Friday Favorite Five – Great American Road Trip Addition – 08/07/2009

Wow!  It’s been a long time since I posted my FFF.  These aren’t  just any FFF – these are my FFF from the Baker Family’s “Great American Road Trip 2009”!  Woo hoo!

On July 5th at 8:30am (after a spectacular neighborhood block party with awesome fireworks the night before) we headed out for our road trip to the Midwest to see family.  We drove up to Bob’s mom house in Westfield, IN at 1:00am Friday morning, July 9th.  We had a great trip and an awesome 2 weeks in the Midwest seeing family members and old friends.  On Sunday, July 26th at 8:30am, we left Indianapolis for our journey home, with a 2 night stop at Bob’s Uncle Chuck’s house in Taos, NM.  We arrived home at 8:30pm on Saturday, August 1st.  This truly was the Great American Road Trip!

Without further ado, here are my FFF (ok, favorite 6 and I still had to pair it down!) from this road trip:

1) The Beauty of the USA:  We have such a beautiful country!  It was amazing to see how just from going state to state we could be in the mountains, the prairie, the desert (both beautiful and ugly), the rolling hills, and the farm lands.

We were fortunate to be able to see sights like Devils Tower in Wyoming; Mount Rushmore in South Dakota; The Mighty Mississippi and Missouri Rivers; the St. Louis Arch; Dodge City, an old Western Town in Kansas; the Rio Grande River and Gorge in New Mexico, the beautiful red rocks in Utah, and the Oregon Trail wagon ruts.

   
It was a beautiful trip with sunshine and good old fashioned thunder storms, beautiful landscapes, and wonderful monuments.  We are truly blessed to live in this Country.

2) Making road trip memories that will last a lifetime: What would be a road trip without memories/experiences that your children and you will remember forever?  Like when we almost ran out of gas while crossing the Montana/Wyoming border in the middle of the Crow Nation Reservation.  No gas for miles!  We put the car in neutral, turned off the AC, and rolled the windows down hoping we could make it to the next gas station.  We put 37.5 gallons of gas in a 36 gallon tank!  Crazy!  Or, how about being so bored in the truck that we were doing Mad Libs with as many gross words/bodily functions as we could and laughing hysterically!  Or how about Bob realizing that he truly is Clark Griswold from National Lampoons Vacation?  Good times….good times!  :-)

3) Technology: I have to give a shout out to my wonderful phone, the Black Jack II. I was able to keep up with facebook, check my email, and text my girlfriends all while traveling on this road trip!  And how about wireless internet access at every campsite we stopped at?  Oh yeah baby!  Bob could keep up with work, I could download my email to read the next day in the car, and I even did a blog post.

Also, there was the wonderful in-car DVD player with headphones for each child!   It kept the kids from killing each other – especially on our drive home.  I think they may have watched about 20 movies while traveling.  Yes, I wish they would’ve looked out the window and taken in the beautiful scenery.  But I also was quite glad I didn’t hear too many fights and much more giggling at funny movies than I thought!

4) New Experiences:  We were very fortunate to be able to take our first ever hot air balloon ride while in Taos, NM.  Bob’s Uncle Chuck set up this surprise .  Every single one of us were super nervous about getting in the balloon.  But what an experience!  It was amazing, exciting, thrilling, scary, and beautiful all at the same time!  And the fact that all 5 of us were in the balloon, experiencing this event together for the first time ---- Priceless!

5) Seeing Family: The best part of our trip?  Spending 
time with family.  We have lived so far from family for so many years.  We only get to see most of our family members about once a year.  So we were thankful to have so much time together this trip. 

The kids got to see all of their cousins but one (who was in Canada), both sets of grandparents, all 4 aunts and all 4 uncles, and spend time with their Great-Grandma and their Great-Uncle Chuck. 

Highlights from my side of the family:  Grandma teaching Sarah how to sew a Barbie pillow; Alex finally getting to mow the grass on Uncle Cokey’s riding lawn mower; Bobby spending time with Uncle Cokey making deliveries for work; running back and forth between Aunt Debbie’s house and Grandma and Grandpa’s house; watching Grandpa eat Shocktarts; and making fudge with Grandma.

