. Seriously if I have to watch another Go-Diego Go I could go crazy. On a good note it does stop Luke from screaming at the top of his lungs (Counting My Blessings- Just think of all of those pioneer woman who would have loved a great distraction for a screaming sick child).

Anyways, the boys found the wrestling singlets this week and have had a great time wrestling. I really love these little men and their amazing minds and spirits. They really make my life wonderful... even when they poop all over:)

Christmas

2011-01-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here is Tad on his birthday displaying some of his loot. The boys and I figured every Boise State graduate should have at least one sweatshirt of the school. Pretty cute boys if you ask me!

For Christmas we headed up to Nyssa for 11 days. It was quite the vacation!

Here is the boys setting out milk and cookies for Santa.

The boys taking a chill from opening presents with my dad. They are watching a movie that I hated as a child and still hate as an adult so my Dad is smiling because I was mad. It didn't seem to bother the boys though.

Uncle Smitty had Luke's name and thought it was only appropriate for Lukey Bear to have a life size bear. He couldn't love that thing more. Thanks Smitty:)

The boys got matching Atlanta Braves hats from my mom and dad. I love this picture because how Austin is standing is just how my Dad stands all of the time. Notice the hands in the pits haha... just like my dad:)

In our vacation we went up to the cabin so everyone could go skiing (except for me and Luke). Here is Austin practicing for the big evert. He was so excited and did very well.

Luke and I entertained ourselves at the cabin pretty well. He was a super grouch so I had to work hard at entertaining him.

Luke loved these cute bean bags my mom got for the cabin. They are so cute!

Well the rest of the 6 days we visited I forgot the camera for the rest of the time. Needless to say we truly enjoyed visiting with family and friends that we hadn't seen in a while.

The Life of Tad

2010-12-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

For Tad's birthday he requested that we make a movie with our new flip camera.

Enjoy his birthday present from the boys.

2010-12-12T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well this last week Tad was gone for four days to San Diego for a work conference. We missed him terribly, but we tried to keep ourselves busy with making a real gingerbread house. Austin wanted one that had guys that he could play with. Come to find out that Luke and Austin really like gingerbread cookies and they ate most of them. We kept a few men to play with though:)

I'm sure your thinking why would anybody post this picture of themselves. Well my brother who is on a mission has been asking for a picture of me pregnant. This picture is just for documentation of me at 6 months pregnant. Yes, the belly will get bigger. Anatomically you would think that isn't possible, but my friends it has been done before.

Finally, the boys and I went to this gymnastics gym for their open gym time. It is really a blast and the boys couldn't get enough of the rope swing into the foam pit.

The Nutcracker Interpretation

2010-12-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

My neighbor came over for my to braid her daughters hair (good thing I have lots of girl neighbors to keep up my hair doing skills). They were getting ready to go the "Nutcracker." Austin was asking where they were going and so I told him. He says "oh I know what that is like." So he proceeds to get the Nutcracker that I bought for him (that he so desperately wanted at Michaels) to give us a beautiful account of the "Nutcracker."

After laughing our heads off, I showed Austin the ballet on YouTube. He said, "Oh I don't want to go to that!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

Well we made it despite the weathers help! We had such a wonderful weekend. As we woke up on Sunday to come home, Luke yelled, "I'm not leaving!" I'm pretty sure we all had a great time.

Here is a picture of my brother doing a flip into the snow.

Here is Nick off of the amazing jump they built.

Here is my sister Markie...she is so cute!

I hardly saw Tad and Austin the whole time. They had so much fun outside in the snow. They found a great hill to sled on. Then they would build jumps to go off. You would think Austin wouldn't go for this, but he was one rough tough boy!

Seriously, this boy was a maniac. He would stay out their in 10 degree weather for hours just sledding with the big guys. No one had to carry him or anything. I was totally impressed if you can't tell.

Here is documentation that I got out of the cabin. Why would a pregnant woman want to leave the comforts of the warm fire anyways?

