I must be old...

Brandon and McKenna!

Because I have a kid that is now 28!!! As in, almost 30! Brandon turned 28 last week, on the 11th. (yes, his birthday is 9/11...he turned 21 on that horrible day 7 years ago...) So, I'm guessing that makes ME pretty darn old...I'm on the "down side" of 49...will hit the big "5-0" in a mere 6 months...I can't even bear to say it out loud...

And if that isn't bad enough, in a week and a half, I'll have another kid that is 27 years old....Kirsten's birthday is Sept. 25th! Man, time really does fly by....seems like just yesterday the two of them were babies (being only 1 year apart....), and Mark and I "tag-teamed" them most of the time...he'd give Brandon a bath every night and put him to bed, and get up with him in the middle of the night, while I fed and rocked Kirsten....(and rocked, and rocked...she didn't sleep much the first few months of her life...hence, I don't remember much of that time with two babies....I was too tired! LOL!)

Okay, so then, our wedding anniversary is Sept. 28th...(we had this thing for Sept, I guess!)...and it is the 29th anniversary, as in, almost 30 years of marriage! Wow.....

And now I have this wonderful little person calling me "Grammy"....and I'm just feeling pretty stinkin' OLD right about now! LOL!

Brandon celebrated his birthday mostly with friends, but McKenna was sooo excited that it was Daddy's birthday! She couldn't wait to sing to him and eat cake with him! Happy Birthday, son!

Brandon is coaching JV girls volleyball right now, and we went and watched his games last Friday. The girls are still learning, but they did win. I had never seen a high school volleyball game...it was fun, but...when we lived in Utah, we went to quite a few BYU volleyball games, both men and women, and these high school games just don't compare to collegiate volleyball! We had a BLAST going to the games at BYU...never thought I'd be a "volleyball fan"!

Kayla made it back from Europe, and she said she didn't want to come home! She loved it, and wished they had more time in each city they visited. She took over 700 photos!

Wedding preparations for Kirsten's wedding are in full swing right now...we've finalized with the reception venue, worked on some decorating details, and are working on a seating chart for the reception dinner, plus about a gazillion other little details! Wow...it's AMAZING how many things one has to worry about when planning the big day! It's been pretty fun, though...exactly 30 days away tomorrow!

The bridal shower is scheduled for Sept. 27th, so we're planning that, as well.

We just found out my brother Jeff and family will be able to attend the wedding! We are so excited! They live in Chattanooga, Tenn., and we don't get to see them very often.

My Close to My Heart business is keeping me pretty busy, as well. I have 3 regular "scrapbook clubs" that meet once a month, plus I'm also teaching some extra classes this month, training a brand new recruit, etc. I've been with CTMH over 17 years now, if you can believe that! It's been an amazing ride, and an awesome business opportunity, and I'm still loving it!

Mark is involved with the local NJB youth basketball, on the board. He really missed being involved with youth sports, so he decided to get involved again, even though we don't have any kids playing.

That's it for now....love to all family and friends! Keep in touch! I'll post again soon!

Cindy

I'm a bad blogger...haven't posted anything since EASTER!! What's up with that?? I'm a slacker, but will try to do better and updating this blog regularly from now on. I'll still send emails, when it's updated, as it will probably take all of you awhile to get used to checking the blog for updates, since you all probably gave up on that a LONG time ago! LOL!

We're busy as usual! Here's a brief overview of what's been going on with the Baker's...since EASTER!! (sheesh)

McKenna turned 2 in April, and we celebrated with a "Dora The Explorer"-themed party! She LOVES Dora and Diego! She had a blast swinming in her new pool (a gift from Auntie Kayla), eating cake, and playing with balloons.
McKenna playing with balloons at her party!

A little shy as we were singing happy birthday to her!

It was a fun little party, and now she sings Happy Birthday all of the time!

In May, we took McKenna to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Kirsten and Adam and Kayla and AJ went with us. It was a really hot day, but we had fun...McKenna loved seeing the animals, but her favorite part was in the gift shop afterwards. She wanted to take every stuffed animal in the shop home with her!

Mark, McKenna and Cindy...and the flamingos behind us! Minutes before this photo was taken, AJ was "dive-bombed" by a very large bird! It flew over and brushed his head! It was so funny!

Kirsten and Adam "monkeying" around....

At home, after a fun day at the Wild Animal Park...McKenna decided that her new stuffed elephant and tiger were hungry, so she had to "feed" them...at the dog food bowls...too cute!