View Full Album

Highlights from Bob’s side of the family: Brownies and deviled eggs at Grammie’s house; family breakfast at Bob Evan’s Restaurant; spending time with Great-Grandma; playing at the park with Cousin Will and the family; catching firefly’s at Uncle David’s house; and visiting Uncle Chuck and his adventurous Pirate Treasure Hunt.

View Full Album

We were truly lucky to spend so much time with family.  Let’s hope it sustains us until we see them all again next year (hopefully)!

6) Finally Coming Home:  “There’s no place like home!  There’s no place like home!”  We were all so very excited to finally pull into our house after driving for 12 hours that last day.  To sleep in our own beds, to laze around our own house, to watch t.v. in bed, to know that the kids could go outside and play with their friends (instead of each other)….it was like Bliss!  Road trips are super fun and should be experienced at least once in awhile.  But coming home and feeling the peace of your own place? There’s nothing quite like it.

I hope you enjoy this very lengthy FFF!  Happy Friday everyone!

Friday Favorite Five - 5/15/2009

FINALLY!! It's been two weeks since I last did my FFF. I've been busy, busy, busy! But, today, some of my FFF are a preview to some future posts and as to why I've been gone. So, without further ado:

1) My new Flip Flops: -- I bought some new Sketcher flip flops a few weeks back from Fred Meyer and I have to say, I love them. I'm not a huge flip flop fan -- I'm more of a sandals gal. However, these are pretty comfy and nothing says "summer's almost here" than flip flops!

2) Wedding Anniversarys -- Monday was our 13th wedding anniversary. We had a GREAT wedding and reception. We were so young and in love....and so POOR! We watched our so-called wedding video with the kids that night, and what a crack up! I have to say it is the worst wedding video ever. But! It was free. It may have been a used VHS tape (it cuts from our partial reception coverage to my sister during her glorious VFW singing days), and, yes, you may see alot of the backs of people's heads, but at least we have something to share with our kids from that day. Of course, when they are whining and saying "how much longer? We want to see you smash the cake in mommy/daddy's face!" or when they are laughing silly at how everyone looks "so old" or "so young"..... it still brings a smile to our faces to remember the wonderful day we had back in 1996.

3) My travel journal -- you may remember when I FFF'd this little journal here. I finally got to use it when I went on my Europe trip. I tried to journal every day of my trip. If I couldn't find time to actually journal, then I at least listed the highlights of that day. And then for the return trip home, I stuck all of my ticket stubs, menu's, maps, etc. in here so that I could save them for my scrapbook . It worked out perfectly. Thank you, Eve!

4) Bavaria, Germany and Neuschwanstein - What a lovely we time we had driving through Bavaria, Germany! This view was so amazing! The Alps, the lake, the hills, the castle.....sigh....very romantic! This was probably my favorite from our trip to Munich.

5) Apéritif-- "An apéritif (also spelled aperitif) is an alcoholic drink that is usually served to stimulate the appetite before a meal, contrasting with digestifs, which are served after meals.
Apéritifs are commonly served with something small to eat, such as crackers, cheese, pâté, olives, and various kinds of finger food."

This, my friends, is my new favorite word! We had aperitif's in our hotel courtyard each night at 7:30pm while in Paris. Lovely!

Happy Friday Everyone! I'm hoping to post about my trip soon. Stay tuned......

FFF - 4/24/2009

Here's my Five for this beautiful week. I hope you get an opportunity to reflect on your FFF!

1) Sitting outside a Starbucks, on a beautiful sunny morning, eating a Top Pot Old Fashioned donut, and reading my book. I felt so frivolous!

2) My husband -- once again he makes my FFF list. He is always so thoughtful and caring. This morning, knowing that I had been up with Sarah last night due to a high fever, and knowing that we ran out of children's Tylenol in the middle of the night, he went out before work and brought back the Tylenol AND my favorite latte for me! Before I even woke up AND before he went to work! He is so awesome! I just love him!