This was so cute. Smitty taught Luke to throw the snow off of the side and say "Hi-yah!" Luke was entertained for at least 30 minutes with this activity.

In the mornings the boys liked to chill on these super amazing blankets and watch a show next to the fire. Does life get any better... PJ's, fire, show?

For one of our activities we got to go ice skating. We got Austin some skates and he decided that he was not going to try.

... but Luke would!

Luke loved it so much that when someone would bring him back he would scream for them to come back. He was lovin' it!

Everyone tried to coax Austin into skating, but he wouldn't budge. I think he was probably hungry and tired. Too much fun sledding I think.

Finally the activity that I planned because well I could do it - Gingerbread House making.

We had a good time although Austin was pretty bummed that our house didn't win. Sorry Austin I tried really hard. The award went to Heber's TP house. Points for ingenuity and creativity won this time. You're on for next year though Heber!

Well we hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving like we did. Now on to P90X for Tad and some treadmill walking for me to work off all of that amazing food we ate.

Big shout out to my parents from the Bakers for a stinkin awesome weekend!

Winter Wonderland!

2010-11-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well this is what is looks like outside. We have had Tad at home today because they have even cancelled work. All of the roads are closed. This is some pretty crazy weather.

The wind is horrible and has drifted the snow everywhere. We figure we have about 15" of snow in the last 2 days. Crazy!

Here is our back yard. If the blizzard ever stops we think we could sled down that huge drift pile of snow:)

Here is a picture out our front door. Our drive way was all clean as of this morning. Now their is a huge drift covering it. Yesterday I got stuck just getting out of my garage.

So what have we been doing? We decided to decorate our tree and house, despite Tad's refusal. The boys and I think it is great. We hope tomorrow we get to drive to see all of my family, but it isn't looking so great:(

Festival of Trees

2010-11-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

Here was Tad, Austin, and I's project for the last two weeks. We have these three sisters in our ward who put on this festival of trees every year. All the proceeds go to a developmentally challenged program for adults. They needed one more person to decorate the tree (someone had already sponsored it) and the called me. I think they were a little shocked when I said that Tad would be the one to help me, but they don't know the skills my Taddy Boy has. Boy I couldn't have done it without him. He was a little upset at my theme because it was pretty cutesie and girly, but if we do it again we will do something more his style.

For the topper I was totally stumped right until we put it on the tree. It ended up being my favorite part (Thanks Taddy Boy!)

My theme was "Sugar & Spice." I put cinnamon pine cones in the middle of the tree just to give the fragrance. Then I found gingerbread men and women for ornaments. We also hot glued some candy canes together to make hearts and put some cinnamon sticks to decorate the middle. The icicles looked like they had sugar crystals on them. Finally my crowning touch for the theme was the copper cookie cutters as ornaments.

Austin helped me make all of the icicles. It is a great project if you are looking for a fun one with kids. You take pipe cleaners and shape them. Then you boil water. Pour water into a glass jar and then add powdered Borax (3 Tablespoons per cup of boiling water). Mix well. Tie a string to your pipe cleaner and then string that on a pencil to hold the pipe cleaner from hitting the sides. Let them sit in your solution over night. When you wake up you will have crystals all over your pipe cleaners. I really like the hearts and trees. For this tree we only shaped them into icicles.

I wish I would have taken Austin to decorate the tree he would have been great help, but it was fun for Tad and I to go decorate it. Whew! We are glad that is done:)

Goals

2010-11-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

I'm a goal oriented soul. What can I say... it is part of my make-up.

Goal #1: To post funny/creative blogs about nothing

This one however is most likely unattainable. I secretly covet those of you who it just naturally flows to post something amazingly funny, in descriptions that make it so vivid that you know exactly what they mean. Jealousy. Maybe I should change the goal to be to work on the coveting.

Goal #2: To get fixed up everyday.

