Girls Weekend!

A few weeks back my mom, sister, niece and I went into Chicago for a Girls Weekend! We try to do this ever few months or so and the last few years we have tried to go around Christmas time. I guess you could say it is sort of turning into a holiday tradition. We usually do some shopping, look at the Christmas lights and Christmas windows, eat lots of good food and spend time together just the four girls in the family.

This year we did all the things I listed above but we also went to the Field Museum and saw a great exhibit on Whales which was very interesting. We also took in the rest of the Museum as well. If you have never been to the Field Museum you should put it on your list of places to go. It is a great museum with lots of cool things to see. We also went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. At Christmas time they do Zoo lights. They light up the whole zoo with Christmas lights and a good light display. Plus the great part is it is FREE!!! The zoo is free all the time!!! It is a very nice zoo and with it being free on top of it, it makes it that much nicer. Another thing to put on your list if you get to Chicago.

We had a great weekend and it is always great to spend time with these ladies!!!

Thanksgiving, Tree Hunt, Bowling, Christmas Decorations

We had a very busy Thanksgiving weekend at The Baker Bungalow. We spent Thanksgiving Day with Kirby's family eating too much but we had a lovely time and enjoyed our time spent with family.

The day after Thanksgiving we went on our annual Christmas tree hunt with the Melchi and Bird families. This tradition has been going on as long as I can remember. We go out to the Christmas tree farm and the owner lets my Dad drive the tractor which is hooked up to the wagon. So Dad drives the tractor, the adults and kids pile onto the wagon and the young kids take turn riding on my Dad's lap in the warm cab of the tractor. We drive through the field singing Christmas carols then when we get to an area of trees we want to check out and everyone gets out and the "Hunt" is on for the perfect tree. Once everyone finds their perfect tree the men in the group cut them down and put them on the wagon. Then we go back to riding around the field signing and having a good time. Kirby and I broke out of our normal Christmas tree tradition of just going on the tree hunt then putting up an artificial tree and got a real tree this year. I so love the smell of a real tree!!!

Later in the afternoon after the Christmas tree hunt. The Melchi and Bird families got together for some fun family bowling at The Sturgis Bowling Center. Everyone bowled even Jack (the two year old). We had three teams and Kirby's Team won (which I was part of long with Wil, Quinn and my mother). After bowling we got together for pizza at the Bird's.

The rest of the weekend was spent put up the Christmas tree and getting it all decorated. We decorated our Christmas tree with ornaments that we have received over the years from our family, friends and each other. Some of them are 37 years old. We also got out the rest of the holiday decorations for the rest of the house. You could say the holiday season has arrived at The Baker Bungalow!!!

It was a busy holiday weekend but it was filled with fun times with our families and friends.

Labor Day and A Wedding

I know this post is a little late but better late then never. We had a fun filled Labor Day weekend even though it was a little cool and wet. We went to the wedding reception of Ashley Riley and Ryan Miller. The bride looked smashing, the groom was handsom and Klinger Lake Country Club where the reception was held looked lovely. On Sunday we had our families out to the lake for the end of the summer fun on the lake. However it was alittle too cold to be in the lake so instead we built a fire. Even though it was cool we had a nice time. Here are some pictures from the weekend! Enjoy!

Trip to Boston to see the Taylor's

At the end of July, Kirby and I went to Boston to see a good friend of mine Monica Taylor and her family. We had a fun filled three days with them. We went swimming in their pool as it was hot, one morning we played with Play-Doh until the weather cleared another morning we went into Boston to do some sightseeing. It was a great weekend and we can't to see them again, hopefully soon!

4th of July

I know this one is a little late but better late than never!!! For the 4th of July we had our families out to our house for some fun in the water, a cook out, fireworks (both small and large) and then a showing of Indepedence Day at the Baker Backyard Theater. It was a fun filled day at Klinger Lake!!!

Weekend surprises and dinner fun!

This weekend started off with a surprise by Erin for me, a cake made by Candice Swanwick! You see, Candice was supposed to make our wedding cake last summer, however she had a prior engagement that caused her to not be able to make it (having twins!!). Erin was so sneaky to surprise me with the cake Friday, little did she know that I had a surprise in store for her as well! Doug Bates, owner of Designs By Vogt's, and I were emailing back and forth Friday to get a flower arrangement designed using a flower that Erin really liked! So on Saturday morning, while we were running errands, I suggested we stop by Doug's place to see if he had a nice arrangement we could buy. Luckily, he had it all done, and Erin was totally surprised!

