1st snow fall

YUCK! It's here, will it stay? Who Knows.
It's cold, it's wet and I much prefer sunny and 90 degrees.
Here are a few shots of the the nastiness from this morning.






My new deck was finished just in time.




Bear liked it. After just a few moments of
looking around he was running and jumping
all over the place.

We had a little dog door put in for him today
and I have been trying to get him to use it.
It's not really working. He's not so sure about it.


Emily has her first 6th grade dance today after school
from 2:30 to 5:30. I sure hope she has fun.
I remember them so vividly. I had all my "citizenship"
points so I could go. Man, it was a big deal.


Well, stay dry and stay warm.
Enjoy your Friday.
Peace.

Deck is done!

Here is the new deck. I think it's 16 X16.
Next spring I will have to stain the bottom half.
The rest of it is made of that Trex stuff.
It turned out so great!
The stairs lead right to the pool!

163 days till pool opening!









Peace.

74 degrees and sunny!

Gotta love these bonus days in November.
It's 2:30 and it's 74 degrees.
Gotta enjoy it while we can, 10 day outlook
has "snow showers" in it!

I just got home from my new gym.
I canceled my Lifetime membership
and moved over to Fitness 19 where my
brother Scott is a Personal Trainer and now
he is my personal trainer. He kicked my butt
this morning! I will see him twice a week
and have a go at it myself twice a week.
I have a 20 year class reunion in August
to get ready for! I am sick and tired of being
sick and tired, if you know what I mean!?

Our Deck is almost done, I'll go out and take
some pictures and post them later.

Enjoy your Monday!
Love & Peace.

Out with the old!

We are having a new deck put on the house.

Insurance is paying for a new roof and siding
due to some hail damage last summer.
So, we bit the bullet and decided to take
off the falling down eye soar of a deck
and put up a new one while the house was
being re done.


1/2 of the old deck going to the dump.


Dale taking down the 2nd half of the old one.


And again .


So, now we have to move the dish on to the
brand new roof. Thanks Andy!


The siding goes one next week.

Peace.

Thank you Jen, Olivia and Mom!

Look at what Amanda and I got on
our door step last Saturday.


Happy Birthday to Anne from Mom!


This one was to me from Jen!



And this one was Happy Birthday to Amanda from Olivia!

(I don't know how to flip this pic.....)

All the flowers are so great! Big, plump and healthy.
They all look as good today as the did on Saturday!
Thanks so much for thinking of us! :)


I had a crazy night out for my birthday on Saturday
night. Pete had a big limo pick us up and take us and
some friends out to party like rock stars. Only, I forgot
not only am I not a rock star I'm 38 not 28!
That stuff is hard to do! I think I am back
to normal today, 3 days later.
I'll post some photos of the night soon.

Needless to say my actual birthday was spent mostly
in bed or on the couch. I did manage a shower
at about 3pm and then we went out to dinner
with the kids. I was back in bed for the night
at 9pm. Oh, and it was so cold... It SNOWED!

Peace.

Amanda's 8!

Amanda is now eight years old,
My baby is not a baby anymore!






We went to Outback, Amanda's favorite place
to go out to eat at (not for steak, for Mac n' cheese)
on the eve of her special day! She was so cute and sweet!
I hope she is out of her whinny stage now!

This Saturday is her "kid" party and we are going
to Skateville in Burnsville. Should be cute, 12 girls
on roller skates, most of who have never done it before.

I will try to update more often.
Facebook is getting in the way.

That's it from Chanhassen for now.
Peace.

School!

WOW! 6 am comes WAY to early!
This has been harder on me than Emily.
Her bus comes at 6:50. She is really enjoying
school. She said to me yesterday "Mom, it's really cool
you don't have to get in line, you just go"
She is also liking all the lunch choices.



Down to the bus stop she goes, my big 6 th grader!



Benji gets up at 7 am



And off at 7:45, but not on a bus this year.
His friend is picking him up and bringing him home.
He is really digging that! 11th grade, wow.



Then my baby Amanda, 2 nd grade this year.
She gets up about 8:15. So far so good
with her too. She is loving her new teacher.



