The Baker Bunch!

August 2011

2012-01-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

We finally closed on and moved into our home in Enterprise!
Hooray! We have space, and a yard again!!!!

Back to School!

Anna excited to be going to 7th Grade and Enterprise High School!

Andi so excited to be in a big girl bed! She loves her "princess" bed. Thanks Grandma Baker for the adorable princess blanket! As for me, it was a lot harder to put the crib away than I thought. Not sure if I am ready for Andi to be so grown up!

Soccer time! Addi, Alli & Adri loved playing soccer. They are pretty darn good, too!

A.J., Andi and our kitten, Pickle,
who put up with a lot of lovin' and mauling from the kids and our new Border Collie puppy, Max.

July 2011

2012-01-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

We started off July by Adri celebrating her 6th birthday!

Happy Birthday Adri! We sure do love you!

We then spent some fun at Grandma and Grandpa Baker's property by Beaver.

The 4-wheelers were a favorite!

Nothing better than sticking feet in nice cold water!
The kids stayed and played with Grandma and Grandpa, while Adam and I made a quick trip to get the last "stuff" and say our final good-bye to our home in Newton. We had actually sold our home! It was such a huge blessing and answer to our prayers!

We made a quick trip to Bryce Canyon. We did a little hiking, slept in tents at the KOA, ate yummy food, all for Adam and Scott who ran the Bryce Canyon 1/2 Marathon!
Getting a great workout and a beautiful view!

Addi's first 5K Race! She was smiling before . . . and after! She did awesome!The best cheering crew ever for the runners!Adam is even smiling after his 1/2 Marathon!
He got a P.R. He totally rocked!

We celebrated the 24th of July in Enterprise.
We started off the morning running the Enterprise 5K.
We include: Adam, Martha, Anna, Addi, Alli & Adri!
It was a first 5K for most of them!
Adri was as sore the next few days as I get from running the marathon.
I think she might train a little bit for next years race!

Races in the park!
Run, Run, Run! as fast as you can!You don't get much better than the 24th of July races in Enterprise!Unless it is finding money in the water pond.
Unfortunately we didn't find too much.

June 2011

2012-01-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

We ran the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. Our team was called "Couples Therapy" It was a wildly, crazy, insane sort of fun! We ran a lot, laughed a lot, ate a lot, and slept a little . . . and somehow we survived it!

Here is our whole team.
We were in two vans, so we only saw our whole team a few times during the race.

Sister Love . . .
come rain or shine, in the middle of the night or in the light, she will always be there for you and you for her! I love my sisters!We convinced Brenda and Joel to run the race with us.
They were good sports!

Scott and Adam demonstrating how steep their next legs to run up "Ragnar" really are.

"Feel the Sparks!"
We had a fun Everett Family Reunion in June.
It was great to see and spend time with a lot of our family!

We played in sunny St. George and then spent time in nice cooler Pine Valley.
Good food, good times, good fun!
I just love this picture!
I love Andi's cute chubby fingers and hand just grasping on to me.
My baby is growing up! :o(

Anna turned 12!
We have a Young Woman in our house!

Adam is happy to be one year older!
And happy to have angel food cake to eat!

Not sure if we got enough candles on the cake or not. . .

May 2011

2012-01-09T13:30:00.001-08:00

Adri graduated from Kindergarten!
You can sort of see our Apartment in the background.

Lucky to have her dad as the principal!

A.J. so excited to be 4!

April 2011

2012-01-09T13:13:00.001-08:00

We helped Addi do a fun Science Fair Project about which shoes would help her run fastest for 50 meters on the track. Bare feet won over-all with her running shoes a close 2nd. Addi's feet got a bit hammered and cut up after sprinting in bare feet a few times, so she still chooses to run in her running shoes. She did look pretty cool sprinting in her heels not to mention trying to run in snow boots.

Anna, Addi & Alli all played softball. They learned a lot and had fun playing and learning all the cheers with their teams. But did I get any pictures of them? No.
Here is Andi wanting to go out and play catch with someone.

I, Martha, made a quick trip with Rachel up to visit Misha, Joe, Eliza and new baby James living in Boise, Idaho.
It was a long road trip, but we had a blast! So glad we went!

Bentley and I get to celebrate our birthdays on the same day!
Hooray for angel food cake!!!!

March 2011

2012-01-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

Alli turned 8 years old!
Her and Addi started taking piano lessons again.

Alli was baptized!
Grandma and Grandpa Everett returned home from their mission to Ireland & Scotland just in time to attend!

February 2011

2012-01-09T12:46:00.000-08:00

We had to say good bye to all of our friends . . . and to our dog, Potter.
It was very sad and hard.

Addi had a fun time playing basketball on the Newton team!
I had fun helping coach.

We made it down to Enterprise in time to celebrate Valentine's Day and
to celebrate our Grandpa Baker's Birthday!

January 2011

2012-01-09T11:50:00.000-08:00

Addi turned 10!
(I am just only 1 whole year behind in posting. . . oh well)

We were still living in Newton.
Crazy that it has almost been a whole year since we moved!

One of my favorite pictures of A.J.
He was ready for swimming in January.

2011 CHRISTMAS Letter

2011-12-24T08:19:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

December 2011

Our kids' Christmas countdown chains are quickly getting shorter, giving a very noticeable visual of how quickly time is flying by! We want to take a brief moment to share some events from this past year.

The biggest change for us happened right at the beginning of the year. We moved from Newton to Enterprise, UT. It has been a great adventure. Hard to leave friends and such a great community that we love, but a good opportunity for our family to live closer to family and “home”. Enterprise still gets snow and is about as cold as Cache Valley, but sunny St. George is only 40 minutes away. We snugly fit and survived life in an apartment for about 6 months until we sold our home in Newton and could buy our home here in Enterprise. We enjoy the convenience of being so close to the Elementary and High School, the library and ball fields. Enterprise is a great community and we are finding wonderful friends here. The kids have adjusted well, made good friends, and are doing great in school and other activities.

Anna, 12, is in 7^th grade. She attends Enterprise High School. She enjoys going to Young Women's. She still loves to read, had fun playing softball and volleyball, and is taking piano lessons. Anna also enjoys dancing, likes to help cook for dinner, and likes to babysit other kids whenever she gets the chance. She plays percussion in band.

Addi, 10, is in 5^th grade. She has enjoyed training for and running her first 5k's and competing in the Hershey's track meet. She played softball, volleyball, and soccer and is now doing basketball. She performed, The Paper Bag Princess, in the District Storytelling Festival. She has enjoyed her first “real” job stuffing adds once a week with her friend whose parents own the local grocery store. She is still taking piano lessons and is learning the viola at school.

Alli, 8, is in 3^rd grade. Alli got baptized in March. She loves going to Activity Days. She loved playing softball, soccer and now basketball. Alli is an awesome student at school and an avid reader. She is doing awesome at playing the piano, too! Alli likes to draw and color pictures in her spare time. She still loves monkeys and playing with her friends.

