2 Year Celebration!

Last night Ryan's mom Linda sent me some pictures of Ryan as a toddler and some of Sera. I was blown away by Ryan's picture! I can hardly believe that the pictures are of my dark-haired husband. So after giving it some thought and getting a picture from my mom I decided to post a blog with pictures of all 4 members of our family when we were about 2-years-old. It is amazing to me how much Gabe looks like his Daddy. Hope you all enjoy these as much as I do.

Ryan at 2-years-old. His kids look so much like him!

Me at about 2-years-old. To me, I still look the same!

Sera at 2-years-old. She had such adorable chubby cheeks.

Gabe at 2-years-old. Such a big boy with such an adorable smile.

Much love to you all!

I Love Ryan Scott Baker

Last weekend my work threw a wonderful Christmas party for all their employees. The food was good and the dancing was fun. And the best part? PHOTO BOOTH!!! It was so much fun! Here are the pictures Ryan and I took and yes those are mustaches on sticks.
I love my husband and it was fun to have a date night with him.

It's Dino-mite! Get it? DINO!

The weather in Utah sucks. Right now it is cold and wet and well, it sucks! What do you do with 2 kids on a Saturday that is indoors and doesn't involve T.V.? Luckily people much smarter that I already tackled this problem and built the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.

I have never been because it is in Utah County and there are few things I would go there for. Although I do have to say I have been following a blog done by a friend of mine called Utah Valley Foodie and it does entice me to leave my bubble of the Salt Lake Valley for some good eats, but that is beside the point.

The drive wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the offer a 25% Military Discount which was nice. At first I wasn't sure but they had me at "you can save money!"

The kids actually loved this place almost more than cake. I am thinking in a death match cake would still win.
And yes, even I had fun. Sera and I created this lake/island/dam thing at the erosion exhibit which she named "Lake Ridge Back" because it looked like a ridge back dinosaur...??? I didn't see a dino called a Ridge Back but whatever. It was fun getting to spend some time with just Sera and I being creative and having so much fun.
My Family and some creepy looking fish.
Eeep! Scary shark!
Ryan and Sera were busy trying to uncover the bones while Gabe ran around them in a circle saying "I have 2 brushes! I have 2 brushes!" He was SUPER helpful!
And here we all are together in the sand. On a side note, I think that I brought back about a gallon of sand in my shoes and Sera kept remarking about all the various places she also had sand. Souvenirs for all!
So on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being painfully boring and 10 being Disneyland I would give this place an 8.5 for kids. If you haven't been and you have little ones, give the Museum of Ancient Life a shot and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Much love to you all!

Words of Encouragement From Sera

We were able to spend some time with Sera tonight and we decided to go bowling as a family. Sera loves bowling but she can be a bit competitive-she really loves to win! But I give her credit that even though I know she would sigh with relief when I messed up she would always try to cheer me on. For example, here was one conversation we had tonight:

Me: I really stink at bowling. *Said with a smile on my face.*
Sera: Well why don't you use bumpers like me?
Me: Because I'm an adult and that is kind of cheating.
Sera: Yeah but you really suck at this-no offense!

I love having her back home and I wouldn't trade it for anything! (Even though she tells me that I suck.)

Gabe really enjoyed bowling too. He loved pushing the ball down the little ramp and stomping his feet when he knocked over pins. Even if he only got one pin, you would have thought it was a 300 game. It was really cute and Grandma Karen would have been so proud. We were all cheering each other on and clapping. There were lots of hugs and high fives too.
As you can see below, it was a team effort just to get the ball down the lane too. It was fun to do this as a family and see how much Sera loved to help Gabe.You ready to see the final scores???
BOOM! That's right...I was not in last place! Now, ignore the fact the I only beat a two-year-old by four points and that I got beat by a 9-year-old by 8 points. THEY HAD BUMPERS DANG IT! And look-I got a strike AND a spare. It was really a good game for me.

I love spending time with my kids and my hubby-it feels great to be a whole family again. Much love to you all!

Bees and Hippies and Hot Springs...OH MY!

A lot has been going on since I blogged last. Was any of it SUPER exciting...well, no. But we have been having fun together as a family and even though it wouldn't make the headlines of the Deseret News, we have enjoyed ourselves.

Last Thursday we got tickets to go a Salt Lake Bees baseball game with my parents and my sister Becca and her hubby Spencer. It was a lot of fun and I want to give a thanks to my Aunt Kathy for giving us the tickets.



