Mark

     Last Saturday Mark went to Preference with this cute girl. She asked him nearly two months ago. You may remember the post with all the frozen peas that he had to dig through to find the letters of her name. They had a great time and she's the girl that makes the best sugar cookies I've ever tasted so she's a keeper.

     And remember when this was literally the only photo I've taken all week. Enjoy!

Brock

     This handsome boy turned 9 Monday! There were a few mild issues throughout the day but he ended the day happy.

Fun stuff.

Lunch at Taco Bell! He loves their spicy hot hard taco shells.

Thanks to G & G Baker for the card and cash. He couldn't wait to spend it on a stuffed animal he'd had his eye on for awhile.

      In addition to celebrating Brock's birthday we also celebrated/forced Kayli into a new car. Her car was starting to have some major issues and after 2 years of driving "POS Carl" it was time to move on and up. This car is quite a leap above her first car. There's more bells and whistles on this beauty then she could have dreamed of. She needed a little push but she woke up the next day happy and excited so I guess she's not mad at me for encouraging her to go into car debt.

2007 Nissan Altima. It has a sunroof, push start ignition and a very nice Bose stereo system including a fancy navigation screen.

    Charlie can be kind of silly when it comes to taking naps. I guess the middle of the kitchen floor is as good a place as any.

    And some might say these two are my favorites because they get random toys from me for no reason but look how happy they are.

Charlie's become a little obsessed with "The Secret Life of Pets" and Gidget especially.

     So that's not all the excitement from our week but it is all the photos I've taken. As of right now Mark is back on the 'no drive' list. The kid is making some pretty poor choices lately. The latest was a hit and run in the high school parking lot. I don't know what we're going to do with him but as of right now he's not allowed to drive and he will never own a motorcycle while he lives with us. The motorcycle isn't technically involved in his poor choices lately but it is the most painful punishment we have and he's earned the worst we've got to dish out after all the stress and frustration he's caused us. On a happy note, he did get a better job working at Dominos that will give him more hours and it's right next door to Subway, where he's been working, so driving him to and from work isn't going to be any worse then before. Lets hope he starts to see the light and makes better choices in the future because if not his dad and I just might not live through this and we still have FIVE more teenagers to go!!!!! Heaven help us!!

Basketball 2017

     Basketball season has officially begun! The first practices and games were last week and we have 3 of the boys playing this season so our Saturdays are going to be busy for the next several weeks. Brock was especially excited to play and despite what the photo shows he had a blast at his first game even if he was clueless of the rules, strategy, and over all know how. He'll figure it out soon enough.

Getting a pep talk from Dad on how to be a star ball player and the only decent photo I got at his first game.

Carter's pretty sure he's one of the best on his team, he thinks this every year even when his team gets slammed by their opponents.

Isaac wasn't necessarily begging to play but he does have some skills and it's good for him. He also had the cutest cheerleader there.

     And some times you just have to get silly with your dog. Yes, this was my idea with a little inspiration from Carter who started him off with the pearl necklace. This dog is such a good sport. He puts up with a lot!

Probably not the first cross-dressing dog to be photographed.

     We're headed into another busy weekend with basketball games, preference dance for Mark tomorrow night and Stake Conference. I'm singing in the choir for Saturday evenings adult session and Carter's singing in the primary choir for Sunday's session. I'm actually sitting and singing by/with a former Mormon Tabernacle Choir singer, which is pretty cool. She'd still be singing with them but apparently once you turn 60 they immediately retire you. Anyway, fun stuff. We're also looking forward to celebrating Brock's birthday Monday. Personally I'd like to be on vacation away from my kids, especially the teenagers who are giving me a lot of white hairs, but I'll just have to settle on the rare quiet moments when they're at school or work. Parenting is no joke!

Happy New Year!

      We had a fun New Year weekend in Idaho with my brother Tad and his cute family. We also had my parents there for the visit and it was a great time as you can see from the following photos.

The only time this device is actually fun instead of torturous. Fun and silly!

The main reason for our visit, seeing cute baby Ford be blessed by his dad.

Fun times.

All the adults there to support the Baker's.

Pie in the face was McClane's favorite game.

Not everyone got 'pie' in their face but the suspense is what makes it fun.

Enjoying these cute poodles.

But nothing can replace the love and cuddles from your own dog at home. (We won't discuss the mess he left me when we got home from our trip.)

     It was a fun trip and the kids really had fun reacquainting themselves with their Baker cousins. It's good to have Tad and his family a little closer to home. It's about as central a meeting place between us and our parents as anywhere so hopefully we can get together a little more often. Bring on 2017 whatever it may be!

Christmas 2016!

     This years Christmas was a great success....in the end. Our cute, if not silly looking, lamb was supposed to participate with the ward primary children at our Christmas Eve nativity but she only made it to the pew to sit with her dad so you could say she was a little lost sheep who wasn't quite comfortable in her own 'wool'.

The primary president insisted she wear it despite my resignation.