Adri, 6, is in 1^st grade. Adri loves school. She is learning to read like a champ. She likes to do homework and to read each night. She has gotten 100% on all her spelling tests so far. Adri is taking dance, too. She liked playing soccer this fall. She ran her first 5k with her dad this summer. She did amazing and was as sore as I think we get after running a marathon! She did awesome!

A.J., 4, is in preschool. He goes to preschool two days a week. He loves it and can't wait until he can be in kindergarten and go every day. He loves playing, teasing and fighting with his sisters. He is full of lots of energy. He wants to be a scout so he can tie square knots. He also wants to learn how to use his dad's bb gun so he can shoot an elk like his Uncle Kody and have good “turkey” (aka jerky) like him.

Andi, 2, is our little princess. She wants to dress-up like a princess pretty much every day. Dresses are cool, pants and coats not so much. Andi absolutely loves Nursery. She has amazing teachers and looks forward to going each week. Andi loves fruit snacks and fishy crackers. Sometimes we can get her to eat real food. She doesn't like naps.

Martha, old enough for gray hair, is at home most of the time. She likes running 3 days a week with friends, coaching the kids in sports, taking Max, our puppy, on runs, helping in Adri's class, and singing in the ward choir. She currently is teaching the 16-18 year olds in Sunday School. Martha likes to eat, talk, work-out, and shovel snow. She likes to sing lullabies and read to her kids. She likes hugs and sleep too!

Adam, old enough to have 6 kids, but hasn't graduated from Elementary yet. Agonized over moving his family across the state yet again, but is happy here in Enterprise, too. Loves to eat lunch with his girls each day. Currently the Sunday School President, and has a sore finger from ringing the bell each Sunday. Finished his 6^th Marathon this fall. Signed up for the Utah Valley Marathon next June. Also survived two Ragnar Relays this year. Adam runs to keep life in perspective. Constantly feels a little outnumbered at home.

If you are ever headed to Southern Utah, give us a call, we'd love a visit or would love to meet up with you!!

Love, The Baker Bunch, AdaMartha, Anna, Addi, Alli, Adri, A.J., & Andi

Enterprise!

2011-07-07T15:02:00.001-07:00

If all goes well, we will be closing on this home in Enterprise soon after we close on our home in Newton! We are excited . . .

Look Out A.J. is 4!

2011-05-10T13:28:00.001-07:00

Newton, where's Newton?

2011-01-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

Check out our home listing on KSL.com (Click Here)

We are off to Enterprise, UT.

So grateful to everyone who opened their lives to us here. We have loved living in Newton. It is so hard to think that we will be leaving. Thanks to everyone for being such wonderful friends and neighbors. We will always cherish the time we were able to spend here!

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-26T17:52:00.001-08:00

We hope you all enjoyed your Christmas this year as much as we did.
Our spectacular tree!

Nativity preparations, here we have the shepherds and the black sheep.
Andi the magi.
Mary and Joseph with the little baby Jesus.
The Angel of the Lord visiting the Shepherds.
A magi visiting the baby Jesus.
The shepherds visiting with the other wiseman.
Our wise guys.
Curtain Call.
New PJ family shot!
Happy kids who can't wait for morning!
Santa found us!
Ready to come up stairs!
WOW!
More wow!
Morning chaos!
Yummy candy cane
Dashie the beagle
Presents from Scotland.
Presents from the Tolutau's
Wool scarves from Scotland
AJ in choo-choo heaven
I got sweet mud-boots and new wiper blades! Oh yea, and a nice Hawaiian shirt
Still in train heaven!
We got a Wii
Andi is a pretty good bowler
So is Adri
Webkinz were also a huge hit
We survived the day. AJ and Adri sacked out during scriptures.

Life in the fast lane . . .

2010-12-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

Since our last post we have had two trips to St. George, Thanksgiving and a funeral. Also, we have enjoyed a trip to Preston, ID for bowling at Poppin' Pins. And of course Christmas preparations!!!!
First off, we actually have proof that Elder & Sister Everett are serving the Lord in Scotland. A friend of ours has parents serving there and emailed us this picture. Martha's parents are the cute couple on the right!
AJ as a pilgrim, he loves his preschool teacher!

Everett family Turkey Trot!
Leaves at Grumpa Bakers
Backyard fun! We had a blast playing outside in our jackets!

Red Rock fun with the Everett family!

Christmas Tree Hunt!!! We got a good one!

Andi has loved all the Christmas excitement!

Yea presents! Thanks Aunt Misha!

We had recently considered ear piercing, until this . . .

Everyone else is doing it??

Poppin' Pins!
AJ - super pro bowler
Cutest ever!

One and a two and a . . .

Andi loved it!

Yea! Santa Claus!

Grandma Afton Everett - 1919~2010
ALL of Martha's siblings - WOW!
Grandma Afton's surviving siblings
Women's bathroom - it had couches - sweet!

Piano recital! Go Addi and Alli (and Martha too!)

School Choir concert! Addi, Alli, & Adri all did GREAT!

Gingerbread houses! Yum yum eat 'em up!

Washington DC!!

2010-11-21T20:14:00.001-08:00

So Martha and I made it to Washington DC. We were there from Sunday, November 14-18, 2010. Lewiston Elementary was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the US Dept of Education. Yee Haw! So I got to take Martha for the awards ceremony. We went with Jeff & Jan Tingey. Jan teaches 4th grade at Lewiston. We had an amazing time! Enjoy the photos below!

Our posh room!
More room!
White house!
Here we are actually in front of the White House.
Martha with the National Christmas tree being decorated in the background, also in the background - the Washington Monument.
World War II War Memorial.
Still at the WWII Memorial, looking toward the Washington Monument.
WWII memorial, with Lincoln Monument in the background.
Washington Monument, White House taken from the Jefferson Memorial.
Cute Martha at the Jefferson Memorial.
Jefferson!
Korean War Memorial - can you spot Martha?
Love the Lincoln Memorial!
From the base of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Mr. Lincoln!
From the Lincoln Memorial - Washington Monument & Capitol in background.
Vietnam Statue.
Vietnam Memorial.
The Metro!
Arlington National Cemetery
More Arlington, a beautiful place!
Loved the red tree and the symmetry of the grave markers.
Tomb of the Unknowns - changing of the guard
Night view from Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima - Marine Memorial
YEA! Ida and Jonah came for a visit.
Award presentation with Aba Kumi - Dept of Ed chair of Blue Ribbon Schools
The reason we came!
Award!
Cute Jonah!
Serious Jonah
Gorgeous Washington DC Temple
Notice the Stained Glass!
I love to see the Temple.
Styling Jonah
Ida's bed
really - (Rachel, Misha, Ida inside joke)
Ida - tough as Sakagawea
Mr. Philo T. Farnsworth - Father of TV one of Utah's Statues in the Capitol
Martha in the Center of DC - it is good luck!
Ida & Jonah getting their share of the luck!
In the rotunda of the Capitol - way big!
Brigham Young - Utah's other statue
Back of the Capitol
Supreme Court Building
Capitol
Front of the Capitol - walking this time, not running

National Botanical Gardens
As close as I have ever been to Hawaii
Notice Queen Martha's beautiful Crown!
Ida showing off her skills!
More jungle
Houston - we have landed!
Enjoying as many of the Smithsonian Museums as we could in one day!
An actual painting by Leonardo Da Vinci
Same Leo - different poser. Fashion has not changed much in 600 years
If you have seen Night at the Museum 2 then you know what we are up to, if you have not seen it, you should!
1 million bucks!
An orangutan has hair the same color as Martha's.
Holly! and cute Martha
Red Panda's were WAY cooler than the Giant Pandas.
Martha made a new friend.
National Zoo entrance
Gorgeous Martha and pretty red tree!

