Isaac is 11!

     Isaac turned 11 on Monday and even though we kept things fairly simple I think he had a great day.

11 birthday balloons, a Texas donut and a four-pack of soda.  There's no better way to start your day!

Isaac wouldn't hold still so it's blurry but that's a webkinz hamster he's holding up.

Isaac requested a zip-up hoodie that zipped all the way up and this Minecraft guy was right up his alley because he also got a Minecraft account for his birthday.  (Minecraft is a computer game all my bigger boys are obsessed with.)

Birthday cards and cash from his Baker grandparents and Great Grandma Baker.

I made him unzip the top so you can see he's actually smiling and happy about the cash and cards.  Thanks Grandma's!

Isaac requested a trip to Trafalga Fun Center so that's what we did.

Nothing like a fun rock climb.

Carter got in on the fun too.

And so did Mark.

He was having such a good time.

And these two were also enjoying themselves.

Isaac requested cheesecake and who am I to deny such a reasonable request.

Sorry it's blurry but McClane was pretty upset when we stopped him from blowing out the candles.

Ok, relight and now Isaac gets to blow out the candles.

Even Charlie got in on the birthday balloon fun.

     We feel pretty lucky to have such a good boy like Isaac as part of our family and we're proud of how he's growing up!

Love. My. In-laws!

     So my sis-in-law, Melissa, put together a murder mystery dinner party for all of her siblings and their spouses on Saturday night. Poor Bubba was murdered and the only way to solve the mystery of who-done-it was to dress up like the characters and get all the facts.  If you don't know Melissa than this may not appear as funny to you but if you know Melissa these photos speak for themselves. It was a blast and definitely worth doing again. (When it takes five minutes just to calm down and stop laughing so you can say a blessing on the food you know you're having too good a time.)  And sorry there's no photos of me but I was Henna Boufant an ex-beauty pageant winner and the town gossip and salon owner.  If I get copies of the photos taken by Garrett I'll share them in another post.

Melissa as Twyla who turned out to be a secret FBI agent and Josh as a 'carnie' worker.

Blaine (Bro-in-law) as Dusty Diamond wanna be Country Singer. 

Camille as the town 'tramp' and Josh.  (I promise the cigarettes aren't real.)

If you can't tell Greg's hat is covered in tinfoil.  He was Virgil, the town loony and drunk who believes in UFO's.  Yeah, he spent a lot of time on his costume, NOT but yet he still won the costume contest.  (It was rigged!)

Cassity and Justin, the town preacher and his wife, Mr. & Mrs. Eternity.  Justin's facial expressions are priceless!

Seriously, I LOVE this 'lady'!

And party co-host Garrett as Rowdy, the biker driving through town. And below Garrett is Heidi and Blaine.  Heidi was the crazy stalker, Betty Lou (?)  of Dusty Diamond.  

You guessed it, these two angels weren't so angelic at the end of the game.  Not all preachers follow the commandments to the letter:-)

And Kristin may not have read her costume suggestions thoroughly but she was still a sexy sheriff in my eye:-).

      Just being with my in-laws is a hoot and a half. I'm always more and more enthralled with these people I've grown quite attached to.

Isaac moving on

     Isaac is nearly 11 and has officially earned his Arrow of Light in Cub Scouting and can now move on to regular scouts, which he's pretty excited about. Here are just a few photos of Isaac at his last pack meeting.

Isaac receiving his Arrow of Light plaque.

Isaac getting his official certificates.

            Sorry these pictures aren't very clear but that's what you get when you just use a camera phone.

    And of course no post would be complete without a few shots of little Charlie.

McClane is still happy to hold her occasionally.

My two youngest  blue eyed kids.

She's such a little angel.

     We'll be celebrating Isaac's birthday in just a couple of days and I have a primary program to survive tomorrow so here's to surviving the rest of the weekend and Isaac turning 11!

2 months, tree cutting and ear piercing

     We have a huge box Eldertree right behind our fence....or at least we did.

This is before

And after.  I guess it's going to stay like this and the dream is to put a treehouse there.

       You may be wondering why we'd cut down such a big, 'nice' tree but the bugs that come from this tree are nasty, and EVERYWHERE!!!!  Of course now that the tree is mostly gone these bugs are still everywhere but hopefully by next summer they'll be mostly gone.

        Charlie hit her two month mark.

And she's not happy about it.

"No, don't look at me, I'm OLD!

Just kidding, I'm just ADORABLE!!
She weighs 11 lbs. 15 oz. and is 23 1/2 inches.

    And I finally took little Charlie to get her ears pierced.  Not everyone may agree with me on this decision but I've always loved a baby girl with earrings and I've waited 16 years to get another shot at it. If Kayli told me I should wait then I would have but Kayli was on board so now it's done and I think she looks darling and now hopefully there will be no confusion on her gender.

Green studs for her birthstone.

   And now more photos just because:-)

This was the lift Greg rented to do the tree cutting.  It was worth the money just for the fun of "giving rides" to all the kids.

He had no fear!

And here's Brock holding his favorite baby sister.

She went from fussy to calm and sleepy with just a cuddle and soft singing from her big sister.

And there's nothing like a nap with dad.

This just cracked me up.  I drive all the way to the mall only to have these two fall asleep on the way.  Thankfully they both woke up happy and were actually quite good during the whole ear piercing adventure.

And thanks to my sis-in-law I have a photo of these two from their morning sweeping date leaving me with only Charlie to take to my visiting teaching appointments.  I love that Greg works so close to home!!

     And I'm so happy that my sister, Jackie finally had her baby, Kirra Lee Atkinson.  And as far as I'm concerned she's named after me, (Lee as in ShirLee:-))  And she's a true Aussie at that!  Here's to waiting forever to meet her in person:-(  (Move back Jackie!)

Two months and blessed!

    Seriously, Charlie is already 2 months!  I hate how fast the time goes.  She's such a great baby and has grown so much.  Her two month doctors visit is Tuesday so I don't have any stats to share but you know I have PHOTOS!  Charlie was blessed last Sunday by her dad and you know I took lots of pictures, so here ya go.

I can't tell you how happy I was to get to use this blessing dress again.  My mom is quite a seamstress.

All 7 kids.

Kayli and Charlie having a snuggle.

Aunt Heidi and Charlie

Aunt Kristin and Charlie

These boys couldn't get enough of the game Grandpa Baker was playing with them.

Every time they would pull on his finger he'd make a popping sound. 

And Grandma Kmetzsch got a good snuggle too.

And of course the reason for the pretty dress, a priesthood blessing!

       I'm so grateful for a worthy priesthood holder who's been able to give all our children a name and a blessing.  He may feel inadequate but the Lord knows his heart.  I'm also grateful for all the worthy priesthood holders who have influenced mine and Greg's life for the better and for their continued influence on us and our children.  That's a blessing beyond value!

No get together would be complete without a great assortment of food to enjoy.

And while the guests ate Charlie had to endure a little photo session.

A bit blurry but I love how she's got her hands up.

So angelic.

Cute smiles!

Aunt Camille with baby Charlie and not so babyish, J..J.

J..J. and Kayli

Aunt Heidi got another snuggle.

Some very important ladies in  my life.  I'm so glad my parents made the trip to visit us even if it was too short a visit.

Grandpa Baker even got a snuggle.

How cute is that pose?!

And for FHE we took a drive up the Alpine loop.

She's so pretty.

She hasn't been too cooperative today for her two month photo but I still cant't get enough of these tights.

At least she's not screaming.

     If you made it through all the photos congrats.  We love our baby Charlie!!