Gabe, always being safety aware, knew that foul balls were a concern. So after finishing his popcorn, he turned the bucket into a helmet. Now he is "safe" and adorable!

And what game would be complete without a visit from Bumble, the Bee's mascot? If you ask Gabe, that would have made for a much happier baseball game! Eeep! Scary Bee!

And this past weekend our family made a trip to one of our favorite places to visit. HIPPY HOT SPRINGS! And this year was even better because Bubba was there and also because Mom and Dad's cabin actually had a door and not just a piece of tie-dyed fabric.

Gabe was having a good time despite his reservations about the water being hot. He was really enjoying himself until he slipped on the slick rock and went under the water for a second. Then he was kind of scared and mad at me for letting it happen. Clearly, this was my fault and so as punishment Gabe threw my cell phone into the hot spring. Androids are amazing phones but folks, they aren't waterproof by any means!
But Gabe was not the only person having a great time! Here are Spenny and Dad doing some fancy swimming. Excellent form in the arms Spencer! And Dad...nice swim trunks?
Here we have The Ladies enjoying the lovely surroundings along with the warm water.
I do have to praise Spencer for not only for his excellent dance form but also for his environmental awareness. As he was exiting the hot springs he almost stepped on this little guy but stopped himself just in time. And Ryan, not to be outsmarted by a frog, chased Walter (Yes, I named the frog.) because he wanted to show it to Gabe. Gabe was not impressed but the rest of us were!

This weekend is sure to be full of excitment with Byron and Holly's wedding carnival extravaganza! Not to mention Gabe's 2nd birthday next week, the rehersal dinner, and the wedding day. I am going to be busy so I may not post again for a little bit but I gave you 2 posts tonight so that should tide you over for a bit. Much love to you all!

Boys of Summer

We love summer time here at Homestead Farms. As I have mentioned before, we have some awesome neighbors/friends and when summer time rolls around, we get to spend many evenings outside just hanging out and letting the kids play. (And by kids, that often includes the husbands along with the children.)

Here we have J and his lovely little girl TaylorAnn. TaylorAnn and Gabe are just over a year apart and I am sure as the days go by, they will become good friends. And the other night as Gabe was scooting around on his fire truck TaylorAnn wanted a ride too. It was so cute to watch the 2 of them rolling around on the truck together and TaylorAnn could not stop smiling.

Also in my previous blog I mentioned that Gabe has turned into quite the little Picasso at times by way of coloring on my living room walls. There were some doubts that my sweet little boy could do such a thing....

BAM! Doesn't he look proud? Here is my little artist sitting below his "work of art." Of course I had him help me clean it off but not before getting proof for you, Internet.

Here is a close-up of his art. I wish his creative outlet wasn't released on my white walls.

Also this summer we have taken Gabe swimming a couple times. We wanted to find a pool more suitable for little kids and we scored big time with the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center.

I have already allowed a picture of myself in my swimsuit once so you will not be seeing one of me again. Did Ryan take some? Yes. But you will not see them. They are just too sexy for a family blog. If I were to post them on here, I would have to give this site an Over 18 Warning and I really don't want to start a sex riot over my blog.

This past holiday weekend we had the pleasure of having Ryan's parents Scott and Linda in town. We always love it when his family can come down and spend time with Gabe. Gabe gets to see my family all the time and he loves it. We want him to have the same relationship with Ryan's family too.

On the 4th of July we took everyone down to the Tracy Aviary. Gabe loves birds and Ry and I have wanted to take him but we are lazy no-fun poops and it took having special company in town to get us down there.

Gabe was running around like a chicken with his head cut off...a little bird humor for you there. He was having so much fun feeding ducks, peeking into cages, and yes, chasing pigeons. He did occasionally stand still long enough to get his picture taken. Above we have Gabe, Grandma Linda, and Grandpa Scott.

The aviary had a few of these wooden cutouts and Gabe loved them all. He loved getting his picture taken and when we would try to walk away, he would get a little cranky until he saw something with feathers and then he would forget. Phew for short attention spans.

It has been a great summer so far. We love being able to get out in the sunshine and spend time together as a family. We wish Sera could be here with us and miss her fun-loving spirit. We know that she wishes she could be here with us too.

Sorry for the long blog but you should see what I didn't put in! I will try to not be such a slacker and post more frequently but honestly I say that all the time. Much love to you all!