3) A beautiful evening for a baseball game -- It's that time of year again. Usually, here in Seattle, we don't get many nice evening Little League games. But Monday was absolutely beautiful! Doesn't Alex look cute playing 2nd base in his Oriole's uniform. :-)

4) Having my nephew, Jeremy, visit. We had such a wonderful visit with him. We got to play tourist in downtown Seattle and he spent a lot of time hanging out with his cousins. I think Alex broke his "laugh box" while Jeremy was here -- he couldn't stop laughing! And Sarah just hung all over him. Of course, Bobby enjoyed the video game time with him. The kids only get to see cousins about once a year, so it's nice when they get some extra time.

5) New Bras! FINALLY! I went shopping this week and got 3 new bras. I'm a new woman! Woo Hoo! Here's a link to my all time favorite bra: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2890088/0~2376776~2374327~6010810~6010819?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6010819&P=1. I love this one and they come in such pretty colors now too!

Happy Weekend everyone!

Lisa

Friday Favorite Five -- 4/17/2009

It's that time again! Whoo Hoo! Can FFF be one of my FFF? :-) I love doing this post each week. I hope you enjoy my Friday Favorite Five!

1) I was so amazed at the Courage of our little Daisy Scouts this week. Every single one of them climbed The Pinnacle at REI. Several of them (including my little Sarah) made it all the way to the top and rang the bell! That took a lot of courage and strength! I am so proud of them! They are definitely one of my favorites.


2) The Tudors on Showtime. I love this show! I love most things about this time period and love reading about Henry VII and his wives. This show is so awesome with the intrigue and the sex and the hunky King Henry -- it's the only reason we have Showtime! LOL!



3) Hershey's candy coated chocolate eggs. I can't get enough of these. Why does the Easter Bunny put these in the kids' baskets? So that mommy can eat them! ugh! I do love them!



4) The Easter Bunny cake I made for our traditional Easter Sunday dinner. It was so yummy! Funfetti Cake mix with vanilla icing covered in coconut. It was so much fun to make with Sarah this year and it tasted soooo good! I think this will definitely show up next year.

My mom. I told you she'd make it to my FFF this week! She has given me some awesome recipes of "old school country food" over the years. My glazed ham recipe for Easter was the Bomb! And, of course, if it weren't for my mom I wouldn't know how to make my famous baked beans and my so good potato salad! Thanks Mom!! You're the best!

(my mom teaching Sarah how to make her famous Peanut Butter Fudge. She needs to teach me how to do this too!)

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great, sunny, weekend!

Friday Favorite Five - 4/10/2009

Well, I had hoped to have done a post about our fabulous Spring Break Vacation. But alas.....I haven't had time to upload my pictures! Sigh....maybe this weekend.....

So, here's my FFF for this week:

1) I am so glad I waited to do this post. My number 1 FFF is definitely seeing my husband slimed at church tonight! Slimed at church??? Yes! Our church, Gold Creek Community Church, is having extra services for the Easter holiday and Bob and I signed up to help in the Kid Zone for tonight's service. Little did we know that we would be asked to be captains of the boys and girls teams for the competitions to see who would get slimed! Yes, folks, similar to Nickelodeon's Slime Time! The texture is like applesauce. Ick! Well, the first competition was trying to get a teammate to eat a donate, covered with chocolate sauce and syrup, from a stick and string. The girls won that round! The next competition was a teammate picking out Tootsie Rolls from a baby diaper (made to look like poop) with their teeth and then dropping it in our hands. The boys won that round. Figures. Boys are grodier. The final competition was having one teammate shoot marshmellows into a pool of slime while the other teammate tried to find them and pick them out of the slime, all while blindfolded. Luckily, the girls won that round and the total competition, so the boys were slimed! Yay! Bob was all covered up with paper coveralls, goggles and a shower cap, and he STILL ended up with this icky slime down his shirt. It was pretty gross and pretty funny! I WISH I had a picture to show you!!! Super fun!

(This is what the slime looked like.)

(This is an example picture what Bob looked like after being slimed, but with coveralls on.)

2) My Neighbor, Krissy. She has motivated me, once again, to GET BACK IN THE GYM! Thank you, Krissy, for talking me in to joining you today for Power Sculpt and for tomorrow's Kickboxing class. Now tomorrow, I may be cursing you.....!!

3) My children's laughter -- tonight in the car, we were reminiscing about when the kids were younger and some of the silly things they used to do. I love listening to them talk and giggle over stories. Alex in particular has such an infectious laugh! It was so nice listening to them giggle and laugh rather than fighting!!