    Christmas Eve traditions are still going strong with new pjs. I did my shopping on line this year and it made sizing a bit of an issue but everyone was happy in the end.

Pajamas being too big is better than pajamas being too small.

I even treated Greg and myself to new pjs.

      Christmas on a Sunday is always a little different. Our little princess was the only one who got to have something new first thing in the morning, courtesy of her big sister. She loves pink and dresses so this was a win, win!

All ready for Christmas at church.

    After torturous hours of waiting they finally were all home and ready to get to the 'fun'.

Traditional lineup and a little more dressed up than usual!

     Now comes the fun and a LOT of photos!

She would have been happy with so little, why can't they all be so sweet!

Best buds sharing a moment. Marcus had a nice gift box for Mark to enjoy.

A little Harry Potter paraphanelia for this Hufflepuff. 

Some ginormous snowboard boots for this guy.

New movies courtesy of G&G Christmas funds! Thanks to both sets of grandparents!

A few fun things for this kid.

McClane was happy for the most part.

Carter was beyond thrilled with his gifts, especially the inappropriate video game his older brother got him.

A tablet, his one big wish has been fulfilled, now he can stop crying! (He cried right from the start when he didn't initially see a tablet lying out by his stocking. Some peoples kids!)

His one moment of anger, which wasn't about this cool firetruck. And the magic tracks in the top right corner are so cool and another fun gift from grandparent Christmas funds.

She was thrilled with this gift from Isaac. The new Pete's Dragon is a cute movie.

Another fun gift to Charlie from Kayli.

Dress ups and cars, what more could these kids ask for.

The new projector screen was another great gift from G&G funds and I especially can't wait to use it this coming summer in the backyard!

Sweet!

And have you met this spoiled dog!?Seriously, he's something else!

     So there you have it! We survived another Christmas and everyone came out of it happy and content over all. I didn't post every single photo from the big day but you get the gist of our fun. Greg got ramps for the car and a new snow shovel. I got candy, a flip belt and a cool mount for my cellphone in the car. Now we're just looking forward to ringing in the New Year in Idaho with some of our favorite Baker's!

A little fun before the big day.

    I think I've mentioned before how incredible our primary chorister is. This was his suit this past Sunday! Add the elaborate, and much appreciated, nativity activity he put on, with a little help from his mom and sister, was AWESOME!

The prophet with the black afro on the right is no other than Carter!

      Carter also got to participate in a play at school about Pandora's box. He's in the middle of the bottom row in the photo. I didn't get to attend but a neighbor graciously sent me a photo since her daughter was part of the production. (She's in red right by Carter.) Anyway, he has a fun 6th grade class and teacher.

     I did make it to the very low-key Christmas piano recital that Brock, Carter and Isaac had this week. They all did very well. Honestly, Brock plays the piano so much it gets annoying! They mostly played Christmas songs but there was a little Star Wars mixed in. Carter, Brock and McClane also had a Christmas singing program at school Wednesday morning but I failed to get even one photo. (I refuse to be like the other crazy parents who have no regard for anyone but themselves and their kid.)

     Cute McClane has had some fun in his kindergarten class. This was his latest creation.

     And you can't leave Charlie out of the fun.

     So that's about the extent of our week. I did experience my first trip and second trip to the chiropractor. I had an appointment for after Christmas but the back pain I was experiencing was almost crippling so I went to the local walk-in clinic and they are actually quite good. I'm finally seeing light at the end of a painful tunnel so I'm hoping I can enjoy my Christmas weekend a lot more. Thank goodness for modern medicine and chiropractic procedures. And getting older SUCKS!!!!

Festivities!

     We managed to get out a couple times this week for some Christmas festivities. For FHE we took the four smallest kids to see some of the dancing house lights nearby. There are three fun houses less then three miles away from home and the one at the top of the photo is absolutely mind blowing! Everything is lit up, it's like a miniature Temple Square! I love the dancing house lights!

Photos don't do these justice but you get the idea.

     After enjoying the last house Greg decided to let Charlie drive us out of the neighborhood. She did not want any help!

Ummmm......NO!

     Then we got really CRAZY and took the 4 smallest kids, again (The older kids have not been good sports recently.) to Seven Peaks Waterpark for their North Pole activities. We waited about 20 minutes to get in, 60 minutes to ride on the boats and waited another 45 minutes to ride the trikes through the Nutcracker story book and then our time was up. (They put the groups in 2 hour time blocks.) Was it worth it? I'm still not sure but the kids left happy so that's something. Brock and McClane would have liked to go back the next night to try riding the train and sledding down one of the waterslides but no one else was willing to wait in the cold and in such long lines.

Silly boys!

Magical!

Spinning Fun!

Fun!

    We may not get too crazy with our holiday festivities but I think we do just enough. And when the older kids saw our photos they were a little bummed that they didn't join us at the "North Pole". (That'll teach them.)
      Now 'Santa' just needs to find some time to go through a few things to be sure 'he's' ready for the big day.