Baker Family Vacation!

I hope you are ready for a LOOOOONG post with LOOOOOOTS of pictures! This vacation was a blast! We drove 10 1/2 hours north to Seagrove, FL and met up with Rich's family for a week long vacation. This was the view from our condo. Pretty sure we got the best one.

The kids made themselves at home right away.

Unfortunately, we had to put a stop to this cuteness. Didn't want them to knock anything over:(

We were the lucky ones that got to bunk with Rich's parents. Love them!

Everybody was bummed that there was a ridiculous amount of "sea grass" in the water. It didn't stop them from going out there and making the best of it every day! I stayed in the condo with Arabella while everybody was at the beach because trachs and sand just don't mix.

Since we couldn't spend all day at the beach we spent a lot of time at the pool!

I don't think anybody minded. It was an awesome pool.
Maya loves to...
...

JUMP!

To change things up a little bit we hit up an awesome place called Wilder's World.

Not only did it have tons of fun things to bounce on and slide down...
It had the best toys!

When they got tired of bouncing they did a little bowling :)

Fun time.

Later that day we went down to Seaside. This is the town where the movie "Truman Show" was filmed. It was such a fun, cute little town.

Strolling down the streets of Seaside.

It was SO HOT! We stopped by a little smoothie bus. It was so cute the way all of the food joints were out of these little buses or trailers.
Mmmmmm
He saw it and it called his name. He couldn't believe his eyes!
He had to try it!
It wasn't real:(
We found a cool little hill & just had to climb it.

And climb it again.
Until,
we could climb no more.

We chilled:D
Giggled
It was such a fun week hanging out together and with Rich's family. I love them so much. Our last day there we ran to the beach to get some last minute family shots. So glad we did.

The next morning we headed home.

We decided to stop in Bradenton. This is the town where we were going to go to school but chose Ft. Lauderdale instead. We talked about what could have been and wondered if we made the right decision. The town and the beaches are gorgeous and peaceful. We happened to see a wedding taking place at the beach we stopped at.
There was absolutely no algae on this beach!

Maya loved finding shells.

Almost a perfect picture if those people weren't in the background and that hair wasn't looped on my head...oh well.

We had a fun time at that beach.

Ultimately we decided that we definitely made the right decision by moving to Ft. Lauderdale. We love everything about our life out here and wouldn't change any of it for the world.

Sweetest sound I've ever heard...

I know it's taken me forever but all good things take time, right;) This isn't the video of Arabella's voice the very 1st time. It actually took her a while to make sound. Not like Aidan who discovered his voice within seconds. Check out the video of the very 1st time I heard Aidan's voice here. Come to find out that even if she didn't have a trach she would be a pretty quiet baby, for the most part. I've taken tons of video but this is by far the BEST! Take a look



Life is a miracle. It's beautiful. We are so grateful for today's technology that has given us the blessing of raising our kids and enjoying their laughter every day.

Laundry, tacos, baby & flower

Well, let's just get the bad part out of the way. This is the story of my life. Does this ever happen to you? My problem with laundry seems to be that I can always find time to get it into the washer and then into the dryer, but finding the time to fold it and put it away...obviously where I fall short. I'm ashamed to admit that this is a common sight in my home:( I want to get better. I really do!

On a happier note, my friend, Amy had her baby this week! Boy is she a cutie. She weighed a whopping 8lbs 12oz!

Little Miss. Heidi Joy

Sweet little hand.

Ahhhh date night. I wait for you all week and before I know it...you are gone. Well this past date night was FUN! Rich and I discovered a deeeeelicious mexican restaurant. It is rated the #1 restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale by Trip Advisor and it is just this little hole in the wall place. It has all of 3 tables that seat 2 people each.

The tacos are to die for! Seriously! If you are looking for authentic this is the place. Trust me, my uncle has a mexican restaurant in Mexico and these definitely live up to his standard.
Yummy, tacos de carne asada!

Divine!

After that amazing dinner we went to Boomers and played some games, bowled, ate cotton candy, asked the register lady if we could borrow her closed toed shoes so we could climb the rock wall. She said no. Then to end the fun night we rode the go carts. Rich is convinced I have a psycho personality that comes out when I get behind the wheel of a go cart. I would have to agree with him.
Just have to post this picture of the flower I made for my sister-in-law. I love it.

FYI Arabella got her voice last week. Friday the 23rd to be exact. She got a valve called a passy muir valve that allows her to make sounds just like a regular baby. We are having video uploading issues, that is why I haven't posted a video of her yet but I am anxious to get it up and running. Stay tuned in the next couple of days for that video:D

Perez Fix

Tonight was such a great night. I got a little visit from my great friend Sister Perez. I had the special privilege of serving with her on Temple Square. We were never actually companions but we were close friends throughout our mission. She is such an amazing person and it was awesome to get to hang out with her again after 5 years.

It didn't take long for us to start right where we left off. I think that is a sign of a really great friend.

Gotta do the classic Temple Square point:)

"Ok, enough with the point already." Not really what was going on but thought it was funny.

Pictures turned out a little grainy but what can you do? We both have braces but she has the really cool ones that are clear. Jealous. We had a special time together tonight reminiscing. Talking about the good times, the hard times and how our mission changed us. We talked about companions and experiences. It brought back feelings that I really needed to feel at this time in my life.

Crazy story...So, I served with Martha (Sister Perez) on Temple Square. She introduced me to her brother and mom when they came by for a visit just before her brother started his mission in the Boise, Idaho Mission. 4 months into my Temple Square mission I got another mission call to serve, guess where? Boise, Idaho! So I not only served with Martha but I also served with her brother. That's not the end of the story! 4 years after my mission Rich and I moved out here to Davie, Florida. One day I'm sitting in sunday school at church and there is a lady sitting next to me that looks soooo familiar! It took me a second to figure out where I had seen her...Martha's mom!!!!!! What? Yeah! It's true! She lives just a few miles from me. This is how I got a sweet little visit from my good friend. She came out to see her mom. The world can be such a small place.
This was supposed to be a silly picture but I think I'm the only one that took it seriously.

3 of us together. Cute braces!

I love you Hermanita! Gracias por la visita. Dices que yo he sido una bendicion en tu vida pero en realidad tu lo has sido para mi. Eres un ejemplo de lo que yo quiero llegar a ser. Te quiero mucho y te deseo todo lo mas bonito.