Brandon graduated from Cal. State Fullerton in May! It was a long, hard road, but he did it and we are very proud of him! It was another extremely hot day, but it was a nice ceremony, and McKenna was a trooper, even in the heat.

Mark, Brandon, Cindy and my mom after the ceremony. Brandon is now working on getting his teaching credential and Master's Degree through National University, and started working at Heritage High school a few weeks ago, as an on-campus substitute, JV girls volleyball coach, and assistang basketball coach.

McKenna LOVES her Auntie Kayla! This was in July at Mark's dad's house in La Jolla.

We have a new addition to the family....isn't he just so cute and cuddly?? Meet "Diego"! (McKenna gave him that name...since it's her favorite cartoon character) He's a Desert Tortoise, and he now lives in our side yard. He basically eats twice a day, and "burrows" the rest of the time. That's it...that's all. He doesn't do tricks or anything...yet, anyway. I think Mark may be secretly trying to get him to "sit"...LOL! Desert tortoises are endangered, and we adopted him.

We spent the 4th of July at Dad and Elaine's house. It was a really fun pool party and BBQ! Here's Mark relaxing....

And McKenna having fun in the pool!

oops...I couldn't figure out how to turn this photo around...so you'll have to turn your head to see this recent cute shot of our sweet McKenna! LOL!

This month we traveled to Utah for a weekend to attend a bridal shower that Kirsten's friends gave her. We also went up to Park City one day, as Adam had never been there.

.Kylee, Kirsten and Lindsey at the bridal shower. Lindsey is one of Kirsten's best friends, and Kylee is Lindsey's sister and Kirsten's friend as well) and hostess of the shower! It was a really nice party and so sweet of her friends to do it for her.

It was really great for us to be back in Utah, for the first time since we moved back to Ca. We still miss living in Utah alot! We were able to visit with our old neighbors and see our old neighborhood and our wonderful Utah home...miss that, too!

We are busy with wedding plans....the invitations went out today! (Oct. 17th is the date!) I told Adam it's too late to back out now....

Kirsten has the dress, we finalize with the reception venue next week...it's getting so close...8 weeks to go, and I'm getting a bit nervous....I've never hosted a wedding before! But I know it will be just beautiful....

We'll be having a bridal shower for Kirsten here next month, so Kayla and my cousin Jody are busy planning that event!

Kayla is actually in Europe right now! She is spending 10 days there...went to London first, and arrived in Paris last night for a day, then on to Barcelona for a few days then ROME!! Her and AJ are having a great time! (she's been emailing us...)

That's it for now...again, I promise to update this more often!

Hugs and love to all!

Cindy

Exciting News!!

We got some very wonderful and exciting news over Thanksgiving! (and believe me, we are ready for some GOOD news for a change!) Kirsten and Adam are engaged!! Adam proposed on a weekend trip that they took to Vail, Colorado Thanksgiving weekend. We hear it was all very romantic, and a fun weekend.

We are thrilled and happy! Adam is a GREAT guy, and they are both very happy! Kirsten's engagment ring is gorgeous, and just what she wanted. Adam picked it out on his own. (with some specific "guidelines" from Kirsten, of course!) He did a great job!

No date set yet, but they are looking at possibly next fall. We are checking into venues, and that will determine the date, as many venues are booked a year in advance. The wedding will be held in San Diego...that we know for sure.

So, two weddings in one year....wow! We are looking forward to both events, and are happy to welcome Adam and Jamie (Brandon's fiance) into our family! Enjoy the photos!

We had a nice Thanksgiving...I cooked WAY too much food (as usual) and of course we all ate WAY too much food! Our guests included my mom and her neighbors LaVon and Dale, Jody and Bobby, (Jody made a FABULOUS ham and that yummy pineapple casserole that I love so much!), Mark's sister Bonnie, Kayla and AJ, and Brandon, Jamie and Nathan. Of course our sweet McKenna was here, too.

The rest of the weekend was spent putting up Christmas lights and trees and decorations. I didn't want to brave the shopping madness on Friday morning, but did venture out a little in the afternoon. I'm so proud of myself...every year I vow to have at least some Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving, and every year, it never seems to happen. Except this year!! I've been shopping for several months, a few things at a time, and I'm happy to report that I have about 75% of my shopping DONE!! YEAH!! THAT feels great! Now I feel like I can MAYBE enjoy the holidays a bit more this year. And, can I just say that it's been FUN shopping for TOYS again! (for McKenna and Nathan and Jayden) I've really missed that since our kids had to go and "grow up" on us!