I have been working on this because it is a struggle for me. I start out the day working out which is good. But then it comes to about 4:30 in the afternoon and I think gee I think I was done with my workout about 7 hours ago I should probably get in the shower before Tad gets home. Sad. I found this picture on someone's blog and thought... I should try that. Wish me luck. Anything has to be better than sweats and a ponytail right?

Goal #3: Not to watch as much TV at our house

Okay this is really the only goal I'm getting some where on. It probably is the only one that really matters to me. The boys are doing so much better at. We were all sick a few weeks ago and we got in this terrible habit of watching too much TV. Therefore, to get out of this rut we made TV tickets. When the tickets run out the TV stays off for the day. Yahoo! Playing with toys or dancing in the living room is so much more fun than PBS anyways. The creativity that is made makes me laugh all day!

2010-10-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here is Tad's first camping trip with his 11 year old scouts. I turned out great so that is exciting!

Here is our little cowboy.

We went to a trunk or treat at our community center. It was quite the event. Not our favorite, but not bad. How could it be bad with those faces. We also got the treat of having Markie with us for the evening! Thanks Mark!

Who is it you ask?

The Bakers... duh.

The Loot... yee-ha

Austin, doing a jig with his bucket full of candy. It truly is a thing to celebrate.

Well, Luke ate so much candy that in the night he threw-up. Yay! So I decided to make a pretty incredible dinner while Tad, Austin, and Markie went to church.

These Monster's Fingers were scrumptious!

These are meringue goggly eyes to put as a drink topper for our milk shakes.

Introducing Baby Baker #3

2010-10-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, my friends that is what you think it is.

WE LOVE BOYS!

This is our cute little bundle yawning. How sweet!

Ten little toes. I can't wait to tickle them.

This is the 4D picture of the little man. I think he has a little different look than our other boys. He is so cute though! The whole time he had his fists up at his head. He also did some wonderful kicking and rolling while we were taking a peek.

The nurse asked Austin if he wanted a sister. He replied, "Not yet."

That is our reply... no girls allowed... yet:)

Pumpkin Carving 2010

2010-10-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Baker's might have gone a little crazy with pumpkin carving this year. For family home evening we had ice cream cones and then went to town on our pumpkins.

My first time cleaning teeth in a year:) hehe

I carved this pumpkin for Luke.

Tad carved this pumpkin for me. I drew the design, but got too tired to finish the work. Thanks Taddy Boy!

This is Tad's masterpiece.

Here is Luke's and Austin's pumpkins. Yes Austin's pumpkin has guts hanging out:) hehe

Happy Halloween to everyone. May you enjoy the festivities as much as we are!

Birthday Boy!

2010-10-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the pinata that Tad and I (mostly Tad) made for Austin's party.

We had so much fun having Nick, Kim, Smitty, and Markie at our house for the weekend. We are missing them already. Yes, Nick has the worst looking mustache possible. I have patience for it though since he is growing it out to be Mario for halloween.

Nick and Kim gave Austin a gun for his birthday. Nick and Austin enjoyed shooting down animals in the window for a couple of hours. Luke was playing with his farm animals that they got for him.

Markie and Smitty gave Austin a Iron Man arm thing. He really liked it and will like it better when I get batteries for it.

Getting ready for the party!

The Party! The kids all dressed up. They were so cute. We had them play several games. One was they had to play a version of ping pong with only blowing to move the ball.

Then they played a version of sharks and minnows("Superheroes and Villains") and Superhero freeze tag.

Then it came time to sing and eat. Did Austin eat a cupcake. Yes, just without the frosting and not at his party. What funny kids I have. He did eat one of his M&M chocolate chip cookies. That's his favorite.

Tad and Smitty were totally amazing and made balloon animals for all of the kids. Swords was the most requested balloon. They had a blast. What men to make all of these balloons for kids. Not just once because balloons pop! I was super impressed with their skills.

