Volleyball

After having sent two boys thru high school sports, we are now trying the girl route.
Megan played on the sophmore volleyball team at Capital High School this fall. I took her and some of the other girls on the team from Fairmont Jr. High over to the high school. They had great season. Here are a few of the pictures from this season:
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The sophmores had a great coach! His name was Phil Buffington, and the girls loved him! Here he is talking to the girls.

On Oct. 15th, they went to District Tournament. They went into the tournament in 2nd place, and won 2nd place in the Tournament.

Megan talking to Grandma Bakes after one of her matches.

Here's the team after it was all over! We are so proud of them!

Megan has had one week off, and starts basketball tomorrow. She will be staying at the Jr. High to play basketball, so she should get lots of playing time! Here we go again!

General Conference

I love General Conference for several reasons. The main reason is I love the talks! Every speaker seems so inspired! Many of the talks seem to be just for me. This time my favorite talk was from Pres. Uchtdorf. His talk was titled "You Matter to Him," meaning you matter to your Heavenly Father.
Two statements really stood out for me:
"The Lord knows who and where you are. You matter to him."
"Please understand that what you see and experience now, is not what forever will be."
Sometimes we just have to hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful, and we will receive all the blessings that have been promised to us by our Heavenly Father.

Another reason I love General Conference, is that on Sunday morning everyone gathers at Grandpa and Grandma Bakes's house for biscuits and cream gravy. Then we watch the morning session of conference. Biscuits and cream gravy is the best breakfast ever!!

Grandma with her famous rolls!


Katie eating the famous breakfast!

Lucas played with Chester during conference.



And of course, someone always falls asleep! This time is was Alyse!



Nothing is better than biscuits and cream gravy and General Conference. This is one tradition that we all love!

Happy Birthday Mike!!

Tomorrow is Mike's Birthday, and he will be 52 years old! So in tribute, I would like to list 52 reasons why I love him. This was very easy, there is so many reasons! So here goes!

1. He loves me!!
2. He's tall.
3. Let's me go to Disneyland and Disney World!

4. Gives good back rubs.
5. He will see "chick flicks" with me.
6. He goes hiking with me.
7. He lets me use his walking stick on the way down.
8. He does the dishes.

9. He scrubs the bathroom.
10. He eats everything I cook, and doesn't complain.
11. He won't let me mow the lawn.
12. He takes me on bike rides.
13. He goes at my pace.
14. He is a good home teacher.
15. He tries to get to all his kids activities.
16. He can help the kids with math and science homework.
17. He changed diapers.
18. He got up in the middle of the night with crying babies.
19. He goes grocery shopping with me.
20. He goes to the store late at night for me.
21. He can fix anything.
22. He is a righteous priesthood holder.
23. He is a good provider.
24. He has a strong testimony of the gospel.
25. He has a great sense of humor.
26. He supports me whatever I do.
27. He let me listen to Christmas music in July.
28. He puts up Christmas lights. Sometimes it is the morning of Dec. 24, but they are always there for Santa!!!
29. He let me have my "Disney Christmas Tree."
30. He let me go on "girls" weekends or vacations with my sisters and/or friends.
31. He misses me when I am gone.
32. He's honest and has integrity.
33. He is always giving service to others.
34. He will kill spiders and bugs for me.
35. He lets Max sleep in the house when it is cold. And sometimes when it isn't!!
36. He can draw.
37. He is a good writer.
38. He has a tender heart.
39. He was a good son, and he is a good brother.
40. He will go to the symphony/ballet/play with me.
41. He appreciates the little things.
42. He took good care of me after my knee surgeries.
43. He makes the best chocolate sauce!
44. He is not afraid to try something new.
45. He stays up late to wait for kids to get home.
46. He gives good advice.
47. He's very handsome.
48. He's a great Dad.
49. He loves my crazy family.
50. He lets me get silly with my sisters.
51. I love his blue eyes.
52. He still makes my heart go "pitter-pat!"

So, you can see Mike is and will always be my One True Love!

Happy Birthday Mike!!

All about Drew.....

Well, as promised, here is a post all about Drew.

Drew bought himself a car this summer, with his own money! (That's the kind of car Mike and I like!) He had to find the right car that would get across the country, hold all his stuff, and be in his price range. After much searching, and some test drives, Drew found his car.


So, at the end of July, he loaded it up, said goodbye, and drove away to start a new chapter in his life!





Drew drove all the way to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he will spend at least the next 4 years going to Univ. of Virginia Medical School. He is finally on the road of fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor!

Mike and I flew out a few weeks later to visit him and attend the White Coat Ceremony. This is the ceremony where the 1st year med students get their lab coats. We had a great time!

Before the ceremony, we took some pictures out on the lawn with the famous Thomas Jefferson Rotounda in the background.


Drew waiting for the ceremony to start with some of his classmates.