As you can see, we had a fantastical time in Washington DC. If you ever want to visit we highly recommend it.

Oh Rats! . . .

2010-11-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

Just a cute picture of Andi enjoying a good book in Potter's bed.

Here is the inside of our chicken coop. We have recently been battling rats. I figured that they were all gone because there was no new evidence after the last round of poisoning. Take that rats. Our neighbors recently gave us a few more chickens and we needed to fix up the roosts. Both Martha and I were inside the coop raking and fixing things up. Martha was standing and suddenly a patch of ground beneath her foot caved in a few inches and began to move. She screamed and fled from the coop. The ground continued to move where she was standing and a rat came up through the ground. Pretty soon three or four more followed it out. We had 10 chickens and rats zooming around the coop, I was swinging away with the rake and took one down! Hooray for me. All of the other rats had fled to the extra bail of straw we had in the corner. So we got that out of the coop and killed another rat. My inner hunter was really enjoying the battle. We did not find any of the other rats, but I am sure we scared them good! It was definitely one of those experiences that give you the heebee geebees. Ug . . . RATS!
Just one of those classic experiences. So we now have exciting experiences with rats and cockroaches. If you haven't heard the cockroach story be sure and ask Martha about it!!!

Awesome October!

2010-10-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

October started out with none other than the St. George Marathon. It was my year to run. I got to run some of the race with my two amazing sisters, Selma and Rachel. I let them beat me....well, they beat me fair and square. They got to train together and they trained much, much better than me, but it was fun and they were a good motivation to keep going as I tried to catch back up to them when I fell behind. I also had 3 brother-in-laws, Scott, Kody, and Joel run it. Scott was inducted into the 10 year club this year. My Uncle Wayne has run something like 26 of them. Wow! I tell you wow! Also two family friends from Cache Valley came to run St. George for the first time. They were great and hope they come enjoy the tradition of this marathon with our family again! As you can tell, I think Rob and Eric were wondering what they had gotten themselves into hanging out with us. But they survived us and the marathon...not sure which was worse:o) I haven't ran since but have it in my plans....maybe tomorrow....we'll see :o) Thank you Bushar's and Mitchell's for the yummy food, places to sleep, babysitting, showers, T.V.'s to watch General Conference and for putting up with us! We love you and can't wait until next year! Hopefully it won't be so stinkin' hot!

Our amazing Cheering Squad! They were great!

Scott is one amazing runner!

Kody is also one amazing runner!

Rachel, the fastest of us three!

Selma, in close second.

Me, just wanting to stop....but I didn't....

The Mitchell's...well most of them

Me with some of my family. We forgot our camera, so thanks for the pictures Rachel!

The Bushar Family!

Joyous July!

2010-10-10T23:22:00.001-07:00

We started July off with Adri's 5th Birthday! She had waited "forever" to finally be 5!
What did Adri get for her birthday? Oh, it is Andi! Andi loved Adri's wrapping paper!

Adri loves bunnies! She had a bunny birthday party with her friends. She even had two real bunnies to play with thanks to our neighbors.

Fabulous 5!

The best horse anyone could have.

The 4th of July was a blast! We went down to Bountiful to watch the fireworks with the Schmutz family. We had a great time!

Then Andi and I were off to West Virginia to spend time with Ida and new baby Jonah. This was the second time flying in an airplane for me, only 14 years since I did the first time. Andi did amazing. We had a great time and I am so glad I got to go and hopefully I helped Ida and Jonah out a little bit.

Just before coming to WV, Andi figured out the her crawling could get her places and she could get into things. She had a great time exploring Ida's house and finding things she could get into. She came home a very mobile baby.

We had a fun time trying to get a picture of all of us with the timer...

Andi wasn't too aware of Jonah, just that she could poke him or smack him with her hands. We just tried to keep her away from him most of the time.

Andi loved Ida's flip flops....we had a hard time hiding them from her.

Ida's bottom dresser drawer.

Super Mom! We went on a beautiful walk on the River trail. We got up way early one morning to go, hoping it wouldn't be too hot and muggy yet. Still humid, but not as hot.

Andi loved Jonah's toys.

Jonah getting tummy time! I love this picture!

We celebrated Ida's birthday. It was sure fun!

A fun little hike and pretty outlook to "really big mountains".... for West Virginia anyway.

Ida was so happy to finally be able to talk to John on the cell phone!

Andi wants to be a Dr. when she grows up, too. She decided she would get an early start on studying by reading John's books.

A fun surprise was when we crossed paths at the airport with Misha and Eliza on our way home. We both had layovers in the same airport and didn't even know it.

We made a day trip to Salt Lake. We had a great time. We rode the train, front runner from Ogden to downtown. The kids loved riding on the 2nd story of the train. We played at the Children's Museum, ate at the Gateway, went to Temple Square, checked out the Clark Planetarium and got to ride trax. It was an adventurous full day.

We got to go to Boisie, Idaho to visit Misha, Joe and Eliza! We sure had a great time! We mostly came to celebrate Eliza turning 1. She put up with a lot of us invading her room and house.

We went to a way cool park with Eliza and Misha. We loved the huge fish!

We walked to a fun lake right by the Schmutz' house. The kids had fun wading and swimming and getting cold.

Amazing August!

2010-10-10T22:08:00.001-07:00

Andi pulling herself up to things. What a big girl!

A.J. showing us how tough he is!

BAKER REUNION 2010-BEAVER MOUNTAIN, BIG JOHN FLAT

Adri showing us her new skills...NO training wheels! She's already upgraded to a bigger bike. She took off and there is no stopping her now!

We had a fun visit with our family from Pennsylvania! We loved having the Reids! I am not sure if they had as much fun as we did, but our kids (as you can tell) had a total blast with them!

Mike taking a Root Beer test...very serious stuff here!

The best cousins any little girl could have, too bad they live so far away!

We also had a fun visit from the Toluta'u family! We made a visit to the Logan Temple.