Good Clean Family Fun

Memorial Day weekend was rainy here in Utah. And if it wasn't raining then it was overcast and kind of chilly. We were lucky enough to have Ryan's brother and his wonderful wife in town until Monday morning. We went to the zoo, played games, and just enjoyed getting to hang out. We don't get to see Ryan's family very often so it is great when we get to spend time with them.

Monday afternoon we went with my family to Wastach Lawns Cemetary to pay our respects to my Grandpa Byron and my Dad's mom LuRee who passed away from breast cancer when my dad was a teenager. We also visited my Dad's Grandparents who I never really knew. My Great Grandpa passed before I was born and my Great Grandma passed not long after I was born. But my parents have always stressed the importance of paying respects to our loved ones and even though it was cold and wet, we took Gabe to put flowers on the headstones.

I hope that when you read this someday Gabe, you will remember these times as being happy and just as important. It is so important to remember those who came before us and made our lives possible. I hope that all my kids remember that lesson.

Here are my Mom and Dad in front of the headstones of my Great Grandparents. I picked this picture not only because it is a nice one of my parents but also because you can see Gabe wandering in the background. He was OBSESSED with all the flowers and things people had left-I was worried he was going to start acting like Gabezilla and destroying things but under our watchful eyes he did very well.

I also want to take this opportunity to say Happy 4 Year anniversary to my amazing husband Ryan. On Friday night he surprised me with a wonderful dinner at Tucano's down at Gateway and then we spent the night at the Anniversary Inn in the Mysteries of Egypt Room. I should have guessed that when left in charge, Ryan would chose a room with a Snake Tub & Shower.
I love you so much Ryan! This past year has been full of difficulties for our family. From skin cancer to custody battles, we have been through a lot together. I want you to know (along with anyone else who reads this blog.) that I know you are the greatest man I could have ever hoped to marry. You love me with all your heart and treat me better than I could have ever hoped for. And as for your skills as a father...you are incredible. Your love for your children and the depths to which you will go to protect their well-being in unsurpassed. You are an amazing parent and anyone who truly knows you can see that.

This evening we had dinner at my parents' house with Becca, Spencer, and Spencer's father Larry. Spencer is always the first to offer to do the dishes and tonight he had a special little helper.

Becca had me take this picture of the 2 of them standing at the kitchen sink. They are so cute! I know that someday (Hopefully Soon! Hint hint!) that Becca and Spenny will be great parents!

I was trying to get Gabe to look at me and when he finally did he was not happy that I was trying to disturb him during his very important work.

I guess you could look at the theme of this post as being "I Have An Amazing Family!" And it is true...I DO! Much love to you all!

Part 2...FINALLY!

Recently I learned that the "Beginning of the End" was scheduled to happen on May 21, 2011 at 6:00pm. I decided that blogging would have to take a back seat as I prepared for what would be left of this world. As you can see, I was not planning on being one of the chosen few who were lifted up and taken to Heaven. All I asked of my loved ones was that they put a good word in for me once they got there.

6:00 PM came and went yesterday. I would like to tell you that I was huddled in my living room in the fetal position with a helmet on and a shotgun tucked safely within arm's reach but alas...I forgot. I was driving down Bangerter Highway when I asked Ryan, "What time is it?" When he replied that it was about 6:27 PM I said, "Well we're still here." After I came to the conclusion that I was safe from a flaming and miserable 5 months of existence I knew there was only one thing left to do...Jager shots.

All this being said, I woke up this morning and decided to continue on with my blog because clearly, Jesus didn't come yesterday because he was also waiting for Part 2.

Part 2

With all of Ryan's family in town I thought it would be nice to make Easter dinner. I wanted to impress them with my culinary skills. I also found out that my Mom would be out of town Easter night and so I asked my Dad to join us for Easter dinner. Then my sister Becca and her hubby Spencer asked if they could come too. OF COURSE! They were quickly followed by Byron and his fiance Holly. Okay...10 people and one Gabe. I bit off more than I could chew. Luckily everyone pitched in and helped with dinner so it went really well.

After dinner we did another egg hunt for Gabe and he kind of kept getting distracted and wasn't really interested. Becca ended up finding most of the eggs for him.

It was a busy weekend but it was a great weekend! I love being around our families and letting Gabe really get to know them all. Ryan's family lives so far away that I feel bad he doesn't see them as often as I wish he could. That is why this weekend was even more special because he really got to spend a lot of time with them.

Easter is such a special time. I know I joke about being an evil hell-bound person but I am going to get all spiritual for a second. Easter always reminds me of new beginnings and being able to overcome any trial. You all know the personal trial that our family has been going through for almost the past year. It has tested my faith on more than one occasion. But Easter came and I was reminded that if He could overcome death, I can overcome...well, you know.

