Elle Did Great Today..

Elle did GREAT today at preschool for her 2nd day!  I asked her if she wanted to go to school this morning and she scream "yes.. I see my friends."  Not a tear was shed today.  Just a kiss goodbye and she was off to the paint table!  She brought me home a great gift!  I LOVE the days when the kids bring home all the sweet and fun little projects!  We are SO proud of you ..you big girl!!  XOXO

Oncology Results..

Mark got his oncology results finally back!! All the tests run were negative for cancer.. WOO-HOO! Looks like the BCG is working on Mark. He has one more week of BCG treatment..next week..then he waits 6 weeks for another scope! Continue to keep Mark in your prayers!! The prayers are WORKING!! Yeah!! XOXO

Elle's First Day of Preschool

Elle had her first day of preschool at Carebears today!  She cried when she realized that I was not going to be staying at school with her.  It just broke my heart!  At pickup though her teacher said she was just fine right after I left.  She also said she is such a funny little girl with such a great personality.  She said her and her little friend, Riley, ran the class.. hee hee!  So that made me feel better knowing that she was happy and being her true self in class.  She came home with fun projects she did and paint all over herself.. including her nose.. hee hee!  I asked her if she had fun at preschool today and she said "yes".. then I asked her if she wants to go back on Thursday and she said "yes, yes, yes".. so we will see!

Elle heading out the door with her backpack on ready for preschool.

She is showing me her backpack that she absolutely loves.  She kept saying all morning "I wear a backpack like Hailee"... "I goto school like Hailee".. I guess that tells you she was excited!

Hailee & Hayden's First Day of School

Another summer has come and gone..

school is back in today to start.

Math and English and Reading again..

will make us really smart.

So we guess we'll put our backpacks on and head straight to school without a fuss

cause we can't wait to receive those grades..

A+  A+  A+

I can't believe the summer went so fast and the kids are starting a new school year today.  I now have a big 6th grader.. a big 4th grader and a little peanut that starts preschool tomorrow!  The kids are always so excited..which is a good thing.  But it always makes me SO sad to drop them off the first few days...  because I know how quickly each year goes!  Have a wonderful day guys!  We love you!

Our Sweet RyRy...

We had to put our sweet Cocker Spaniel Ryan down this afternoon.  She was 15 1/2 years old and had just really aged the past few months.  She wasn't eating the past few weeks which made her go downhill quick.  

I bought her as a gift for Mark when we were just dating.. back in college.  She was the cutest puppy, the best dog ever and just the sweetest girl.  She was our first baby and treated just like one until the kids all came along.  Sort of sad how that happens.  Ryan's love was chasing and playing ball.  She would play until her pads were raw when she was younger. These past few years she could hardly see the ball to chase.  So now she is up in Heaven chasing balls again like a young pup!  We love you, Ryan!  

Ryan Olivia Baker 1994-2009

Boys Day Of Fishing In San Diego

A few pics of the boys fishing in San Diego! THANK YOU, Dwight! Dwight, Mark's friend, flew from AZ just to take Mark, Brett and the boys out for the day on his boat that is docked in San Diego! And thanks for the pics Goldsmiths! I wasn't there to photograph the fun obviously. Thank goodness for Brett being on the boat! Not sure what I would do without any photos of the event.. hee hee! Good friends.. good times...what a good life it is!

Nothing better than fishing for great dad and son bonding time!

Hotel Del Coronado.. San Diego

The Hotel Del

The boogie board fanatics..Hayden, Madison, Hailee and Cade!

The girls on the yacht

Elle having a great time in the pool.

Dru and I relaxing by the pool

Elle playing in the sand

Hailee in the middle of one of the sand castles we made.

Thanks to Greg Redmon.

Hayden boogie boardin

Mark and Elle relaxing in the shade

Hailee boogie boarding

Hayden showin a little crack while digging in the sand..

Just playing

Some of the sand dollars the kids found..

The gorgeous San Diego beach/ocean

Well we made it home from an amazing week in San Diego with the Goldsmith family. We got a chance to hang out with our great friends, the Redmons, that were in San Diego the same time! Greg was an amazing sand castle builder! We took the families and stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. We have always wanted to stay there and it was so worth it. What a gorgeous and amazing place!! We pretty much spent most of the time on the beach.. boogie boarding.. making sand castles.. looking for sand dollars and just plain relaxing. The guys did end up going out one day and took the boys fishing. The didn't catch a lot of fish but had a great time! The girls went out that day on a yacht sight seeing....thanks to Dru's boss. He has his yacht docked right there in Coronado. He let Hailee and Madison drive/steer the yacht.. but of course they enjoyed sunbathing on the front cushions like sun goddesses the best. We got to get up close and personal with some seals out on a buoy too. We actually saw tons of dolphins swimming along the shore. How amazing it was to see them just out in the wild and SO close! The weather was absolutely gorgeous! I now know why the was beach was full! What an amazing time we had!! Wish we could have stayed longer...

