Heading off to the reunion

It's reunion time again--the big one. What I mean by big one--the big Baker reunion. It's at the cabin this year. Mom & Dad Baker have worked themselves to the bones trying to get the basement finished so we'll have room for the 75 ish people coming. It's gonna be great fun with cousins from Colorado, Nevada, and Canada. Here's what I'm bringing for snacks;

Seasoned Pretzels

4 lb bag pretzels
8 oz Orville Reddenbacher’s buttery popcorn oil
1 pkg. Ranch drsg mix (dry)
1 tsp dill weed
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix oil and seasonings together and pour over pretzels. Let set overnight for oil to absorb. We put in large plastic garbage sack to mix. Great snack for camping or boating.

These are a must with any gathering!!

And of course these:

Salted Nut Roll Bars

Yellow cake mix
1 egg
2/3 cup melted butter
4-5 cups mini marshmallows
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 pkg Reeses Peanut Butter chips
¼ cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (or a little more) salted roasted peanuts

Mix together cake mix, egg and 2/3cup melted butter.
Spread onto jelly-roll pan. Bake at 375 for 10-12 min.
Or until lightly browned. Spread mini mallows on top
Of crust, and bake another 5-6 minutes until puffy.
Cool completely. Melt together corn syrup, peanut butter
Chips, vanilla and ¼ cup butter. Spread evenly on top
Of marshmallows. (do this quickly because it will set up)
Sprinkle nuts on top. Let set a few hours before cutting.

YUM!! Gets my mouth a-watering just thinking about them

More later on the Baker Bunch.

Have you ever?

Have you ever poked yourself in the eye.................with your underwire bra?

Eaten something your child gave to you...................only to find out it was a booger?

Snorted diet coke up your nose..................................at work in front of your co-workers? (thanks Zalia)

Lied to a policeman (or anyone for that matter).........................with your kids in the car?

Thought you were alone.................. and farted............................................and someone walks right into the room so they totally knew it was you?

Picked up a water bottle and mid-swig....................................................realized it wasn't water you were drinking...................it was your husband's urine? (sorry Lindy that is just too classic to not mention)


Sadly- I have done all of these things (except the urine thingy)...... gross!

What have you done?

MMMMmmmmmm

I want this right now....

but I'll be good :(

Why do I always want ice cream before I go to bed??

Russ and I actually went on a date tonight.

I shopped and got great deals at Kohl's.

I cleaned my house without children

Wow what a great day.

I am happy :)

do you like my new look?

Happy Birthday to Kamryn

Happy Birthday to you!

As many of you know Kamryn has been anxiously awaiting her birthday for about a year now. I remember that special day when I found out we were having a girl.... During the first 4 1/2 months of my pregnancy I was willing myself not to get too worked up so I wouldn't be disappointed when I was having another boy. Don't get me wrong -- I would have been thrilled to know the baby was healthy and everything was in its proper place. when the ultrasound tech said it looked like a girl--before I got excited I asked.....How sure are you? 60%? 80%? When she replied with 95% sure it was a girl--I couldn't believe it. there were tears, Russell even shouted saying Woo HOo--that means were done!

I went totally pink crazy! no yellows, no greens, no blues---PINK.

I have always loved babies. Loved to hold them, loved to rock them, love to sing to them, feed, change, and cuddle them. I loved my boys so much....but when I held Kamryn for the first time--there was something different there. I can't explain it--just some kind of different connection with her than with the boys. It doesn't mean I love her more, It's just different. Having a girl is wonderful, terrifying, very challenging, and very rewarding. I love you Kam!

Kam loves to sing, read, play barbies, house, and games, puzzles, tea parties, swimming, jumping, creating things, say I love you, dress ups, she loves her nakedness and also being glamorous, she loves her brothers, cousins, grandmas, friends, and Harvey & Lola (neighbors). she is my helper in the kitchen, and in the house. She is so sweet and kind and dramatic.

I Love you Kam!


So for Kamryn's b-day, we were planning to go to the cabin to take down some drawer fronts Russ had been working on and to take the trailer down in prep for the reunion in 2 weeks. We didn't actually leave until 5:30 so it was blazing hot by then. The cake was already drooping because I didn't make it tall enough to house the amazon barbies they have.---so I made a little pan of cake that I cut off and stuck on top of the other. I skewered it together and added lots of frosting.



Kamryn helped with even more frosting.



By the time we hit the freeway--3 pieces had fallen off. My arms, wrists, and hands were sore by the time we passed Lehi. by Orem--the frosting had melted off the back. You remember from your sandbox days--when you jiggle wet sand it kind of melts?....well frosting does the same thing...especially in a hot environment. There were 3 skewers poking out of the cake and a naked barbie bum with pink crumbs in the back--that was about it. The front didn't look too terribly bad. So 2 hours of decorating, 2 hours in the car, and by the time we had cake and ice cream at 10:00 at night.....Kamryn didn't even want any cake!



Happy Birthday!



