Merry Christmas

Aiden's Baptism

Aiden was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on December 1, 2012.  Grandma and Grandpa Baker were able to visit from Utah and were here for Aiden's special day.  We're so proud of you, Aiden!  Thanks to all of our friends who came to share in this special day.

Mackenzie's Looses Baby Tooth

Mackenzie lost her first baby tooth right before Thanksgiving!

Aiden's Birthday

Aiden turned 8, which marked some pretty big changes for him.  He gets to be baptized and start cub scouts.  We celebrated at home with an ice cream cake, and then he got to have a Chef's Party with his friends.  Aiden LOVES to cook.  Here are pictures of the festivities.

Hymas Halloween 2012

Our first Halloween in Michigan was lots of fun.  We went to our ward Halloween party dressed as Scooby Doo and the Gang, including Kate as our little Scooby Snack.  We even got the van dressed up as the Mystery Machine for the trunk or treat.  We enjoyed the chili cook off, and some cinnamon donuts and apple cider from Yates Cider Mill.  Seriously delicious.

Fred and Scooby at the Ward Halloween Party

Scooby and the gang

We got to go to the school on Halloween for the costume parade and the class parties.  The kids had a great time.

Halloween Parade

Soldier Aiden, reporting for duty

Kindergarten Class Party

Second Grade Class Party

Dinner was our traditional pumpkin stew.  Yummy!

Dinner--Pumpkin Stew

Trick or Treat

Pea in a Pod

!

Trick or Treat

We finished off the day trick or treating around our neighborhood. 

1st Day of School

I'm only a month late, but here are the pictures from the first day of school.

Flooded

Last week, we had an amazing rainstorm.  It dumped about 4 inches in 1/2 hr and it rained a total of 1 1/2 hours.  Rich was working in the ER and was unavailable.  The retention pond behind our house started filling up, and I started to become alarmed as the level continued to rise, and my backyard was full of water.

I checked the basement and found a small leak coming from the window.  I was really glad we hadn't put the carpet that got leaked on earlier back yet.  Then Aiden discovered the leak in the back of the basement.  The water was pouring in from the crawl space.  I grabbed buckets and tried to catch the water, and was glad the nearby floor drain was working.  It was almost able to keep up.

Thankfully, the storm and the water subsided quickly, which was a blessing from above and answer to our prayrs.  Our little area couldn't take much more, and I was husbandless for the night. The neighbors said that was a freak storm and they'd never seen that much water come down in so short a time. I hope that's true.  The kids school also got flooded from the storm and there were crews there working on it until 4am.

The Terrible Two's

Rich is doing a rotation in the emergency room this month, and had an afternoon/evening shift today.  It was also garbage day.  I went outside while he was gone to get the mail and take in the garbage can.  My sweet children followed me out, and my very helpful two year old, CJ shut the door.  Yes, it was locked.  No, I didn't have my keys.  Yes, the baby was inside.  No, Rich was not available to help.  I said a few prayers for help.  Thank heavens for a great neighbor, who, with Mackenzie's help, got us back inside in no time at all.  Disaster averted.  Note to self:  must get spare key.

Somewhere in Mackinaw City

At the end of July, we took a small family vacation to Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw-if you don't say it right, they call you a fudgie and know that you are a tourist).  This island allows no motorized vehicles, so everything is bike or buggy driven.  This is where the movie Somewhere in Time was filmed.

We stayed in Mackinaw City for two nights on the shores of Lake Huron.  (There was a bit of a problem with the hotel, so long story short, always put down that you have at least 2 kids when making a reservation).  Here are some pictures from the beach our first night:

In the morning of our first day there, we headed to the dock and caught the ferry across the island.

Our first stop was Ft. Mackinac.  They had people dressed up in authentic clothing, and gave us a pretty good history lesson on the place.  The kids even got to play some games from that era.

That afternoon, we went on our own, "self-guided" buggy tour.  After a quick lesson for Rich, we piled in the buggy, and Rich drove us around the island.  Our horses name was Bud.  The only picture that I got was the back of the horse, so I'm not including any.

We did some walking around after that and just saw what was there.  I'd love to go back again, but maybe without the kids next time.  I wanted to go into the Grand Hotel (again, Somewhere in Time), but they charged $10 a person just to walk in.

We caught a ferry back that evening.

The next day, we toured Mackinaw City.  We went to several state parks, including a light house, the old fort, and a Discovery Park.  I enjoyed that the most.  They had a zip line and climbing wall.  Rich and Aiden did both.  And, they had an actual water wheel powered saw mill.  It was very cool.

So, go when you get a chance.

The Lake

There is lots of water here in Michigan.  There is a lake with a beach about two miles from our house.  It has a great swim beach, a playground, volleyball, fishing, and a nature walk around it.  We love it and go there often.

Rich's Birthday

We FINALLY got around to celebrating Rich's birthday a couple weeks late.  Oye!  (I hope he'll forgive us).  Out here by ourselves, we just had a small celebration with our family, including Rich's favorite cake.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the round cake pans, so we ended up with this:

The Cake

Make a Wish, Dad!

Birthday Boy

Beautiful Baby

Growing up TOO fast!

Love the smile

The Grandma Magnet