Pretty Princesses!

Mikayla got to stay and survive us for an entire week until she could check into her dorms at USU. The kids loved the extra attention. A.J. adored Mikayla!

The First Day of School Photos!

Waiting for the Bus!

Random pictures that some sister took...what big sisters can get little brothers to do for the camera. Proof that A.J. is still all boy!

After having to wait for an entire extra week, it was finally Adri's turn to start school! She was all smiles. She couldn't wait for school to start, to get on the bus, and to finally be a big kid like her older sisters. Her being happy made saying good-bye a whole lot easier!

Waiting for the bus!
I just love this picture below, Adri is practically dragging Addi to get on the bus. Adri decided she didn't need any help to find her classroom once she got to school. She told Alli and Addi she could do it all by herself, which she did. She zoomed right passed Adam without even noticing him. Way cute!

Andi loves animals! Poor kitties though. They sure put up with a lot!

Sweet September!

2010-10-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day we went to Porcupine Reservoir to find the Kokanee Salmon spawning. It was amazing. We had some adventures hiking through bushes and willow type trees and mud but we will surely be doing it again next year! Thanks Mikayla for coming with us and for taking the pictures!

Andi turned 1 on September 14th! Holy cow, my baby is growing up on me! She is so much fun. She got to open her first present a little early from Grandma and Grandpa Baker. It was a baby that giggles. She loves it and has become a real doll lover lately.

We went to the pet store on her birthday and picked out 2 goldfish for Andi. She loved all the fish. 1 didn't make it, but Moe is still our pet. Andi loves to make the fish "sound" with her mouth.

Andi loves the bead necklace she got from her cousin Eliza! She loves putting it on and off, and on and off some more! Andi is also sporting her butter on her nose.

I was craving this yummy chocolate sheet cake, so since Andi is only 1 and really doesn't have a say in what she wants, I decided to make it for her birthday. The only problem is, we only have our family....no extended family close.....and the cake didn't disappear on Andi's birthday. I ate probably more than half this cake! It was sooooo yummy. I won't be making it again unless I know we will be having lots of people over. Thanks for the recipe Rachel!

I finished the Top of Utah Marathon, which made me very happy! It was a beautiful fall day in Logan. I absolutely loved running down Blacksmith Fork Canyon. The leaves were stunning, the perfect temperature, and a gradual down hill...what more could I ask for. I started out slow in hopes I could survive long enough to finish, and because of that I enjoyed the scenery so much more! I am giving fives to my kids about a block from the finish line. I have a very supportive husband and family. I love them so much! I wish a could have trained a lot better than I did the last month, but I surprised myself on how well I did and how well my body survived! As my neighbor said, I am a "lover of punishment." I think he is right.

Since I don't have enough to do, I decided to start teaching a little 3 year old preschool once a week. I have absolutely loved it! I have 10 little cuties that come to my house on Wednesdays for 2 hours. Anyhow, we took a field trip on "green" day to go visit some John Deere tractors. Our neighbor, Farmer Jake, took us on a tour of two really huge combines. They were awesome! As you can see from the pictures, A.J. was in heaven! Our next Field Trip is in a couple weeks. We are going to a dairy (It is black and white day). Mostly we love playing with play dough, reading stories, singing songs, dancing with balloons and streamers, etc.

Not to Worry!

2010-05-07T20:58:00.001-07:00

Hi All, yes there was snow yesterday. Today was a sultry 55 degrees and we mowed the lawn. All is well.

SNOW!?

2010-05-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

It's beginning to look a lot like . . . .

As you can see, it has been snowing off and on all day, and is actually starting to stick! Anyone up for a visit! Happy Sprinter.

Oh, and don't worry, Addi's soccer game was not canceled, nor was Anna's practice. They are both out in the snow right now. :o)

Happy Birthday Dear MOM!

2010-04-25T21:15:00.001-07:00

Hey Mom - You're the Bomb! You are so fun we can't believe you're 31!

Good bye Sara....for now...

2010-04-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

Our sister-in-law and aunt, Sara, passed away on Easter Sunday. It is hard to put into words the pure sadness and intense heartache we have felt and observed the past little while. It is also difficult to explain the feelings of love and charity that have been shared and expressed. The spirit of our Heavenly Father is almost tangible in their home. My heart goes out to Brad and his 5 beautiful children. I love them. I wish I could take their pain away. My testimony has grown so much over the past week. I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves each of us. I am understanding more and more how fragile this life really is. Trials, struggles and heartache abound...and yet somehow it is for our good....and somehow it is all worth it. It is hard for me to understand, but I have faith that it will be ok. It is hard to be back home and away from our brother (in-law) and cousins. I am so glad that we were able to be with them last week. Sara was beautiful. She always had a smile and a laugh. She was always pleasant. She enjoyed life and was happy. I enjoyed being around her and with her. She was always put together, or at least seemed that way to me. She was a great wife and mom. Her and Brad loved each other. They loved to be together. They enjoyed one another. They enjoyed life together. I don't know what to write other than for as long as I have known Brad I have known Sara. They were one. I know Sara lives today, just on the other side of the veil. I get to teach the young women lesson on Sunday about the importance of temples and temple marriage. The importance of these things are burning so heavily in my heart. I hope to be able to convey these sensitive feelings for my laurels to understand. Anyhow, here is Sara's obituary. The funeral was absolutely amazing. We love you Sara.

St. George, Utah: Sara Michele Campbell Baker, age 35, passed away Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010 in Las Vegas University Medical Center. She was born September 15, 1974, in St. George, Utah, the first child of Roger and Jane Esplin Campbell. She was raised in St. George and graduated from Pine View High School, 1992. She married her first love and high school sweetheart, Brad Baker on June 8, 1996, in the St. George Temple. They are the parents of five children.

Sara loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. She was an amazing organizer. She also loved to plan and set goals. Sara was kind, tender, compassionate, genuine and wanted things perfect. She was active in the LDS Church and served as a Primary teacher and counselor, cub-scout den mother, and as a Relief Society Counselor. Her greatest love was her husband and children. She was such a good wife and mother. Her whole life was centered on her family. Family time was so important to Brad and Sara. Their children know how much they loved each other.

She is survived by her husband, Brad and children, Katelyn, Tyler, Kyle, Annie, and Avrie; parents Roger and Jane Esplin Campbell of Beaver; sisters Jennifer (Beau) Barney of Lehi, Amanda (Aaron) Felstead of St. George, Christina (Tamron) Lee of Cedar City and brother Michael (Meagan) Campbell of St. George; Grandfather - Bybee Campbell of St. George. Father and Mother-in-law Phil & Lynette Baker of Washington City.

Sara is preceded in death by: Grandparents, T. Lavoy and Phoebe Esplin, Clidene M. Campbell. Nephews: Brecken and Brayden Felstead. Niece: Audrie Campbell. Brother-in-law: Charlton Robert Palmer.