Here are some fun birthday photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mamabakerof3/KamrynAnnBaker
(remember to click on slideshow to see them that way)

why why why?

Just some mindless wondering about very random things.

• why does it seem i need more sleep the older I get? I thought when you got really old--not sleeping was a side effect. Maybe it is just making up from all those sleepless nights when our kids were tiny???
• why oh why do we have to get zits in strange and unusual places like inside your nose, or in you ear, or between you butt cheeks-so whenever you walk you can feel something there?
• why does excercise hurt so bad -- but at the same time feel so good?
• why do i crave something sweet after every meal?
• why is it so hard to put down a good book to go to sleep--even if it is 2 am and you know your day will suffer immensley, but the book is so darn good you just want to read one more page.... maybe this is why I need more sleep??
• why does going away for a weekend seem so inviting, but coming home is even better? (after all the laundry is done of course)
• why is burping generally accepted as normal behavior, but gas is not---even though they are essentially the same thing--trapped air?

ok I'm done

Things I learned this weekend...

Here are just a few of the things I learned this weekend:

• I really missed my computer and I am not looking forward to re-loading every single program back onto my computer, but I am so glad I have it back :)



• despite how many hours I put into cleaning my house---it will never stay clean



• blankets piled up in the corner will not hide the ink scribbled on the wall



• magic eraser is really good at removing ink scribbled on the wall



• magic eraser is also really good at removing the stain used as a decorating technique underneath the ink scribbled on the wall



• magic eraser does not remove the indentation from the pen used to scribble on the wall
• when you have an argument with your dear husband in the backyard----make sure your neighbors are not within listening range.......all 5 backyard neighbors
  
• bubble gum is difficult to remove from sunglasses, car seats, nose, hair, & hands



• bubble gum is especially difficult to remove from the above items in a very hot car on the way to the Nephi rodeo



• my buttocks and back do not find any comfort whatsoever on stadium bleachers at the Ute Stampede rodeo in Nephi



• for 3 hours --



• with an almost 4 year old bouncing all over the place



• it is difficult for a 7 yr old to eat a snow cone without a spoon......with no front teeth



• I am a car snob (actually I learned this way before this weekend) I enjoy my space, my really good airconditioning, and children not being able to touch each other. It is very difficult for me to give up a few hours of comfort to save money and drive the 40 mpg Saturn



• I am grateful Russell drives this above mentioned car to work everyday and I get to drive the suburban :)



• having heat rash is miserable



• heat rash is particularly uncomfortable underneath my boosoms especially in a cramped hot car removing bubblegum and sitting at the hot rodeo for 3 hours



• I love bag balm!!

Fourth of July Weekend Camping

Here are just a few photos of our weekend.

Lots of fun.

Lots of bugs

Relief from the incessant heat.

We did some geocache-ing? Way fun.

Went on a 6 mile hike (my ankle is still sore from climbing over rocks and up & down mountains) Played games, fished, played with blow dart guns, supplied blood for the local mosquitos, ate lots of goodies, read books, roasted starbursts and marshmallows, and went to the fireworks in Evanston Wyoming.

If you like fireworks---you need to experience this at least once in your life. It is absolutely NUTS!! The fireworks begin at around 8:30 and they are everywhere!! When we left at 11:30pm--people were still going strong. mortar shells, firecrackers, roman candles, bottle rockets---the works! The townspeople put on a much better show than the city. It is unbelievable! At first you are truly frightened for you and your family's lives....but then you get involved and feel a little better--as long as you know you can gather your kin and run fast if a stray starts coming too close. Wow Crazy! My friend Barbara and her family came up from Tooele to experience the madness. I think they had a good time too.

Kaden with a blow gun

And here's Grandma, Kam & Tyler in the hammock.

Karson caught most of these fish. They are rainbow and albino rainbow trout. the longest one was 14 inches. Go boys! If you look close you can see the monster mosquito bite on Karsons left leg---no that's not his knee cap--it's a mosquito bite on his shin!

So our computer is down.....again

I hate viruses! Computer viruses that is--don't get me wrong--the illness type also sucks big time--but to interfere with a girls bloggin, well that's just downright unacceptable!!
So if your kids like to go to internet gaming sites and play games for hours at a time--DON'T let them....Ever! It totally screws up you r computer. This is the second bad virus we've had in the last 3 months. We can't even access our photos, email, programs to do calendars for YW, anything. It's like the earthquake drill all over again. Boo! So I'm doing this on company time--don't tell anyone!!
We are heading into the great wilderness this weekend. We're going camping in the Uintah mountains. Every year for as long as I can remember, my dad and his old (literally) high school buddies and their families go up and camp. It's fun to get together with old friends and just hang out. The cousins play together and get to meet other new friends cuz families multiply as time goes on. It's a great 4th of July tradition. Another one is fireworks in the Evanston Wyoming--red neck capital of the west. Stay tuned for the details of that drama in the next edition. That is IF we get the computer fixed....