Mini-Break at the Gaylord Texan

Our sweet family decided to stay on after my last wedding and enjoy a little "mini-break" as the English call it. We made use of the suite we were in to have all four kids come and enjoy the amenities offered by the Texan. Summerfest has a number of cool programs in which we took part. They have a pool party each evening (reminded me of being on the cruise) complete with DJ (albeit, a little loud). Later on in the evening, they had a "splash-in" movie (A Shark Tale) that the kids really enjoyed. They also had musicians singing in the atrium area as well as a host of other performers (the monkey was especially fun). This coupled with breakfast provided for the whole clan made it a very restful 24 hours.

Addi goes to Cheer Camp

It is hard to believe my little girl starts high school in just a few short month, and she is already working on skills for her new "teams." I was proud to learn she had made the JV Cheerleading Squad at Trinity Valley School for 2009-2010. She attended UCA Cheer Camp (the same camp that I attended 25 years ago when I first became a cheerleader in 9th grade) at the University of Texas at Arlington (my Alma Mater). She stayed in the dorms for the first time, and now is quite looking forward to dorm life.

Family Portraits

I am finally putting our family portraits up. It seems like it is time to take some more. Tuck has changed so much since we took these. He is finally starting to chub up, and he is eating real food along with sitting up. Toby is talking more every day, and he shocks me with the things he knows. He can be a little trouble-maker. He is definitely related to my father.

Addi is just waiting for these last few days of middle school to be over. It is hard to believe my sweet little girl is going into high school. For that matter, my Tate will be transitioning into the Youth group. Not yet, though. We have one more summer.

End of April

We have been enjoying the weather here in Texas may it be sunny or cloudy/rainy. We love watching the clouds roll in and out. The kids (all four) enjoy the outdoors, and we try to eat outside any time we can. Someday we will put in a patio and table to make it more convenient, but we love it anyway.

I am looking forward to Summer when the kids will be home to play all day. I enjoy the trip into town, but it will be nice to have a few pajama days with the big kids too. And, we all can't wait to go swimming at the Cherry Park Pool.

Two More Weeks = Huge Tummy

I plan on putting a picture in here, maybe tomorrow. I am bigger than I have ever been with one of my pregnancies (and there have been a few). I am not quite ready for this pregnancy to be over, but I am ready to be done with the illness and backpain. I would say sleepless nights, but I know that won't happen for a while.

The kids are terribly excited about Tucker's arrival. Addi talks about it almost every day. She cannot wait to hold him and tell him how much she loves him. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter.

Getting back to school

I can't believe we have less than a week of summer vacation left. The big kids start back to school next Wednesday, so we have been in prep mode. Buying school supplies (jeers to the parent's club that has decided not to do that for middle schoolers) and taking them to practices (Cheerleading & Football pics to come)...where did our summer go???

So, as we prepare the kids for school, we are once again reminded that with season's change, our family will be changing as well. 5 weeks from Monday we will greet Tucker Ray Baker. We look forward to all of you meeting him.

The Big Kids Return

Addi & Tate have returned from camp. Every summer they come home a little darker, a little more independent, and a little "older." This year is definitely no different. I couldn't wait to pick them up from the airport and just spend the entire day with them. I really miss them when they are gone!

Toby's Birthday

I can't believe my baby is two. We had so much fun celebrating his birthday. He was able to have a couple of friends over, and they all just played in the water all morning. His favorite movie character was the star of the day...NEMO! And, I believe his favorite "toy" was the balloon his dad bought him at the Party Supply store.

July

I can't believe we are over half way through July already. We have had Toby's birthday party and the kids have been gone. It seems like summer always flies by. I definitely miss my friends, but I am hoping to develop some new relationships in the future.

The baby is growing and will be with us in just 10 weeks...so I guess we had better start getting ready!

Memorial Day

We are in the process of getting ready for a Memorial Day barbeque with some friends from church. Tim has been working hard on various outdoor projects trying to get things ship-shape for our visitors. He has painted the woodwork brown (the original color) and it looks beautiful (much better than the old green the former owners had painted it). I am so proud of all his hard work.

Brothers...

My sweet boys love doing stuff together. Tate is such a wonderful big brother to Toby by letting him do things with him (sharing food, etc.), and Toby loves every minute of it. Here we captured such a special moment between the two. Toby thinks he is a big kid and thus loves sitting up at the table with Tate (and in his chair) while eating out of Tate's bowl. They are sharing a family favorite: Pasta Salad!

Addi & Company!

Addi's 13th birthday party was a huge success. Cheers to all of you who helped: Wes, Melinda, Ricky, Caitie...we appreciate you all more than you know. The Tiffany & Company theme was carried out in a beautiful, elegant way. Caitie, Addi's friend, described it as a party inside a Tiffany box.

Addi's dress was the perfect cross between the Tiffany colors, bling, and Audrey Hepburn styling (see "Breakfast at Tiffany's"). Thank you Lauren for doing such a great job on her hair. It was perfect. She was a beautiful princess and she just glowed all night!

Let me know what you think about the pics.

Welcome to Our Blogging Home!

Dear Friends and Family,

I have waited a long time to start this. I am not sure why it took so long to get pulled into the blogging world, I just had to take my time I guess. I am not a writer at heart, just a proud mama with a great family. We have our rollercoaster ride of a life, and I am ready to share it with you....so hold on...

;) Rhonda