Sledding can be fun..if you live

The snow has been coming down like nobody's business and let me tell you I love it.(it could be because I have drought paranoia) So after days of the boys begging to be taken sledding I finally caved and we were off to Peteetneet. Of course there were tons of people and the hill really is just an ice slick with a thin layer of snow but the boys got right down to the business of sledding. Down and up and down and up and down and up, somemore. Poor Max had to literally crawl up the slippery slope(isn't that what we are trying to avoid)and I just chuckled everytime he would almost get to the top, slip and slide half way down(yes, my children's suffering and exertion is a source of humor for me, at times) They loved it and I loved watching them love it. AH parenthood. There was only one little hiccup in an otherwise perfect sledding day. Henry saw a bunch of older boys going down the hill in an area that was pretty much through the bushes and trees. His little boy heart had to try it. He knew he would have the run of his young life. Me, being the responsible adult that I am said "Sure, go ahead". We made our way to the top of the run and there were all these big boys(10-12,huge right?) and they were telling Henry he was so crazy and shaking his hand and telling him it was nice knowing him(kids are funny) So Henry just jumps on his sled and without a second thought, goes for it. Big mistake pal. He hit the final jump at the bottom, flew into the air and came down hard right on his 8 year old bum. (still clinging desperately to the sled) So poor guy got his "air taken away" and thought for a second(or more) that he might actually die. But because all of the big boys were around he just crawls off to the side and takes it like a man. All the while looking up at me at the top of the hill with that "why did you let me do this? Who is the adult here?" look. Me, realizing that he is not really hurt, only had the wind knocked out of him, am doing everything in my power to not chuckle(don't judge, I am not really a mean mother) and Max is letting me know that he is the smart, safe child who would never do something that scary. Finally Henry limps his way up to the top like a wounded little soldier and we head off for movies and hot cocoa. I asked Hen in the car if it was fun and if the last jump was worth it and just like a true boy he said, "I guess. I lived, now I know I can do it!" Cracked ribs, broken bones, concussions... here we come. Dang I like these kids.

The final catch up post...until next time I am a slacker

This is it.....We finally got to meet Megan's boyfriend, Mark. He passed. He really is great and was a lot of fun. For the New Year we took family photos at Utah Lake. It was so cold and I was sure that the kids were going to be out-of-control but they could not have been better. My dad, on the other hand, needed a time-out for the whining. The pictures turned out pretty spiffy I think. Afterwards we went home and cooked and cleaned for our New Year's Eve party. My parents, Mike, Megan, Mark, Matt(for .225 seconds before he went off to do something with his pals), Emily, Brant, Adrianne, John, and my peeps were all there and we proceeded to stuff ourselves with all kinds of tasty delights and played games and had a Guitar Hero jam. I really enjoyed myself. Max was out by 8:30 but Henry held strong until about 1:30a.m. All in all the holidays were just exactly as they are supposed to be fun, crazy, exhausting, festive, silly, and full of the things that truly matter like family, friends and that feeling you get when you realize just how lucky you are to know Christ and of His life and sacrifice. Happy Holidays!! (a tad bit late but still meant with all the feeling in the world)

Christmas day...finally

AHH Christmas. A mother's relief(that the madness of shopping is finally done) and a child's delight. Thankfully Santa is loved and believed in at the Bake house. It is a great thing to hold over the kid's heads all through December.
On Christmas morning, as soon as the kids woke up, I called my parents and sibs to witness the present extravaganza. They took about 20 minutes getting to our house which was almost enough to send the boys into a frenzy with all of the anticipation(they went to bed with doubts that Santa would be coming this year). But he did come and everyone got all of their heart's desires which included a yummy new lense for my camera, office chair for Dave, baby-doll for Millie, Bionicles for the boys and Guitar Hero for the family. Then we got to go to Gram and Grandpa Selman's house and Christmas started all over again. Needless to say we all got spoiled. Millie was great for her first Christmas. She mostly loved all of the boxes and wrapping paper. Guitar Hero was a hit and so I will save talkling about how much we rock for it's own blog. Gosh how long ago was Christmas, a month? I may be lame.

Catching up might not be worth it

Thanks to my mother we had a beautiful Christmas Eve dinner and then we all opened our Christmas p.j.s and Christmas books and then read the story of Jesus and hung out. This is one of my favorite nights of the whole year. Plus Meg was here and so the whole gang was together for the very first time in a long while.

Oddball

My silly baby found this stretchy lizard of her brothers and proceeded to stick it in her mouth and pull it and stretch it as far as she could until it would snap out of her mouth. I just love these pictures. Dave said she kept doing it over and over again so here is the photo evidence.

My Little Girl is All Grown Up -(Guest Blog by Dave)

Okay, so for months Millie has been teasing us that she is teething. But despite all the crying, slobbering, runny noses, and fussing - Millie was not showing us any teeth. (Apparently some babies do those things even if they are not growing chunks of ivory in their mouths.)


















We tried to coax Millie to show us her mouth, but all of our attempts were met with covered lips and repeated mums.




Even Max couldn't show Millie how to show-off those buckaroos.

Enter Auntie Meg: While spending some quality "close" time with Millie, Megan made a discovery. As Megan stuffed french fries down Millie's throat, she felt something that didn't feel like bald baby gums. So, Millie decided to reveal her long kept secret to Megan.

And now the proof:
What are we forcing her to show us?








Just look at those babies!





















So there you have it, first teeth, next dating! - Well, not if I have anything to say about it.

Catching up is hard to do....part deux

Hello friends and welcome to part two of my sad, silly little blog.
Well after many excrutiating months of waiting and wondering my sealing cancellation finally went through. As soon as David and I got the OK we ran with it and were finally sealed for time and all eternity in the Provo Temple. It worked out kind of nice because my sister was in town for the holidays and so she got to be present. But also because of the holidays there were quite a few people who couldn't be present ( and who Dave forgot to call).Sadly Matt, my baby brother and family photogragher, has any and all pictures that show David and me together in eternal wedded bliss. Trust me though folks eternity looks good on us. Also Miss Millie was sealed to us. It was so sweet to have her there. Steve R. Covey see here was our sealer which is kind of funny (ask me later) and he did a highly effective and beautiful job. We had some lunch afterwards and got to visit with some of Dave's family and mine. The boys got in the spirit of the day by dressing as the Wolfman and Walrus Power ranger and wrestled for all to enjoy. There was also a beautiful sunset that evening which I take as the Big Man's thumbs up to the eternal Bake family.

Catching up is hard to do.....part one

See, it makes me look very tired and old and it makes miss Amelia Mae very cranky. Her mother is forced to spend hours on the computer and she gets neglected.
But I am going to do it anyway and I can promise you right now it is gonna be ugly and slammed together and incoherent and maybe even a little sad. Because, my friends I now feel crazed if I haven't blogged about the events in my life. Blogger's guilt, a nasty disease.
Here goes nothing .
This little collage of pics is some holiday fun. The lights at Salem Pond, decorating cookies with Gram, a very happy Santa at the Spanish Fork City light festival, reading Christmas books, and the boys getting to tell Santa all of their crazy boy wishes.