Since Easter we have been trying to enjoy the few sunny days we have had. We have spent several days playing in the park or across the street at the elementary school. Gabe is so big now and he loves climbing, swinging on swings, and going down the slide.


It is always so much fun getting to explore with him as he discovers new things.



And even on rainy days Gabe still knows how to have fun and he never lets the gray clouds stop him.
Ryan always says the his Grandpa Dunbar remarked that he would never have a grandchild that doesn't love puddles-that statement is still holding to be true!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the world didn't end yesterday because there are still so many great things Gabe has to discover about this place.


Thanks to everyone for waiting for Part 2. I guess it probably wasn't as exciting as you were all hoping it would be. But hopefully you see this the way that I do: It may have taken me a month to finish his blog but on the plus side WE AREN'T BURNING UP BECAUSE WE ARE EVIL!

Much love to you all!

Easter Weekend 2011 (Part 1)

Our Easter was so JAM PACKED with events that I am going to have to create a 2-part blog to provide my readers with all the fun! I kind of sound like a used car dealer...like I really have to convince any of you to read this blog. My family is so damn cute I should be charging you to read it.

Our Easter events technically started on April 16th when Ryan's unit at the Guard Base held an egg hunt for the kids. Ry and I were worried that Gabe might not grasp the concept of the egg hunt yet but once he saw the other kids, he did just fine. Things were going great until he realized there was candy in the eggs and then he would stop, throw the eggs out of the basket, and then sit on the ground and eat the candy inside.

It was almost impossible to get Gabe to look at the camera once he discovered the candy but this was such a good picture of Ryan, I am posting it anyway.

Here I am trying to help Gabe because he kept throwing the eggs back out and I didn't want some other little egg hunter to steal his goods.

This past weekend we were lucky enough to have Ryan's parents, Scott and Linda, and his brother Todd in town for Easter. As some of you may remember, we went to Montana last Easter but this year we decided to stay closer to home. I was really bummed and so Ryan invited them down.

Saturday morning we drove to Herriman for an egg hunt with Ryan's family. Let say this one thing, Herriman is too effing far away! I guess I am an idiot because I failed to realize just how far away Herriman really is and I thought we would never get there. But I am glad we went because it was a really good hunt.

Here we have Gabe and Ryan just killing some time before the hunt started. Have you ever seen a bunch of adults trying to contain 100 toddlers from collecting candy? Hilarious! Ryan was kind enough to act as a jungle-jim and although his face may have been squished, Gabe was having a great time!


Once the hunt started all the adults grabbed the kids and ran for the field. I thought it would be cute little hunt where the kids gathered eggs but oh no! It was every adult for themselves as the little ones sat on the lawn and ate suckers. Luckily Ryan's brother was there to help.

Gabe did have some fun with some of the more creative items that were there for the kids (adults) to collect.

Later that night we went for a swim at Grandpa Scott and Grandma Linda's hotel. Gabe hasn't been swimming in a long time but he did great! Ryan and I spent most of our time in the water passing him back and forth while he kicked his legs and splashed our faces.


The ONLY thing that could have made this picture better was if Sera was in it too. That girl loves the water and I wish she could have been with us.

And this will be one of the few times that I am ever allowed to be photographed while in my swimsuit. But I want proof that Ryan is not the only person who plays with the kids-I just happen to be the one who takes most of the pictures which makes it hard for me to be in them.

On Easter Sunday Scott and Linda took us all to an incredible brunch at the downtown Marriott. If you ever have the chance to go, DO IT! My gallbladder is acting up but I premedicated and enjoyed the food. It was divine! And the Easter Bunny was even there to pass out some treats. Gabe was hesitant but wanted candy more than he was afraid.


Part way through brunch Gabe started getting fussy so Grandma Linda began a game of peek-a-boo from across the table. Things were going great and until Gabe head-butted the table in an attempt to duck under it and then the tears came pouring. But Grandma Linda was quick to rescure him again and took him into the lobby to play with the revolving door.


And let's be honest-nothing cures tears like kisses from Grandma!



After Brunch we met the Easter Bunny outside for a quick family picture. I was wondering why Gabe was being so nice and quiet for this picture since normally he screams when he gets within 5 feet of the Easter Bunny...now I know why.


I will post Part 2 soon but for now, I am going to bed. Much love to you all!