After the party we got to chill and play some cards with the tards. I love having my siblings to hang out with. A long time ago Tad was giving me a lecture that I needed to find more friends. I said "I have friends, my brothers and sisters are my friends what more do I need." Well I know I have lots of great friends who aren't siblings, but my brothers and sisters are truly my best friends.

I have to say I'm a pretty proud mama of this boy. I can't believe he is 5. He is one special and unique boy. I look forward to everyday to see what he will learn, say, or do. He truly amazes me. It is truly my privilege to be his mother.

I also must give a shout out to that great man in the background. This weekend he was truly amazing. He did things that most men would never do. Here is the man making lego trucks all day with Austin on his birthday.

Potty Training?!?, Ice Cream, and Castles

2010-10-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Luke has been very interested in potty training. So we tried it. Have we had success yet?

Will we continue to try?

Yes, he is still interested. Therefore, any tips for kids who are interested be scared to actually make the move let me know. Of course we got the new underwear and the reward treats. He does great to sit their and sing songs, read book, etc. But then he holds it until bam he announces, "I went Poo poo." (Which means he peed because he is confused on the two.) He totally doesn't want to wear diapers any more unless he has to actually poo and then he gets scared and starts yelling "DIAPER! DIAPER!" Therefore, wish me luck. The best news is that I'm able to stay at home with him to give him my full attention. What a blessing! With Austin I just put it off because I worked.

Luke's new thing: Ice Cream Cones. He yells for them. When I say "No" you have already had two for the day, he helps himself to the carton, a spoon, and helps himself. Okay that is pretty darn cute. Very determined.

I'm selling this fun bakeware stuff called Demarle. It is cool because it is silicone pans that you never have to spray or flour. Not to mention they bake incredible. Well I found this cool thing about the pans. I could make candy in them and just slide it out. I thought this toffee turned out pretty. Therefore, just a little show and tell.

Finally, my builder Austin has been well.... building! He is doing Joy School and totally loves it. He goes with 5 other little neighbor girls and reports that he must do homework everyday. Like that happens:) This guy will be turning 5 next sunday. Where does the time fly? Well soon we will have fun pictures of hopefully what is an amazing superhero birthday party. Wish us luck!

Mostly for Ann

2010-10-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Well my sister-in-laws are big on the chinese gender calendars. I think I probably never would have heard about them if they hadn't told me about it. So I decided to check on line to see what gender we are having according to one of these calendars. The first one I went to said it was a girl, but it didn't really ask any questions and wanted my subscription to a magazine. I thought well that isn't very reliable. So I found 4 other sites to check. They all said BOY! Hahahahaha. Therefore, Ann if this is a girl I will make you what ever treat you like when I see you for the baby blessing in November. We should find out what we are having before the end of October. I really have always thought boy, but I really don't know any different. It will be hard to correct Austin if it is a boy though, when he says to Luke, "Don't hurt mom, you'll hurt my sister." :) Sweet boy!

2010-09-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

So I guess I will post that Baby Baker #3 is baking. We are super excited and very anxious to see what sex this child will be. According to Austin it is no doubt that it is a sister. Taddy Boy would like a girl, but understands that it most likely is a boy. As for me, I think it is a boy, but will be delighted just to have another child. After all I'm pretty smitten with the ones I have! Our due date is March 12, 2011. This puts me at 4 months right now. If you saw me in person I look large enough that most people ask when my baby is due.

Funny story... I was chatting with a friend (who is pregnant also) after relief society when an elderly neighbor woman came to chat too. My friend said, "Your looking so good and you probably aren't even into maternity clothes yet." The elderly sister replied with, "Oh yeah well her clothes are getting pretty snug." hahahahaha Did she really just say that? Anywho, we are excited and feel super blessed at our house!

Playing, Princes, and Party

2010-09-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Well summer weather has returned for a week so we enjoyed playing outside a lot last week. I love my children's creativity in playing.

Our neighbor was in a demolition derby this weekend. He invited all of the neighbor kids to go and paint his car. What fun is that!