Drew putting on his lab coat, assisted by the Dean of his college.

After the ceremony, Drew in his lab coat!

The next day, we let Drew decide what sight seeing we were going to do. He chose to go to Washington D.C. and walk around the mall.

Mike and I in front of the Capitol Building.
Drew and Mike by the Washington Monument. (Which I hear now is closed, due to the earthquake!)
Mike and Drew in the Air and Space Museum, which is part of the Smithsonian.

Drew and I in front of the White House. In my defense, when this picture was taken, I was extremely tired, and had been rained on twice (throughly soaked each time) and dried off. Enough said!

We are already planning (and saving for) the next trip out. There is so much to do and see there, and it is just beautiful! Do we visit Civil War sights, go to the Shenandoah National Park, or head out to the beaches? So many choices, we can't wait to start planning!

Oregon Coast

Since we had everyone home for the summer, and Mike and I knew it would proably not happen again for a long time, we took a vacation. We let the kids decide where to go (within reason), and they chose the Oregon Coast.




We rented a house at Arch Cape, about 10 miles south of Cannon Beach.


Grandpa and Grandma Bakes came with us,we had such a great time!

We played a lot on the beach. Low tide found us looking at tide pools and exploring "pirate caves!"









We visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium,






and ate at our favorite place "Mo's." They are famous for their clam chowder and peanut butter pie!


We really loved having Grandpa and Grandma with us. We stopped on the way there at Multnomah Falls and walked around.

The Oregon Coast is one of our favorite places to visit! It was nice just to be with our family, as Drew left for Virginia (post to follow later) right after we got back. We can't wait to go back!

The Annual Shave!

Max is our dog, and we love him, but he sheds a lot!!!

This is what we find around the house all summer long.


Max doesn't like it, but he suffers through it!
See how much fur has been shaved. And he's not quite half done!!


Max pre-shave:

Max post shave:

He may look like a dufus, but he is keeping cool! Max I promise, one day you will thank me!!

Where does the time go?

I can't believe it is September already. The summer just flew by! We had everyone home, and were so busy, we hardly caught our breath! But I will try to spend the next week "catching up!

We spent the 4th of July at my parents cabin in Donnelly, Idaho on Lake Cascade. It is our annual family reunion. We boat, swim, hike, ride 4-wheelers, and EAT!!! It is usually the highlight of the summer. Here are a few pictures:






Mike had a hard time staying in his kayak!


Jeff trying to teach Chester to read!!!
We had such a fun time! We love the cabin! And love Grandpa and Grandma Bakes for creating such a refuge for our family!

If at first you don't succeed....

June 30, 2011

I have been trying to push myself a little bit, physically, to see what my "new knee" can handle. See, I had to have a total knee replacement a year ago, so I have been anxious to test it out. So last Monday, I decided to try to hike Table Rock. I haven't hiked Table Rock since I was in high school, so I wasn't sure what I could do.

So, the whole family went with me to hike Table Rock. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the top. I got about 2/3 of the way and had to turn around and go back down. But it wasn't my knee!!! It was so hot that day, I started out too fast and got dehydrated.
If you look real close, I really don't look very good.

So, tonight I decided to try again. Mike and Megan came with me for round 2. It was much cooler, I went a little slower, and I brought more water this time. And it paid off! The view from the top is so worth it!


Meg and I with downtown Boise in the background.

Mike and I with the top of Table Rock in the background.

I am hoping this is just the beginning of a more active lifestyle! I am going to have fun seeing what my knee will let me do! Maybe snow shoeing or cross country skiing this winter? Hm.....

Practice makes perfect!!

After many years of trying to be a "real cook", (which I'm not), I have completely avoided baking anything with yeast in it. I have heard many horror stories about baking doorstops instead of bread, or yeast rolls that looked and felt like hockey pucks. Now, I have baked whole wheat bread off and on all of our marriage. But the "experts" say that whole wheat flour is more forgiving than white flour, so I just decided that I couldn't do it. So, for the past 25 years, I have completely avoided it. But the last few months, for whatever reason, I have wanted to make cinnamon rolls. (Maybe it is because Mrs. Powell's closed in the mall, or the fact that I'm pushing 50 years old, and haven't ever made cinnamon rolls!) I tried a few weeks ago, and they weren't too bad. But tonight I think I nailed it!!!! Two pans of cinnamon rolls that looked pretty good! And the house smelled amazing! Oh, and they tasted quite fine!


This pan I put a powdered sugar glaze on them when they were still hot.

The second pan looked like this straight from the oven. But, then I added sweet, gooey, cream cheese frosting! Wow, they were amazing!


This simple pan of cinnamon rolls means a lot to me. It represents a lot of things in my life that I have been afraid to try because I thought I would fail. Maybe I am a real cook after all? And you know what else I have learned, it is the simple things in life that are the sweetest after all.