Funeral services will be Saturday, April 10, 2010, 11 am, Sunset 1st Ward, 82 N Dixie Drive, St. George. Viewing for friends and family will be held Friday, April 9, 6 - 8 pm at Spilsbury Mortuary and Saturday 9:30 to 10:30 proir to services. Interment will take place in Tonaquint Cemetery.

Special thanks to Dixie Regional Medical Center, St. George, Sunrise Hospital and University Medical Center in Las Vegas for their kind and compassionate care.

Andi is sitting up!

2010-04-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

Andi is sitting up on her own this week! She is growing up way too fast!

Andi was sitting on my bed and I went to get the camera to take a picture. I came back and A.J. decided he needed to join in the fun! Andi has been doing this funny fake cough thing recently. It is cute...and I caught her doing it in the picture!

What we've been up to...

2010-04-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

A.J. loves the chicks! Here they are in their new home in the garage! They quickly outgrew the apple box in the kitchen and were flying up on the edge of the box.

Enjoying jumping on the trampoline again! The snow has finally mostly melted!

The last of the snow in our yard...for the moment!

A.J. decided to fall off the couch during FHE and land right on his elbow. Here he is showing off his soft cast until we got the real one. Happy St. Patrick's Day. A.J. even got in on the green finger nail painting fun! Don't worry...I took it off that night!

I just got put in YW's. We had an awesome Laurel's Conference. Here is a picture of some of the cute laurels with the singing group Simple Grace that performed for us. They were really good.

A.J. has been potty training...and doing awesome! He is sure a big boy. Here he is sporting his pull up since he didn't want to put it on before bed, Adam stuck it on his bed.

A.J. thought Andi would look great with a sticker on her forehead. She sure loved it!

One of our favorite pass times at our house....beads! I thought this was cute how Adri and A.J. were working together to do this one.

Sometimes we sleep! My little angel baby! I love her!

The scary A.J. monster!

Happy Andi!

Anna totally rocked in her 5th Grade Olympics! She did awesome!

I got my hair a much needed chop!

Andi is 6 months old!!!!

2010-04-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

It is sooo cool to be 6 months old! Big sisters make me do silly things some times...oh well...I will grow up soon and can get them back hopefully!

Hooray for Andi! She is so big!

We love Andi Jane!

Bountiful Baskets!

2010-04-01T15:10:00.001-07:00

We have been getting fresh fruits and vegetables and some yummy bread through this really cool thing online called Bountiful Baskets! It is so awesome. We get great food and at an even better price! We've been eating a lot healthier and for the most part the kids have been great sports about all the extra fruits and veggies we've had to eat.

Addi does not love the cabbage we had for dinner....

Anna loves the yummy food we've been getting!

Happy Birthday Alli!

2010-04-01T15:02:00.001-07:00

All Alli wanted for her birthday was her two front teeth! The tooth fairy delivered!

Alli in her new monkey pj's reading to cousin Maddie and A.J.

Alli's monkey cake. I attempted to make a darling monkey cake...it didn't quite turn out darling, but it made Alli happy.

Alli sporting her buttery nose!

A.J. helping to set the table...one of his favorite things to do. He is an awesome helper!

Two of the three new chicks Alli got for her birthday from Misha, Joe & Eliza!
They loved the perch I made for them.

Andi and A.J.

2010-04-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Andi working on her toe touches...

A.J.'s favorite way to eat toast. Especially "tubby" toast. (Sugar & Cinnamon toast)

Happy Birthday Grandpa Baker!

2010-04-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Andi turned 5 months old & Grandpa turned 61!

Addi wrote Grandpa a song for his birthday. All the cousins helped sing it to him.

Happy Birthday Grumpa B!

Last St. George Adventure...

2010-04-01T14:25:00.001-07:00

Sleep Time...

2010-04-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

Adri likes to fall asleep at random times....like in the middle of dinner. If it is the afternoon and it gets too quiet, I usually can find her asleep somewhere. The bottom picture is one when Adri had already fallen asleep and A.J. wanted to take his nap downstairs, too. He chose to sleep on the treadmill. Funny kids.

The Wheels on the Bus get stuck, stuck, stuck . . .

2010-01-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

This has been a crazy week for riding the bus. Our girls had a sub for a couple of days. The first day they got home over a half hour late. Well, the next day it was past one hour late. We were pretty frustrated. Then we got a call from our neighbor asking if the bus was up in front of our house. I looked out the window and what did I see, the big yellow bus stuck in the snow. As many of you know, our house is the end of the line, the road stops there. Nobody plows past our driveway and there is not any room to turn a bus around in. So for a bus to be up our road is bad news for the bus driver.
AJ enjoyed the excitement immensely. I went out and helped a little, but I am basically the only man in Newton without a tractor sitting in my yard. However, our neighbor just happens to have a big tractor.
He basically saved the day. We got the bus out and thankfully got our regular bus driver back too!
See what you are missing dad! You thought driving a mail jeep in the snow was bad . . .

PS - Bailee and Brinkley both say HI!

Adam pays a visit to Washington DC

2010-01-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

I got to visit Washington DC to attend the National Title I Conference. Our school, Lewiston Elementary, was named a national distinguished title I school. There are two schools from every state that are selected each year as national distinguished schools. Lewiston won because of its high performance on year end tests. I traveled with three teachers from my school and two of our district office staff. We had a great time visiting the sites and attending the conference.

This is our hotel/conference center, The Gaylord National. It was a nice place.

Here is our crew from Lewiston Elementary.
Here I am visiting with Pres. Obama's cardboard cutout, he is a good listener. It is about as close as I could get to the President.

Brigham Young's statue in the Capitol building. We took tours of the Capitol and White house. I was really impressed by the Capitol building.
We took an evening tour of Monuments and memorials. Here I am at the Lincoln Memorial. It was my favorite!
Here I am with Thomas Jefferson.
Here I am in front of the White House.
This is on the steps of the Capitol Building looking down the Washington DC Mall.
Looking rather dorky/touristy at the Capitol.
My biggest highlight of the trip, Ida and John came to see me at our hotel. It was so fun to visit with them!
John and I enjoying a reflective moment on the Potomac River.
I found a Peeps & Co. Store. I was hoping for the Lincoln Peep or the Capitol Peep, but was disappointed to find that they were not available. So I did not purchase any peeps at the inflated official Peeps stores prices. I'll just pick me up some of the same thing at Wal-mart for half the price.

Happy Birthday Addi!!!!!! (9 Years Old)

2010-01-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Addi! We love you!
9 Candles - it only took one try to blow them all out!Buttered nose, the tradition continues.
Addi and AJ trying to pop their balloons.
AJ was really good at making them pop, he liked to plop on the floor after too!Martha the beautiful!