Hailee and Hayden's Colorado Trip

Things got sort of crazy around here and I wasn't able to post about the kids trip to Colorado.  They made it back safely and said they had an absolute BLAST!  It was a great opportunity for the kids to spend some one on one quality time with their Grandma and Poppy Baker.  They were in Grand Junction, CO and stayed with Mark's Aunt Carol.  Then ventured to Arrowhead, CO where Carol and her husband Steve have a cabin!  They rode quads and definitely became one with the Colorado outdoors.  Hayden even got to even pee in a camp fire! Guess that is something he has been wanting to do.. hee hee!  Boys will be boys!  They kids said it was gorgeous there and they even had to wear jackets the weather was so cool!  Thank you Grandma, Pop, Steve and Carol!!  XOXO

Mark's Scope Today

Well.. after a much anticipated day.. the 6 week scope after all the chemo and BCG treatments.. the doc didn't see any new cancer growths in Mark's bladder!! YEAH! He said his bladder is still very irritated and red..which is very much expected for what his bladder has gone through. We were all SO very excited and relieved! The final test will be the oncology results from the scope that we will have the results on this next Tuesday. If the oncology results show no cancer ..then Mark will start his second session of BCG for 3 more weeks. Then another scope 6 weeks after that. It is a process that will be ongoing for a while ..but if it keeps the cancer away it is worth it! We are off to San Diego for the rest of the week/weekend to celebrate! Will update you all on Tuesday with the oncology results!! Thank you for all the continued prayers!! They are obviously working!! We LOVE you all more than anything! XOXO

Grandma Marge.. you will be MISSED

Mark's Grandma Marge passed away today at the age of 86. She was an amazing mother, grandmother and great grandmother! She loved to read, play cards, loved watching her favorite show Young And The Restless, loved the Diamondbacks, LOVED sweets, loved going to church and loved her family more than anything! She had a huge heart, had an extremely strong faith and was an amazing woman! When Mark and I talked tonight about the things we think of when we think of Grandma.. I just had to giggle over the tears. Easters have never been the same since the year she fell into the bush looking for Easter eggs. She didn't get hurt..thank goodness..but we giggle every time we think of that Easter Sunday. She had a great sense of humor and was always so fun to be around! I've known Grandma Marge for 16 years and even though she wasn't my Grandma by blood I loved her as if she was my very own. She always made me feel like I was part of the family. She asked me a few years ago if I would come out to her house and take a new updated photo of her. She wanted to have one taken so that at her funeral she would have a photo displayed that she looked young and healthy in. I can't tell you how happy I am that I was able to do that for her. Grandma Marge you are SO very loved and will be SO terribly missed!! We love you SO, SO very much!!

Elle and Grandma Marge swinging on the porch in Flagstaff last Fall! We are so thankful to have all the wonderful memories you have given us! XOXO

Day of Sun and Fun..

Ok..after a late night and a busy day I have to tell you.. next year you need to go to the Greyhound Dog Races for the 4th of July! I know .. I know.. it is probably the LAST place you would think to go! We hadn't been in probably 10 years. We went with our good friends, the Goldsmiths, last night and of course Elle and had the best time ever! We actually got to see probably 8-10 different fire work shows while we enjoyed dinner and bet on the dogs! It was awesome!!

Then the Goldsmiths invited us up to the Arizona Grand for the day today. They are up there celebrating their son Cade's birthday! Happy early Birthday Cade! Elle loves that water park. So even though we don't have Hailee and Hayden we decided to take her up for the day! THANK YOU Goldsmiths! Arizona can be fun in the summer....as long as you wear good sunscreen!

Happy 4th of July...

We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful 4th of July!  May it be full of picnics and swimming with yummy foods, loud fireworks and tons of fun!  Elle has had her share today of yummy snacks already!  

We talked to Hailee and Hayden a little bit ago and they are having a blast in Colorado.  They were off to more fun at a 4th of July picnic!  They have been missed today and will be very missed tonight celebrating without them.  Happy 4th of July everyone!  Kisses below from little Miss July...hee hee!   XOXO

Well.. we seem to have been keeping busy this summer with swimming... playing with friends.. sleepovers.. movies... Hamilton water park (hard to pass up $.50 to get in).. AND our Diamondback tickets. Elle is officially in love with Baxter! She spends the whole baseball game looking for Baxter. She even has a Baxter plush autographed by Baxter himself that she squeezes and hugs daily! We are lucky to have seats on the rail that Baxter passes by every game. Though the dbacks are not playing very well.. the kids always have a blast!

Hailee and Hayden left today for Colorado for 5 days with Grandma and Poppy Baker. I got teary eyed dropping them off at the airport this morning! I know they will have an absolute blast.. but they will very, very missed here at home!

Kids with Baxter