Austin was invited to a Princess party for his good twin friends. They were all dressing up so they asked him to dress up as a prince. Tad made the crowns for the boys. This was the most we could get Austin dressed up.

Luke turned 2! He had a great birthday. He is such a wonderful boy and we love love love having him in our family.

Instead of a cake I thought I would try making cupcakes to see if he would eat it better. The result: he didn't even eat one bite. My boys are my children... they like making the cakes, but they would rather not eat them:)

Finally we had a wonderful surprise this weekend. My family swinged by for the evening. We thought that it was so much fun. I know it was a long swing, but we really enjoyed their visit! They brought Luke his birthday present, the wagon. Luke totally loves it and begs to push push!

2010-09-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Right my brother Smitty- Left Richard Simmons

I totally got a kick out of this and just can't help but share a smile!

Life Doesn't Get Much Better!

2010-09-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Peanut butter and honey toast with sprinkles. What a breakfast!

Fun Summer Trip!

2010-08-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

We started our trip with a celebration of Tad's grandma Budden. She was such a wonderful lady that their was lots to celebrate! It was wonderful to be with most of Tad's whole family. Grandma Budden will be so missed, but her legacy will go on forever.

After the trip to Brigham City, we drove to Nyssa to hang out with the fam for the weekend. Heber worked hard at teaching Austin to roller skate. What a great uncle! Notice the shirt Austin is wearing. Smitty and Markie brought it back from Hawaii. It is so cute.

It was fair weekend and we couldn't help jumping in on the craziness. My mom got the boys some passes for the rides. They had a great time. Here is Austin with Aunt Kim. She worked really hard to get Austin on that ride since he was a bit too small for the ride. Way to go Kim!

That night the biggest rain storm I have ever seen in Nyssa hit when we were eating dinner. Glad I already had my food because I was starving! After the storm the boys loved jumping in the puddles of water. Where are these kids parents!

The next day we went to the sale of the pigs. My boys were entranced! I could hardly get them to move from this spot.

Since their was the rain storm my mom did a little negotiating and got the ride passes for a few more hours the next day. My boys had a blast riding with their uncles.

(Nick and Luke)

(Smitty and Austin)

What else did we do at the fair. WE ATE!!!! Austin would say, "remember you promised us cotton candy?" I hadn't promised him cotton candy, but why not:)

Markie did pretty well at the fair so she got to do an extra thing call "round robin." This is where she shows like 5 other animals. Markie isn't too fond of animals so it was so fun watching her fight with a dairy cow.

On our last day we went fishing and had a BBQ. It was really fun. My boys always like fishing.

After fishing the boys all went for a ride in the combine with Papa Boss. They thought that was so great!

Here is our farewell to our fun family trip.

Summer Fun

2010-08-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

We have done so many fun activities this summer. I have been really bad at taking pictures. Here is a few of our activities.

Tad and the boys have been working very hard at putting in rock in all of our landscaping. Here is the boys taking a little time out in a swell.

A few weekends ago, most of Tad's family came to our house for a very fun weekend. We all attended the Blue Angels Airshow. It was a lot of fun. Of course Tad got like 100 pictures of planes and none of his family. I guess our mental picture of the fun will have to do.

We went to a fun birthday party with Tad's cousins family. The kids loved slippin' sliding. Even the dads got in to participate in their work clothes. I'm pretty sure that Tad regretted that decision later as he dried.

For the birthday party I helped Portia, this little girls mom, and Pearl, her sister, make this cake for her birthday. Cadence truly is a little princess!

Manly Projects and Independence Day Weekend Celebration!

2010-07-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Is this child trained to be my child or what? I love that my men love to do a manly form of my projects with me. For example Austin loves to cut the threads after I'm done sewing. They love to help me cook (my future daughter in laws will thank me on one of their sick days).

With that statement I must thank my own mother in law for teaching her son to make wonderful pancakes that he shares on my sick days. Thank you Elaine... as Austin says, "you're the bomb dot com."