ADDI at 9 years of age:
Favorite:
Color - Yellow
Food - Mashed Potato Soup
Subject - Math
Book - The Doll People
Hobby - Writing
Game - Bohnanza
Thing to do - Webkinz
TV Show - Cyberchase
Movie - Princess and the Frog
Restaurant - Big J's
Scripture story - Jesus Christ appearing to the Nephites, blessing the children
Primary Song - The Family is of God
Goal(s)
- Play the Piano better
- Keep writing stories, make them longer
- Basketball, baseball, soccer, keep getting better so I can beat the boys!
- Read the Book of Mormon this year by myself

Winter Wonderland!

2010-01-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a shot of our house from our new favorite snow sledding hill.

This is a picture of the tree by our back porch. For the past few weeks all of the trees have been covered with frost, it is really pretty.
Here is AJ recovering from a wipe out at the bottom of the hill.
Misha and Eliza enjoying the snow and sun!
Joe and Adri taking off on a sledding run.
Here is Alli flying down the hill.
Adam and AJ crusing!
Addi pulling Adri up the hill.
Alli ready to zoom down the hill!
Addi and Alli cruising down the hill!
Here we are at the top.
Anna flying down the hill!
Addi, Alli, and Adam ice skating at the Newton Town Ice Rink.
Alli has her own figure skates.
This is how Addi looked most of the night.
Here are Alli and Addi enjoying a sisterly moment.Addi was the fastest, but she also had the coolest wrecks/biffs.

Finally . . . Christmas Fun! (2009)

2010-01-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Adri made an amazing Angel of the Lord!

Addi and Andi - Mary and the babe.Alli made a great shephard, watching our little black sheep.

The manger scene, just about perfect!The three wise individuals, bearing great gifts - jam, thin mints and fruit cake.AJ as Joseph. He performed admirably.Here we all are on Christmas eve in our spiffy new PJs.

Christmas morning, AJ was in heaven playing with his new Cars cars.

The parade of Webkinz, a huge hit!

Adri finally got her own princess plate!

New markers!

Anna and Annie (her webkinz wolf)

Martha was enormously thrilled with her new running shoes, it is her year to run!

Caroline got to spend Christmas with us, it was a blast!

AJ still in his PJs playing with his new tractor.

Anna enjoying her velvet art!

Anna enjoying the online aspect of her webkinz.

Our tree even survived the madness! This is it in all of its splendor after the presents were all opened!

School Pictures!

2009-12-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

One great thing about having Adam as the principal is we get free school pictures for the family. Hope you enjoy these cute photos!

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa Baker's House

2009-12-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

We stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Baker's over our Thanksgiving holiday break. They are so much fun and our kids just love spending time with them. We have so much fun, that I usually forget to get the camera out. So here are the few shots I got...

Helping hang up Christmas lights is a hit!
Alli and Addi showing the new stable from Ben and Jill to go with the manger scene.

A.J. and Adri LOVED going on the bus with Grandpa when he needed to back up or park the bus!

We had a great time playing with most of our cousins! Grandma and Grandpa sure spoiled us and we can't wait until we can come visit again!

Oh! I'm the Happiest Christmas Tree!

2009-12-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

Our annual Family Christmas Tree Hunt (or as Adam calls it, the Great Christmas Tree Fight) was as good as ever! We had a blast, (with minimal fighting) found our trees fast, ate yummy taco soup and played at the park in Parowan before heading back home! We met at Grandma and Grandpa Baker's ready to go! Do you like the cute braids?

I had to get some of my own... I am sporting a cute look with Grandpa Oakeson's boots...they are the best and I use them all the time!

The Schmutz' getting blinded by the sun...but they got a way cute tree!

Bitner and Kelton so happy to get their picture taken!

Addi and Adri - Queens of the forest

Rylee and Alli enjoying some treats

The Bushar's beautiful tree!

Ellie and Addi posing cute for the camera!

Anna & Josie trying to smile (with snow down her pants, it is sort of hard to be happy)

So, we didn't get a picture of our tree out in the wild, but here she is getting all ready to be beautified!

Here she is in all her glory!

Andi's Blessing Day!

2009-12-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

More November Fun!

2009-12-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

A.J. and Adri having tons of fun trying out Adam's Napoleon Dynamite costume stuff before putting them away. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of Adam...he looked real good...maybe next Halloween....

Ready for SNOW!
A.J. likes to wear this tractor t-shirt backwards so that he can see the tractors...

Misha, Joe & Eliza stopped by for a quick visit. It sure was fun. Misha and I thought it would be way fun to switch babies, but as you can tell from the pictures, Eliza and Andi didn't think it was so funny.

Time Out for Women!
Here are my most of my cute sisters. We sure had a blast together while it lasted!

We spent way too much time in the car over a two day time period, but hey it was a blast and totally worth it! Even if we made Maddie get car sick....sorry!

Andi and Eliza were amazing and slept the whole way from St. George to Salt Lake. We wore them out.

We have fun getting eggs from our chickens....especially when one sometimes lays mammoth size ones....and they usually have a double yolk, too.

A.J. and Adri showing off their new Lewiston Elementary School t-shirts.

I got this new toy out for Andi, but as you can see it was a hit for everybody!

Adam sacrificing his life to hang up our Christmas lights on the roof. It was cold, but we got them up BEFORE the snow came!!!

Anna and Addi ready to run in their first A.R. parade for the year! They are awesome readers! Anna has the most A.R. points in the whole school, so she got to carry the torch and be the first to run behind the crazy principal!

Thanksgiving 2009!

2009-12-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

Our cute little pilgrims!

Everett Family Turkey Trot!

Rylee, Addi & Alli after the big run!
Rylee won the whole race along with me and Andi. (We sort of took a short cut...)
Addi was the first under 12 finisher. Alli came in right behind her!

Here is Misha, Eliza and Anna finishing strong! They did awesome!!!

Adri made it the whole mile!
(thanks to Aunt Selma for encouraging and running with her!)

A.J. and Adam coming through strong!

Here are my cute sisters making my mom's famous stuffing!

Much to everyone's surprise, I even helped with the stuffing (just a little) and it still turned out!

Eliza showing off her big turkey (on her shirt....not her dad...:o))

A.J. enjoying his Thanksgiving Feast!

Andi, enjoying hers!
She found her thumb for a minute so I snapped a shot.

Kinley loves baby Andi! It was Kinley's first birthday!

Eliza playing with Great Grandma Everett.

Andi is 3 months!!!

2009-12-16T14:31:00.001-08:00

Here are some of Andi's 2 month pictures!

Here is Andi at 3 months!

Andi is 2 months!

2009-11-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to our first real snow...just enough to go play in.
Andi must have been dreaming of a white...2 month birthday...or something.

Here is the view from our back door. Notice our finally finished chicken coop.
I don't think the hens like being stuck inside...they loved being out and about in our yard.

In this picture Andi is contemplating the deeper meanings of surviving 2 whole months with us. These 2 months have come and gone soooo fast!

