the new Dr. Baker

Photo courtesy of Dr. Susan Unok Marks, NAU

Photo courtesy of Dr. Susan Unok Marks, NAU

It's official! Erika has graduated for the very last time! It was the best ceremony of all of them: she walked across the stage first.

It was great to spend a snowy, holiday weekend back in Flagstaff celebrating with her. We all had a great time!

Thanks Keith, Abe, and Brett for letting us use the house! We owe you!

Happy Thanksgiving

We got married (for the second time!) in Zihuatanejo, Mexico on Friday, November 23..... There are no words to explain what a wonderful time we had with our friends and family. We are so grateful to everyone who made the trek. We know there were many people who couldn't come but were there in spirit too! We are fortunate to have so many wonderful people in our lives....

And, once again, a huge GRACIAS to our parents for making it all possible!

More photos are available here. We do not take responsibility for the corniness of some of the photos, we were being told what to do!

New Mexican holiday

I spent part of fall break with Erika in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. She had a conference to go to so I kept her company in the evening, then we went to Santa Fe. We ate yummy, spicy green chile, we worked on tables for her dissertation (confirmation that I will NEVER get a PhD) and went shopping for Brooke's birthday. We also spent lots of time together!

Too bad it had to end, and I drove home in a snow storm.... Oh well, we'll be reunited on the beach soon enough.

Milestones

There have been a lot of milestones to celebrate recently. Paul and Brownie Lansing celebrated their 50th anniversary, Mary and John Mandley (Wade's mom and step-dad) celebrated their 20th anniversary, and then Wade's cousin, Julie (my birthday buddy) got married in Lake Tahoe. His other cousin Becky and her husband Jason traveled all the way from Africa to attend! It is amazing what sisters do for each other..... (The photo above is aboard a boat where they were married in the middle of the lake.) It was a spectacular wedding, and we can only assume all of these great fortunes will come to Wade and I as well. Spread the happiness around, I say! We look forward to another wedding reunion in Mexico very soon.

4th of July

What to say about this 4th of July? Well, it was hot, hot, hot in northern Arizona. The highest temperature ever recorded for Flagstaff is 97 degrees, and that day it was 96! In spite of the heat, we had a great day and have lifetime memories. Thanks to everyone who braved the heat to celebrate with us, especially our grandparents who were the guests of honor! And, we appreciate all of our parents for doing double duty in Flagstaff and Mexico. We promise to minimize the dust in November! Finally, thanks to Steve for walking with me (now you're only left with two Baker women to deal with!)

My favorite photo..... Keith and Abraham helping the "maid of honor" to take her responsibilities very seriously! I especially like the look on Wade's mom's face. She must have been asking herself, "What has my son gotten into? And how do I get him out?"

There are tons of pictures from this day! Not all of them are even here. But, click on this link for Anne Marie's photos and there are even more photos of the day (thanks to Blake and Morgan!)

Post Reunion

We were excited to head for a hotel in Alton after the reunion. We went to a Cardinals' game, and we visited Bunker Hill. It was awesome to be together with our grandparents, back in their old stomping grounds!

Then we headed to Chicago to spend time with the Taylors and see Uncle Larry and Aunt Cheryl's new house. We had a great time! We hope to do it more often.

Click here for more photos.

The Reunion

Erika and I were actually the first people to show up to the reunion! We enjoyed camping in a hollow (pronounced "holler"), getting razzed about getting married (to a Reed nonetheless) and visiting with lots of family. We went for a soak in the Castor River every afternoon to keep our sanity, and even went for a ride with Uncle Jim just to be in some air conditioning. (Thanks for the tour!)

How many miles to Graceland?

On our way to the reunion, we went to the Laura Ingalls' Wilder museum. Then, we spent 3 days in Memphis! We ate BBQ, went to Graceland (that is a story in itself), watched baseball, hung out downtown, and really had a great time. On our way back toward the reunion, we stopped at Lambert's Cafe and ate some rolls. Good sister bonding time!

Click here for more photos!

Missouri here we come!

Erika and I have been driving Wade bonkers for the past few days. It is a good thing we are headed to the midwest tomorrow. We have plans to spend the first night in Springfield, the second night in Memphis, and from there we will camp. Our annual Allen Family Reunion is this weekend near Puxico, MO (try finding that on the map!) During our 2 week adventure, we plan to spend some time in the St. Louis area, go to a Cardinals game, visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum, pay homage to the king at Graceland, and hang out with our aunt and uncle in Chicago.

It should be a great time!

Lesley graduation

Here are pictures from graduation in Boston! Erika, Wade and I missed everyone!

Metro State Graduation

Welcome to our blog! We decided to create this digital diary to record some really big events this year. Starting with....

Today is the BIG day! Wade is giving his mom the best Mother's Day present ever.... he is graduating! Wade is going over to his mom's for brunch. Then, we are going out to dinner with his Dad and Carolyn after the ceremony. Click here for more info about the details.

PS-- Today is also Anne Marie's very last day of class! We fly out to Boston for the ceremony next weekend with Erika and my mom.