Valentine's fun

We had a fantastic weekend! It started on the best holiday ever, Valentine's Day, on Thursday. (I got a red iPod shuffle!) Friday I had a birthday, and we went downtown to our favorite Italian restaurant with Wade's parents to celebrate. Saturday we prepped for our dinner party. Stephanie, Pam, and Annie came over for a great dinner and wonderful French dessert (thanks, Annie!) Sunday, I went to work for a bit and then took a nap. We pondered going to a movie, but it was snowy so we just stayed home. Today, Wade works so I went to work out and now am enjoying a quiet house before I head back to school. Hooray for long weekends!

New furniture

We got a late Christmas gift... a new sofa, chair, and ottoman. Now, more than two adults can sit down at any given time! It's amazing. You'll all have to come visit now to sit in our living room!

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!)