Here is Andi with her cute Dad! She is ready for bed.

Andi had her 2 month check-up on Friday.
She is growing great and is a healthy cutie!
She weighs 12 lb 6 oz and is 23 1/3 inches.
She's in the 90% for weight and 80% for height.
She survived her 3 shots.
Afterward, we celebrated by getting a BundleMe for her car seat to keep her warm this winter.

Happy Andi!

2009-11-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

Andi is now sporting a really cute grin.

She is so much fun.

Andi loves to be talked to, sung to, and held.

She loves to run races. She still loves to eat and sleep.

This picture made Adam and I laugh!
Watch out A.J.!
Andi has some plans of her own that she can't wait to be able to do to you!
Andi is growing up and we are loving her smiles!

Halloween!

2009-11-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

For Family Home Evening, after getting our 6 pumpkins carved, we had to make a few scary faces of our own! Anna was sick in bed...that's why she isn't in the picture.

Which faces look cuter?

What does a cow say on Halloween? "Boooo"
This is how A.J. always says, moo.

Adri wanted to be a "Mean Old Witch with a Hat"
Does she look mean to you?

Our cute clown, who couldn't keep her red nose on for longer than pictures...
her nose itched too bad!

Our not scary Scarecrow!

Our darling 50's girl! She loved getting make-up on.

Ready to go trick-or-treating!

Trick-or-treating at our house!

Our Jack-o-lanterns.

Happy Halloween!

Visit to St. George!

2009-10-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

We had a fun visit to St. George over UEA/ConferenceWeekend & the Marathon! My kids LOVE to go to St. George and that is the destination of choice for all of us whenever we have a break! The reason, to play with our cousins and Grandma and Grandpa. We love our family! Of course, I forgot to get my camera out of the diaper bag most of the trip...I was a bit busy with 6 kids and one being a newborn...luckily I remembered for the marathon. So, the pictures are limited, but we still had a blast with most of our family! We played with Aunt Mindy and cousin Sophee Thursday. Mindy and Andi are already best buddies! Thursday night, we had a blast playing at the Andrus' house! Friday we played at the farm and had sleepovers with cousins. Saturday was the marathon festivities in the morning, watching conference and then a get together with the Bakers that evening. Sunday we headed back home with a quick stop in Beaver with Grandma and Grandpa Baker. As always, the time we had went way too fast, but we sure had a great time and are already looking forward to the next time we can come down and play! Thanks to everyone who put up with us and made our trip so enjoyable! Waiting for our dads to come!
These three can't get enough of each other!

Neither can these three!

Adri and Kinley! Kinley loved baby Andi (and her binki)

Kinley can't wait until Andi grows up a bit so they can play!

Josie and Anna

Andi, Brooklyn & Luke. Addi had a blast playing with Brooklyn.

Andi pretty much slept through the whole weekend.

Here is Adam the night of the marathon and he is still smiling.

Snuggled up with Grandma.

The kids couldn't wait for a ride with Grandpa in his car!

Andi and Eliza!

2009-10-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Andi and Eliza finally got together for the first time! We stopped at Eliza's house to say hi on our way home from the marathon. They don't know it yet, but Andi and Eliza are going to be best of friends cousin buddies! Thanks Misha and Joe for letting us stop in. We love you guys. Andi wasn't so happy. I think the crazy weekend and long hours in her car seat weren't to her liking. We also couldn't believe how big Eliza is getting and know Andi will be there before we are ready. They grow up way too fast.

St. George Marathon!

2009-10-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't get a good picture of Kody, Adam and Scott after the marathon, so I stole the one from Rachel's blog:o) But, when I added it to my blog it came at the top and I can't get it to move into its proper order. Here are the awesome finishers! They rock. Nice work! Between the three of them they have run 25 marathons I think. Kody 9, Adam 5, Scott 11!

With stomachs full of Spaghetti, Kody, Adam and Scott are ready to run!

Showing off their favorite stretches....before leaving us for their sleepover at Pine Valley.

Adam giving Alli five. Our waiting finally came to an end and we got to cheer for Adam and Uncle Wayne about a mile from the finish. Adam sure enjoyed running most of the race with him.

Adam happy to be finished! He ran the 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 2 minutes! Great job Adam! A.J. happy that Dad shared his ice cream sandwich with him!

Memories of Grandma "O"

2009-09-21T21:37:00.001-07:00

Grandma Oakeson left this earth life this morning and returned home to Heavenly Father. We sure do love her. I found some random photos of her this past year. I wanted to share some of the memories I have of her. I only knew Grandma for just over 10 years, but she has impacted my life, my children's life, and especially my husband's life eternally and forever. Thank you Grandma for your life and your example to all of us. Grandma came up to our house for Addi's baptism in January.

Here is Grandma after a long day with all of us Bakers!
How did such a calm, quiet lady have such a crazy family?

At Thanksgiving.

You know how much Grandma loves to get her picture taken!

My favorite, Adri using her cane as a microphone and singing us songs.

Some of our family's memories:

Marky Maypo

The big Buffalo rug downstairs

Her warm house

All of her paintings

Her teal couch

That she could pick up a dozen eggs with her two hands

Her dedication to working in the temple.

Her doll on her bed.

Andi Jane Baker

2009-09-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

Andi has arrived!!!

September 14, 2009

4:28 PM

8 lbs. 7 oz.

19 inches long

She is home and doing wonderful! Martha is doing amazing as well, she is one tough gal!

Thank you all for your wonderful thoughts and support (especially you Caroline!).

Adam is Half Way There!!!

2009-08-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Not mentally....just on his way to another marathon! Adam ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon this morning and did awesome! Here he is at about 7 miles.

Here are the kids waiting for dad at the mouth of Blacksmith Fork Canyon....it was a bit cold since the canyon breeze was blowing right on us...and I forgot to have them bring jackets. We survived and cheered way loud for him when he ran past!

Adam coming out of Hollow Road at about mile 9.5. He gave all the kids high five! They loved it!

A.J. somehow got missed and was sad about it, so we made sure he got one at our next cheering stop in Millville.
Adam finishing strong: 1 Hour 48 Minutes!
Here is Adam and his cheering/support group! Way to go Dad!

As we were heading back to our car, A.J. got a little behind. I told him to race and catch up to Alli and Adri. He did, and he sure "caught" them. He grabbed on to both of their shirts and wouldn't let go.

Our First Egg!

2009-08-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

Anna found our first egg, yesterday! August 28, 2009! This brought much excitement into the house! The hen actually left it in one of the egg boxes. I had the girls go get more straw to make sure there was enough in all the boxes and they found two more broken eggs on the straw in the shed where we keep the straw. We've been letting our hens out during the day, but I don't think we want to go easter egg hunting every day....so we might actually have to finish our chicken run. All 8 of our hens are still alive....well one of them ended up being a rooster. We don't like him very much. He likes to attack Potter, which is rather funny, but poor Potter. We just don't want him attacking the kids or Potter. So, if any of you want him, just let us know! He is a pretty barred rock rooster (black and white speckled). Adam might let his friend use him for target practice...