4) The Power of God -- I forgot to mention this on last week's post, but my Dad has, once again, been healed by God! He was scheduled to go in 2 Friday's ago for testing on his Carotid artery to see how blocked it was. (for those of you who don't know, the carotid arteries are the main veins that run to your brain.) The original test showed 70-90% blocked. About 3-4 years ago, his other artery was 99% blocked and he was rushed into immediate surgery. We were all very worried that this time would be a similar situation. Before the day of this test, my dad received prayer from his minister, and we all prayed, that he would be healed of this blockage and not have to have surgery. The results of the test were that my Dad's artery was NOT BLOCKED AT ALL and, just to be on the safe side, the surgeon checked the other one and it is ok too! Praise God! Prayer works, people!

(my mom and dad with some of their grandkids last summer.)

5) Free lunch and brunch at work. -- On Thursday, my boss, Liz, made the most amazing fiesta chicken soup for all of us at work. It was so Yummy! The recipe calls for fresh cilantro on top as a garnish, and this is the best! Then today, before our training seminar, she and Tanya made a fantastic brunch of breakfast burritos, a potato and cheese casserole, fresh fruit and muffins. Do I work at a great place, or what?

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Friday Favorite Five -- 4/3/2009 -- From Florida!

Happy Spring Break Everyone! As I'm sitting here, in the screened-in back porch, watching the kids swim in the pool (even though it rained this morning and is quite cool), I am reflecting back to what my favorite five have been for this week. Admittedly, there are more than five! But I'll try to limit it this week so that I have SOMETHING to post on my blog from our vacation.

1) Coconuts -- I love coconut, especially in the form of pina colada's, ice cream and donuts! Thankfully, florida has plenty of all Three! Gotta give thanks to Coconut Rum, Coconut Ice Cream Bars and the Toasted Coconut donut at Dunkin' Donuts! Yummy!

2) My Blackjack phone -- I love my phone because it allowed me to stay up to date on facebook and my home email. Every morning I would sit out by the pool and check my email and my friends's facebook status updates. It was my 20 minutes of alone time, sipping my cup of coffee and enjoying the sunshine.

3) My daughter's idea of a party -- "Mommy, can we have a family party?" she asked on Monday morning. "What kind of family party, honey?" I asked. "The kind where we grill hamburgers and hot dogs and it's night time and we swim in the pool while it's dark!" The idea of swimming in the pool at night time was her idea of a party! Woo Hoo! Gotta love being 7!

4) Family -- it's been so much fun seeing Bob's grandma this week! She will be 91 years old in June. Amazing! I love looking through old pictures with her and hearing stories of her youth and the kids enjoy having Great Grandma dote on them and give them little gifts like party hats and silly costume glasses. We've also been able to spend time with Bob's mom, who is here on vacation with us, and also Bob's Aunt Katie who drove over from the other side of Florida to visit with us. It's so important to spend time with extended family. I'm glad the kids have been able to reconnect with their great-grandma and great Aunt Katie!

5) Sunshine and warm temperatures -- I have thoroughly enjoyed soaking up the sun this week and basking in the warm air. Even with it being cloudy and overcast today, it's still warm outside. I miss the sun, living in Seattle. More than that, I miss it being 85 and sunny! I am thankful that we have been able to go on this vacation and be reinvigerated with Vitamin D!

I will try to update this post with pictures. If not, look for my spring break vacation post next week!

Friday Favorite Five - 3/27/2009

1) The Matador Restaurant and Tequilla Bar -- OMG! I am in love with the Braised Carnitas! "Slow-cooked pork shoulder with orange, allspice, cinnamon and bay leaves. Served with rice, black beans, tortillas and all the fixings." It's goooooood! I WISH I had a picture! It's so yummy!

2) The Countdown on my desktop -- So, my whole family has been vibrating this week! We have been counting down to our trip to Florida tomorrow. Every day, Sarah asks "How many more days?" The anticipation has been excruciating! I know we're going to have a fabulous time, but the excitment of the countdown has been so much fun.

(this was on Monday)

3) Pedicures -- I love pretty toes! I took Sarah on Thursday to get our beach toes ready! We match! She got a pretty flower on hers. Too cute!