Then she is on the bus at 9:05



By the time I get everyone off I need a nap!
I do get to spend a little time with each one
of them while they eat which is a nice way to
start the day. Then Em is home at 2:40, Benji at
3:25 and Amanda at 4pm. So I have 5 1/2 hours
to do whatever it is I do that seems to take all day.
Like bolgs and Facebook!

Oh and yes, I did make my annual big batch of
chocolate chip cookies on the first day of school.


Bear is a little board but he and I are getting in
some good bonding time. We all just love him!


Peace out.

Hummmm....

Barack Hussein Obama

Sadam Hussein
Osama Bin Laden

Joe Biden

creepy....


Go McCain!

BEAR!

Well, not a real bear, a puppy named Bear!
Please welcome the newest member
of the Baker family. Mr. Teddy Bear!


Bear is a Cockapoo, born April 16th in Mo.
He flew up here last Thursday the 17th
on an American Airlines Cargo flight.
We picked him up at MSP airport at about
11:30 that morning. We were all so excited
meet him and see him in person.



He has been tons of fun and a really good boy.



Now, on to puppy training.

Peace.

Happiest day of the year

According to a formula devised by a psychologist in Wales,

today could be the happiest day of the year.

Cliff Arnall from the University of Cardiff in Wales

cooked up the formula.

It combines things like emotions, stress, and weather, and

comes up with a sort of "happiness quotient."

So here's the formula:

O + (N x S) + Cpm/T + He

"O" is time spent outdoors, and N is

time spent in nature

"S" is more socialization in the summer,

things like barbecues and other gatherings

"Cpm" relates to positive memories of

childhood summers, and "T" factors in temperature

"He" is vacation anticipation

When you factor it all together,

June 20 is supposed to be the happiest day of 2008.

It combines a bunch of pleasant activities, with the day

with the most amount of sunshine.

For your planning purposes, Arnall's formula says

the third Monday in January is typically the

gloomiest day of the year.

In addition to the colder weather that day,

debts from Christmas and botched New Year's

resolutions tend to drag down spirits the most on that day.

(Copyright 2008 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)

I thought this was kinda fun!
I know I love today!

Peace.

Kitty has a home

Amanda had a few tears, but in the end was fine.
This kitten was "hers"! So she says.



Then Benji was all...
Mom, can't we just keep her? I like this one!



Then Emily handed the baby girl over to her
best friend Elissa and Elissa took her home.
I think they are going to name her Fergie.
Her and her Mom were so excited.



Spice is a little lost this morning.
She is looking in every room and meowing
like crazy. I have to wait a week or two for her
milk to dry up completely then I will be having her fixed.
Once was enough for me.
Pete and I are glad to be done.
It was fun to do but very stressful at times.
Not to mention how much money we spent
doing this little life lesson for our kids.

On to the next thing.....
SUMMER!

The kids have one week left of school.

Peace.

The long week end

I thought I would share some photos
from our week end.

Friday night we went with a bunch of neighbors to
the Lake Susan Park. Ordered pizza and
hung out, very fun!

Amanda and her friends.


Laurie and me.


A little bird eating my flowers on Saturday.


We had one of the best cakes EVER on Sunday
for Emily's family party.

Monday was a very lazy day. I did some gardening
a little cleaning up from Sunday and a lot of laying around.

I guess I don't have as many photos as I thought!

Better start taking more!

Peace.

Cinco de Mayo

May 5th 2008
Today marks the 5th anniversary of quitting
smoking for my dear sweet sister.
Way to go Susan! Love you, mean it!



We had a fun week end.
A mighty slow warm up but I think
we may be on to more spring like weather now.
I think we got up to 74 degrees yesterday.
That was air temp and pool water temp.

So, I let the kids jump in for the first of many
dips in the pool. It was cold, but they stayed
in for a while.

Emily, Amanda, Abby, Bella, Maija and
Buddy the puppy.


Emily's 1st dive of 2008




Amanda's 1st "pretty bird" of 2008



Can't wait for 90 degrees!

Peace.

OMG!!!

I am ready to put the house on the market
and move to the Bahamas and sell
rum drinks out of coconuts on the beach!

Enough is enough!

Check this out.
I just took these a minute ago.

31 degrees and snow :(







Hey, it's my 1/2 birthday today!
Find a happy place.




Peace.