A.J. was with Anna when she found it and was so excited to hold the egg, too.
The girls have been going out quite often to see if there are more eggs.
We got one more today.
We used our first egg to help make skinny pancakes this morning.

1st Day of School!

2009-08-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Adam, starting his 4th year as principal; Addi, 3rd grade; Alli, 1st grade; Anna 5th grade!
Adri & A.J. wanted to join the picture fun.

Alli and Addi wanted to ride their bikes to the bus stop!

Anna chose to get a ride. We had fun seeing them off on the bus.

Yellowstone!

2009-07-18T18:02:00.001-07:00

Vacation DAY 3:

Operation: Get to Yellowstone!

Summer is the only time they can work on the roads, so they are. It was not too bad.
But, we made it!

We made camp at Madison Campground and headed out to see some of the close sites.

Addi loved the stinky smell, or so she claimed.

Here we are by some mud pots.

Enjoying camp! (don't look too close at Martha's expression or you may get the idea that she did not want me to take this picture)

Bison creating a traffic hazard. Notice the baby bison in the background.

Wil E. Coyote

We spotted this geyser going off as we drove up, the girls jumped out to see it for a few seconds.

AJ posing by a bus, he really liked the buses.

Another shot for AJ (and Grandpa Baker).

Really enjoying a small hike. Notice Anna and Addi's enthusiasm.

We woke up early and rushed to Old Faithful.

Thar she blows!

Checking out some sweet elk.

Same elk, he was pretty big.

Alli really wanted to ride the elk, but we would not let her.

Wishing we could fish from "Fishing Bridge"

Posing on Fishing Bridge.

Adri wanted to pet the Bison, but we wouldn't let her.

Stinky mud pots.

More stinky mud pots, I think these were the ones that I would not even get out at when I was a kid. I was probably car sick and the smell did not help me feel any better.

Stuck in traffic, again!

Me and my buddy Bison.

Martha explaining the geological history of the canyon.

Anna at the brink of Lower Falls, 308 ft drop.

More at the brink of Lower Falls.

Alli wanted to take a family shot (without her).

Enjoying the hike to the brink of lower falls. We got a few strange looks from people, 5 young kids and an expecting wife.

Amazing Lower Falls.

Family shot!

AJ being a tough hiker!

The girls at the car wanting Ice Cream.

Steamboat Geyser, the largest active geyser in the world. Has a major eruption every 50 years or so.

Artist Paint pots, these were pretty cool, tons of mud bubbling.

Here we are with our neighbors. They were from Chicago and we became quite good friends. These boys and our girls had fun telling ghost stories and eating s'mores.

This Bald Eagle was causing a major traffic jam for everyone entering the park from West Yellowstone. There was at least 2 miles of traffic backed up that we zoomed past as we headed for home, all because of this nest.

Unfortunately, this is as close as we came to seeing a bear. We wanted to bad, but did not have any luck.

We had a wonderful time enjoying some of Heavenly Father's amazing creations. We all got along fairly well. Everyone slept great in our tent (thanks Jason & Heidi). One bummer is that Martha and I were sleeping on the gound the last two nights because our air mattress sprung a leak. We still survived, but our bed felt especially nice last night! All in all, we had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back again soon.

Teton Towers!

2009-07-18T15:42:00.001-07:00

DAY ONE:

We started out Monday morning with the drive to Grand Teton National Park through Jackson, WY. Everyone got a candy necklace to enjoy.

Alli's necklace lasted approximately 10 miles.
Adri's necklace lasted for three days.
Adam's necklace was converted into a bracelet and did not last as long as Alli's. (Notice the firewood stacked in the front seat. All extra space was used to accommodate all of our STUFF.)
We set up camp in the Coulter Bay Campground.
We went on a short hike near our campground along the shore of Jackson Lake.

We threw lots of rocks into the lake.

Enjoyed the view!

Hiked over some treacherous terrain.

Adri played in the rocks. She told me she was making a "sand castle, then Addi messed it up. I made it cause I found a nail and was making a place to put the nail."

AJ was amazed that food could come out of aluminum foil. We made these before we left home, a good easy dinner (if you have enough ketchup)!

Alli made her own fire pit. She loved collecting rocks and exploring around our camp.

Martha and Addi really enjoyed making and eating s'mores.

DAY TWO:

Here we are at the trail head to Hidden Falls. We were feeling adventurous and all hiked passed Hidden Falls to Inspiration Point.The whole crew looking over Jenny Lake with amazing mountains in the background!

AJ being a tough hiker, he actually did really good. He hated holding hands and kept on turfing it. He hiked and rode in the backpack the whole way.

More cute hikers.

Taking a break!

Addi and "Grand Teton"

Still hiking (and collecting rocks)

Who could it be, this animal that I did see?

It's a Yellow-bellied Marmot.

Still going!

We made it to Hidden Falls.

Family pose by the Falls, which are partially hidden.

Checking out some more wild life. AJ actually was able to touch this little guy. The kids would have stayed here all day if they could have. They were amazed by these little chipmunks.

Alli wanted to get close and then would freak herself out and run off.

Alli and Addi enjoying the view from Inspiration Point.

Two cute gals posing at the mouth of Cascade Canyon.

Adri wanted to pose with Martha also.

Adri was one tough hiker, here she is leading the way back to the boat dock for the ride back.

Adam and AJ enjoying some male bonding time out in nature.

We made it back to the boat dock for the ride across Jenny Lake. AJ was so excited!

The other side of the boat. Notice Addi peeking in between Martha and Adri.

After the boat ride, we hopped in the car for the trip back to camp. Everyone was out!

Snoring and drooling were common. Alli heard us laughing up front and snapped back awake.

It must have been a tough hike.

Playing some UNO back at camp while Martha, AJ, and Adri all took a nap.

Checking out Willow Flats, wishing we could see some cool wildlife.

We found a bunch of Elk and a few Bison.

Gorgeous evening for wildlife viewing.

Adam and Martha posing in front of the amazing Teton Mountain range. They are really spectacular!

This concludes our visit to Grand Teton National Park. Next up Yellowstone!

Summer Vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

We survived our trip to Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP. We actually had an amazing time! Our kids all had fun and we all really enjoyed ourselves. We took tons of pictures so we will organize them by location.

Here we are leaving our home, packed tighter than sardines.
The kids all smiling in the car. FYI: we had not left yet, hence the smiles. I should have kept track of how many times I heard the phrase, "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer?"

We spent two nights in Grand Teton NP and two more nights in Yellowstone NP. Up first will be our Teton Adventure!

Homemade Rootbeer!

2009-07-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

We didn't get it made for the 4th, but we made it last night for FHE.

And it sure was good! We all drank way too much, but so delicious!