Back to manly projects. This apron that Luke is wearing was the pride and joy project for them for a while. They picked out their own buttons and color of fabric to put on the aprons. Speaking of which when we go to the fabric store they find all kinds of fabric that they want. They know what I'm a succor for and quite frankly those spiderman, go Diego, John Deere tractor prints are super adorable. Anyways, the chef hat was part of Tad's present for me for my birthday. Now when we cook we must put on the chefs hat, per Austin's orders.

We enjoyed going to the Idaho Falls festivities this year for the 4th of July celebration. This included the very very very long parade and firework show.

Our neighbor, a police officer, promised us the best illegal firework show we had ever seen. I thought well I don't know if I have ever seen an illegal firework, so here we go. He wasn't joking. It was intense. So intense that a firework landed in my hair and burnt a part of my hair and scalp. Okay, so then we were a little freaked out. We may omit the illegal firework show from our festivities in the future.

Before the illegal firework show we really enjoyed a neighborhood BBQ. My kids had a blast playing with all of the kids.

Double Header

2010-06-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

What an amazing weekend we have had. We started it out celebrating our anniversary. Amazing how quickly six years go by. We had a great time. Still love this man.

Luke was a little excited to see us when we got home from our date. I will take all the love and attention I can get this weekend. Loving it!

Saturday we drove to Jackson Hole, WY to celebrate my birthday. Austin was in charge of the map. His verdit was "Straight ahead Taddy." :)

We drove out to Mormon Row to take some family pictures. Tad loved the nature scenes more than the family. Kids are much too difficult to work with.

There are signs every where that say "do not approach the wildlife." Tad felt that he was an exception to the rule. The kids loved seeing all of the Buffulo.

This was at my Aunt Cherie's house. The boys loved all of the Humming birds. Pretty cute.

Oh la la. When Tad and I were married the photographer got kind of frustrated that we couldn't take a kissing picture that looked good. We have had a few years of practice, but we are getting better.

In Jackson they have a shoot out at night in the middle of the street. It is pretty cool. Austin was entranced. He said, "It was pretty good, but it was loud."

Finally in the mix of things I have made two cakes in the last week. Now this picture is from a phone camera and this cake had traveled 350 miles. Jocie and I wanted to try making a whimsical cake. It was pretty fun to make. I would try it again.

I made this train skittle cake for a little boy in our ward that has the same birthday as me. His mom won the cake in a service auction. It was pretty fun to make. I know what a disease I have, but I love to create cakes. It is my lousy form of art.

Fish, Ducks, and Ball!

2010-06-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Fishing was the activity of choice for Memorial Day. It was stupendous minus no fish were caught. Tad was a great sport to take Austin although he doesn't really enjoy fishing. Austin was so ecstatic. He has dreamed of fishing for a while. He has been casting his little pretend fish on the fishing pole in my house.

Luke found better entertainment....DUCKS! He fed them, chased them, yelled Duck, and chased them some more.

We invited our cousins the Clarks to come for the events. We love love love to spend time with their fun family. We are so grateful we live so close to them and just to have family close by.

I'm trying to contain myself, but I'm such an excited mom to have Austin playing T-Ball. Notice the hat backwards. That was not of my doing, but purely Austin. I think he has been around his uncles a bit much.

Isn't he like the cutest thing you have ever seen? He was the only one on his team to field the ball and throw it to first. He actually looked like he got a little teeny bit of an idea of what was going on out their. Yahoo!

Here is Sammy Luke very entertained with his snow cone. Brilliant idea to entertain!

2010-05-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

We have been having so much fun we have forgotten to post any events. We just got back from visiting family for Markie's graduation and to watch Allie in the State Track meet. It was a very eventful and enjoyable trip... minus over 30 hours of car time. My boys were excellent for all of the driving though! Poor Tad had to stay and work.

