We did it!

1st grade here I come!

Ready to go!

Ethan and Mrs. Salazar (5th grade)

Abbey going to 4th grade!

Happy first day of school everyone!

Miracles in Africa

These are my parents Dan and Edith, but right now they are called Elder and Sister Baker. They have been serving a mission for the Church in Cameroon, Africa for the past year. We often feel blessed by their example and faith but this week in particular we have felt the of the power of the work they are doing in Africa.


Elder Jeffery R. Holland, an Apostle of the Lord visited Cameroon, the first time and Apostle has ever been to the country of Cameroon and my parents were there to welcome him!

Among other things, Elder Holland dedicated the country of Cameroon to the spreading of the gospel. He blessed the land, the government, the people of the country in general, the missionaries, and those whom they teach. He told them that temples will someday dot Africa as they now dot the world. How cool is that!!

This is President Bala, one of the Branch Presidents in the area that my parents are serving, with Elder Holland. I just think it's so awesome to feel and know that we have Apostles on the earth who have God's power here on earth to prophesy and to bless members all over the world. Thanks Mom and Dad for sharing your awesome experience with us here. The church is true!

Perfect Day

This was the perfect way to end the summer. We spent the day at Stillhouse Hollow and the water was UNBELIEVABLE! I have never seen water that nice since we've lived here and had the boat. We invited the Brandon's to celebrate Ethan's B-day this way since we aren't doing a party for him this year and Matt is Ethan's best bud. Ethan's B-day is next Wednesday (the 2nd day of school) and he'll be 10.

This summer has been the best. I'll miss the sleeping in, going to the pool every other day, just hangin' with my kids, and late summer nights. I'm not quite ready for the 6:30 a.m. alarm clock, making 3 home lunches every morning, and trying to entertain Ellie all by myself since her best play mates will all be in school. I know it'll be good, the kids are excited and playing barbies isn't all that bad :), but here's to a great summer and a sweet day on the boat. Happy Birthday Ethan, you rocked on the wake board today!

One happy girl

Sorry Abbey and Miah for cutting you out of this one, Ellie's smile was just to great not to zoom in on!

So glad they're old enough

When your kids grow up it's kind of sad. You miss holding them in your arms, you miss their innocence, you miss their baby giggles etc. etc., but sometimes you have moments when you're glad that they are old enough to do big kid things. I've been having a lot of those moments lately.

I'm so glad that......

Ethan's old enough to ride this with me....

This is the Superman ride at 6 Flags Fiesta Texas and probably my favorite ride of all time. He loves thrill rides and that made our day at 6 Flags yesterday so much fun for me. Dallas and I switched off being able to go on these cool rides with him.

I'm also so glad that..........

Abbey's old enough to do this:

That's right, Abbey's changing Ellie's diapers for me now!! And she loves to do it, she even changed a poopy one the other day and did a very good job! Too bad she didn't learn earlier because Ellie's close to being potty trained, but oh well, I can enjoy the help for a few more months!

I'm so glad that....

All my kids are old enough to laugh at this:

Nacho Libre - Encarnacion

I let the kids watch "Nacho Libre" the other day and we've all been singing this song ever since. We'll be sitting at the dinner table and Ethan will just bust out singing "Encarnacion!!" What a funny movie. Ellie has also mastered the "Get that corn outta my face!" scene. What a great talent for her right? It's so fun to laugh with my kids.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still miss these:

But life gets even funnier when your kids walk around saying things like, "I caught you a delicious bass"!! Good times.