4) My Girl Scout Troop -- Aren't they adorable? I love hanging out with these little girls. They are so unique and interesting. I love teaching them about Courage, Confidence and Character. I always wanted to be in Girl Scouts when I was a little girl. Now that I have a little girl of my own, I'm so pleased that I get to be a part of Girl Scouts with her!

5) Field Trips -- Last week our Girl Scout Troop went to the firestation to learn about home fire safety. We got to see the bay where the ambulance and fire engine are parked, and the girls even got to tour the fire engine. It was very cool! We've had some great field trips with Girl Scouts -- Sherriff's office, Safeway, Firestation.... next month we're going to REI and climb the rock wall. I can't wait!

(Silver Firs Firestation, Mill Creek Sherriff's Office, Silver Firs Safeway)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will! Sunshine, here I come!!!!

Friday Favorite Five - 3/20/2009

Happy Spring! Another week of hard to find FFF's. I'll give it my best shot:


1) Dancing -- I love to dance! I had the best time last Saturday night dancing at my friend Jessica's St. Patrick's Day/Birthday party. I had so much fun dancing, that I wrenched my back and could barely walk for 2 days. It's a pain getting old! It was so great dancing with my girl friends -- you've never seen anything like a bunch of 35-40 year old women "doing the butt" or dancing to Justin Timberlake! It was so much fun!


2) Singing -- Singing is, and always has been, a big part of my life. I grew up in a household of singers, I met my husband singing, my daughter sings all day/every day.... I just loving singing! So at the above mentioned party, we also had karoake! Woo hoo! It was so much fun! This was our 3rd neighborhood karoake party and they are always a blast. I have been known to sing a few songs myself......not any solo's at this party, but still lots of girly songs!


3) The McMommy Chronicles -- Have you seen this blog? OMG, she is hilarious! I love reading her posts. She's definitely a FFF!

4) Going to the bus stop in my jammies -- Why is this a FFF you ask? Because it means I don't have to be anywhere first thing in the morning! Woo Hoo! Today is one of those days -- no appointments until about 10:30am. That means I don't have to rush around in the morning trying to get myself and the kids all ready to go by 8:25am. Instead I can check email, have my cup of coffee, pack a lunch for Sarah, start updating my blog, etc. I love these days!

5) A clean, organized closet -- I cleaned out my closet this week. Well....MY SIDE anyway! :-) About twice a year I get fed up with my closet and purge items that I haven't worn in awhile. If I haven't worn it for a year, I'm not gonna wear it! Now my side of the closet is clean and even organized by color. I love it! Now if only it would stay that way........

That's it this week....kind of lame....but still reminds me to be thankful for the little things.

Friday Favorite Five - 03/13/2009

I have to admit, this week was hard. Not too many "favorites". I even joked with a FB friend that I should put my 5 things I hate, but I figured that would be too snarky. So this week, they are just so-so, but at least I found 5!!

Top five for this week:

1) Bertolli Skillet Dinners -- these are just enough for Bob and I, pared with a salad and some garlic bread. Perfect for a night when the kids want hot dogs and you just can't stand the thought of another hot dog! Or, for those nights when we are all eating in shifts and Bob and I are eating at like 7:30 or 8:00pm, after all the kids' activities. They are fast, easy and they taste really good! You can find them in your frozen food section of the grocery store! Yummy!

2) My Welcome sign -- I've had this thing for, like, years! Bob got it out of a catalogue for me one year for Christmas. I have a plaque for just about every holiday that I can change each month. It's just a little something that makes me smile. :-)

3) My New Christmas Plate -- yes, I said Christmas! I went to Hallmark today and got this adorable treat plate for $2.99! It was originally $14.99. Woo Hoo! I've wanted one of these neighbor-treat plates for the last few years, but just didn't want to spend the money on a real, glass plate that might not get back to me. But at $2.99, I figured "What the heck!". My neighbor's will enjoy their Christmas treats this year on a nice, new Christmas plate. :-)

4) My Bus Stop Buddies -- every afternoon we meet at the bus stop just a few minutes early to chit chat, get caught up, enjoy the sun, etc. Some days we congregate in each others cars because it's too cold or rainy to be outside. Some days, like today, we can sit on the benches and soak up the sun! With today being a 2 hour early release, not all of the bus stop buddies were there today, but here's a picture of Krissy, Lichin, Leyla and I....