Here are a few pictures of the fun we have had at home. My sweet neighbor lends my boys toys, swells with lots of water, and fun friends. While I have been working in the yard the boys enjoy their company!

Nick's Wedding!

2010-05-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had! First we drove to Alpine to stay at my sister-in-law's again. What a peach she is to put up with us. We have to go to other people house for them to get to ride the fun motorized toys. Of course my boys were in heaven.

Cousins + Fun Toys = Pure Bliss!

Here is the only picture of the cake I made for Nick's reception in Nyssa. It decided it didn't want to be stacked so it fell. Luckily it survived enough to be seperated with just flowers on it. It tasted good so I was thrilled with that. The bottom layer was poppy seed cake with a orange/almond cream filling. The second layer was chocolate cake with oreos and marshmellow/cream cheese filling. The top layer was vanilla with raspberry filling. Tad and Jocie were amazing to help me make it. As Austin would say they are, "The Bomb Digity!"

As a surprise my mom got Luke this little scooter. He was so excited to have a toy that he can actually ride.

Here is the quilt that I made for Nick and Kim. I was super excited with how it turned out. I think they liked it too.

Here is Nick and Kim eating their cake at their Utah reception. Their reception was at an amazing house (mansion). It couldn't have been more appropriate with all of the Michael Jordan paraphernalia for Nick.

Here is my family eating at the wedding breakfast at the Lion's House. It was yummy and fun.

Here is a few pictures outside of the temple. I love my sisters.

As you can see we had an amazing weekend with tons of traveling.

What makes a good mother?

2010-04-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

After working at picking up rocks in our yard for an hour or so we were dirty from head to toe. So into the tub went my little men. As one sneezed and dirt boogies dripped from his nose I felt great satisfaction. I had accomplished letting my little men be men. Energy had been wiggled out, exhaustion was settled in and they could truly feel manly! Way to go mom for giving us dirt boogies!

- Note no pictures were posted for viewer discretion. You're welcome.

Salt Lake City 1/2 marathon!

2010-04-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend I have had. As some of you may know I have been training (ever so poorly) for a 1/2 marathon. Well this last weekend was that very event. It is Tad's busy time of the year with work so the boys and I hopped into the van and drove to Alpine, UT by ourselves. I was pretty nervous about this trip alone. The boys were excellent. We got to stay with my sister-in-law (bless her!).

On Saturday morning at 5:00am I meet up with my brother Nick and his fiancee Kim. We meet up with my good friend Mary. My goals for this 1/2 marathon were to not walk and to run it under 2 hours and 15 minutes. The course was way awesome (minus a crazy steep hill). My only bad was I had brought a dead battery for my MP3 player. I pretended to listen to music the whole time. When I crossed the finish line I was way pumped I ran it faster than I thought I ever could. I ran it in 2 hours 3 minutes and 55 seconds. Yahoo! It is a pretty amazing experience. It is awesome to run with every shape, size, nationality, age, disability, etc. Very touching. Running past the Salt Lake Temple was an experience of it's own. The spirit just seeps to the road with all of its majesty. Amazing!

Well in all of my years of athletics I have never been so sore, but it was a great goal to accomplish. I'm thrilled to be back in shape after having my darling, but large Lukey Bear! My brother and I's goal now is to get our whole family running smaller races. We think it would be a great tradition.

2010-04-11T20:16:00.001-07:00

I took the camera to the library this week. We love our little library! We visit it on a regular basis.

This was the craft at story time this week. It was a hit with Austin to make a bird and then get to fly it.

Right before story time Luke decided to try on some of my make-up. My brother calls this boy "curious george." I think he might be right.

Spring Break and Easter

2010-04-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Nyssa to spend spring break with my family. My boys truly enjoyed being able to go outside and play. We are really missing that now since we have 4 inches of snow outside with lots of chilling wind.

Here is Luke trying sherbet ice cream for the first time. Luke is lactose intolerant so I always feel bad when we have ice cream. I have slowly been letting him try a few things that he has wanted. So sweet and he did pretty good with it too!

EASTER

We had a great Easter. Here is the boys playing in the ball pit that Luke got. Notice each ones has candy in their hands. What joy!

Here is the boys enjoying conference. I found that Luke enjoyed having us just sitting down so we could hold him.

We had Tad's cousin Dan, wife Portia, and five very fun kids come for the last session of conference and to eat dinner. We love having them in our home they are so fun. I also talked Rebecca Boster into coming for dinner too. She is such a delight and a beautiful lady!

Here is all the kids enjoying a little Alvin and the Chipmunk the Squeakwel.

Austin got a bicycle for Easter. He was way pumped to put it together, but even more excited to ride it!

Finally we enjoyed a fun package from my parents. Here is the boys sporting their Easter presents of robes. Aren't they so adorable!

Tad told them to give their best Karate moves. Here you go:

2010-03-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

What a week! Whew we made it ...almost! We have to talk in church tomorrow and then it is off for vacation in Nyssa. I have been quite the "Baker" this week. I did a demonstration for the young women on Tuesday. We decorated three cakes. Sorry no pictures I forgot the camera...bummer! Here is Luke while we were taking a break outside the other day. We love going outside.

The boys were really good helpers this week. Luke got an ear infection so towards the end of the week he was a little worn, but still a trooper. He loves to help eat the powdered sugar yum!

Here is the cake and the sweet neighbor girl I made it for. She turned 10 and wanted a pink and brown cake. She came over and helped me make it. She is a pretty amazing gal.

Today I threw and baby shower for my friend. She is having a girl. I had made this quilt top but wanted to try machine quilting with my own machine. It actually was really fun. Then I tried out the triangle edges that was even more fun. I love projects...such a sickness (thanks mom)

For her baby shower I made this cake. I love babies bums and feet :) The filling was a strawberry butter cream with a layer of just strawberry jam...potent, but okay.

I don't like making super busy weeks a habit, but it was still fun. I had some amazing and supportive helpers and that makes is all so much more enjoyable. Therefore, if you are one of those helpers -Thank You-

2010-03-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

I love blogs and sure do appreciate all of you who update your blogs to brighten my day. I truly feel like I get to know all of you and your families. So Thank You Thank You Thank You! All is well here at the Corn Chip Head's house. These two are pretty entertaining. Life would be so dull without them!

2010-02-28T16:01:00.001-08:00

The boots Luke got for Valentines day from Papa and Mama Marie. He loves them. We think we will go slip them on right now to go out side. I'm thinking some wiggles need to get out.

This is Luke's mitt so he thinks. How does he know what a mitt is? Obviously a boxing glove works for him. He carries this around for hours.

This is the cake I made this weekend for my friend's birthday. The inside was vanilla chocolate checkered. It was fun!

This is our neighbor Aaron and Austin. They went shooting yesterday. I thought this picture was just too cute. Look at the little ear plugs in Austin's ear. Ha. So intense!

Here is Austin with Tad. So sweet. Austin loves hunting and such!

Another neighbor invited us to his little girls birthday party at this play area. The kids had a great time and as you will see so did I.

I seriously couldn't help myself. I look like one of the kids so I totally can get away with it. The kids look at me like here you go have a turn. No questions asked. Little do they know that I'm an old fart pretending to be six ha!

As you can see we have been blessed in this move with wonderful neighbors and friends. We miss you all very much!

2010-02-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

Tad is training the boys young for ping pong. Luke and Austin absolutely love it!

Bloomin' Onion

I made this! It was way messy, but I finally put my dads big yummy onions to use. I'm having a blast trying to find copycat recipes online from our favorite restaurants. You would be amazed what you can find.

Yes that is me. Tad and I went to the DI to look for a VCR, but found something better....A gorilla costume. Originally we thought it would fit Tad, but no it was just right for me! What a hoot! The kids thought it was great.