5) The Sun! -- FINALLY the sun is out and it's (semi) warm. Yes! I've learned around here, that no matter the temperature, if it's sunny -- get out and enjoy it! Thank God for a sunny day today! We have needed it. Now, the forecast for the rest of the weekend is rain....but at least we have sun today! Yay!

(the view from up our street -- you can see the tip of my house in the right corner and you can see Mt. Baker in the distance if you zoom in.)

(Sarah and BFF Grace swinging at the Swing Park aka Bus Stop)

(Alex and Armeen playing on the kiddie toys at the park)

I hope you have a great weekend and have your own Friday Favorite Five!

Friday Favorite Five - 3/6/2009

Here are my FFF for this week:

1) Texting -- Bob's been in Germany this week and the best way we have been able to communicate is through texting! I love getting his text messages. They make me smile every time! I luv u baby!

2) Coupons and Club Cards -- I just saved 38% of my total grocery bill! My friend Raimi posts on her blog the awesome deals she finds by using coupons and sales at various stores. I always wish that I could be organized enough to use coupons. I cut them out every week, but I hardly ever remember using them. And when I see the ads and coupons for my local favorite grocery store, I always think "ooh, I better get to the store before these expire". But, alas, I usually fail. This week, I didn't fail! I used the coupons from the store flyer, coupons from the Sunday paper, and my club card and saved $30!! Woo Hoo!

3) Hand-me-downs -- So, I went spring clothes shopping for the kids this weekend. I knew the boys needed clothes, but wasn't so sure about Sarah. So I didn't buy her much. Once I got home, I went through my wonderful box of hand-me-downs that my neighbor gave me, and lo and behold, Sarah now has a whole new wardrobe! Yes!! Everything from tops, shorts, capri's, bathing suits and even some long-sleeved tops she can wear now. She is set! Thank you Danita!

4) Samoa Girl Scout Cookies -- Can't help it.....they are my favorite! I love them more than Thin Mints! I can eat a box all by myself! Thank goodness Sarah is a girl scout!!

5) The new book I'm reading -- "The Likeness" by Tana French. After reading a couple of so-so books lately, I'm so glad I found one that has really captured my attention. I don't usually like mysteries, especially murder mysteries. But I have to say this one got me hooked. We read "In the Woods" by this author last year in our book club and we all really liked it. My friend Jen loaned "The Likeness" to me, and I'm so thankful! Thanks Jen!

Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine today!!

Friday Favorite Five -- 2/27/2009

Happy Almost March! Here's my FFF for the last Friday in February:

1) Birthdays -- It was my birthday this week! Yay! We went to see The Lion King, had a nice dinner in Seattle, got tons of birthday cards, great gifts from special friends, and a nice new purse! Woo hoo! And, I get birthday cake tonight at bunco! :-) I love birthdays!


2) My book holder -- last year my friend, Lichin, gave me this wonderful book holder for my birthday. I have it sitting on my bathroom counter so that I can read while I get ready every day. I LOVE it -- probably the best gift I've ever received! It has changed my life! Well....not really....but it does allow me to read a few pages from my current book every morning while I'm brushing my teeth or blow drying my hair. How awesome is that?

3) My new birthday purse -- isn't she pretty? I've always wanted a Kate Spade. Bob went and picked this out all by himself -- with a little help from the Nordstrom ladies. He is so thoughtful -- how many husbands will pick out a PURSE for their wife? Thank you, honey! I love it!

4) Snail Mail -- This whole week I have been excited to go to the mailbox. Every day there has been an envelope with a handwritten address on the front for me! Yippee!! Nothing makes me smile like getting a letter or card in the mail from family or friends. Email is great.....but snail mail is like opening a present!


5) Amish Friendship Bread -- ok, This Stuff is Good! Thank you to my friend, Jen, who gave me my starter batter last night and some (still warm) friendship bread. I don't have a picture of the bread, because I ate it all! But I have the batter and the instructions on what to do to send it on to 3 of my friends. What a great idea! Thank you Jen!!

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!