Later that day, we had Aaron and Rachel Smith over for dinner. They showed up with some very nice and tasty appetizers!!! First time I have ever had caviar! And it wasn't too bad! After the apps, and after the storms passed, we grilled up some juicy filets and lobster tails for dinner, and had some of the awesome cake for dessert!

A fun weekend, with lots of surprises and good times with friends! Enjoy the photos!

One Year and Still going STRONG

Well it has been a year since Kirby and I got married, where that year went I'm not sure. All I can say is it was a fun filled first year of marriage and we did not kill each other which is the most important part :). Seeing we could not go back to Hawaii for our anniversary we decided to do the first ever "Movie Night at the Baker Backyard Theatre". We had spent a few weeks ahead of time planning and building the large outside screen and getting all our movie snacks together. When the big day came we had decided to show Wedding Crashers The Uncut Version (it was an adult only event not to worry) and had lots of fun movie snacks.

We had a great time and a fun group of people showed up for the movie. Even though it was not as good as going back to Hawaii we enjoyed it never the less. Heres hoping the next 50 plus years go as well as the firt one did. Enjoy the photos from the movie night!!

Road Trip to KY and Father's Day

I recently took a quick trip to KY with my niece Sydney and my sister Erika. As these two ladies are very important in my life I took the opportunity to make the trip with them. We loaded up the car on Friday afternoon with activities to keep us busy along the way and of course snacks (nothing is better than road trip snacks). We made it to KY on Friday night and made ourselves at home at a Hilton with a pool. When we checked in Sydney asked the girl at the front desk if they had a pool, the girl said "we do and it is open until 11:00 pm". As I'm sure you can guess Sydney was very excited about this and I think it might have been the highlight of the trip for her. We were back in Michigan by Saturday night very late, as I said it was a quick trip.

Sunday was Father's Day. Kirby and I spent the morning with my father along with my mother, niece, nephew and sister. We had a lovely breakfast and I know my dad loved having us all there. One of the gifts from the gang was a sign that said "Wrinkles are a blessing, they mean you've lived a long time" which my niece resently said about my grandmother (my father's mother) when she passed. I know it will hold a special place in my dad's heart.

After spending the morning with my father we spent the afternoon with Kirby's father celebrating Father's Day. We had a lovely BBQ dinner and spent time talking outside by the lake front.

Even though it was a very busy weekend it was great to spend it with some very special people in my/our lives!!!

Chicago-Wedding and Peter Pan

As many of you know Chicago holds a place in my heart. It is where I called home for 12 years and the city that turned me from a small town girl into a big city girl. Kirby and I try to get back there at least once a month so I can get my city fix and so I don't get to grumpy with not having a million different places to choose from to eat, shop, visit, etc. :) I truly love the sounds of the city :)

This past weekend we went into the city for several reason but the main one was for the wedding of Julie Barger and Alex Mazzanti on Friday afternoon. We had a great time and made some new friends along the way.

On Saturday we went to some of my favorite places, had a lovely dinner out and then we went to see Peter Pan 360. If you have not heard about this you should check it out. It is the play Peter Pan but instead of it being in a normal theatre it is in a BIG tent with the stage in the middle and seating all around. The performance was great and the special effects were even better. This was a great event!!! I would highly recommend it, it was great for kids of all ages "Never Grow Up"!!

Then on Sunday on our way back to Michigan we visited one of our favorite wineries, The Round Barn in Union Pier to stock up on some wine. All in all it was a great weekend filled with all sorts of fun stuff!! Plus a bonus for Kirby is I have gotten my city fix for a little bit so I'm not so grumpy about missing the city. But it will only be a few weeks and I will have to go back again other wise this city girl will get grumpy again.

Life

We know that we have been very bad at doing blog posts since we got married and I have to say there really is not a very good reason for it. Other then LIFE happens! We have been busy spending time with friends, family and most importantly each other. So we will try to be better about posting more often than we have been. In the meantime, here are a few random photos from the past few months to give you a glimpse what we have been up to!

Hawaiian Honeymoon!!!

Yes we know this post has been along time coming. Who knows where the last ten months have gone other than by fast. For our lovely honeymoon we went to Hawaii as neither of us had been there and thought we would support the great USA. We had a great time and would recommend if you have not been there to put it on your "Bucket List". Sit back and relax, its long!

Wedding Photos: Part Cuatro

Its been a long time coming, and we are very sorry that we have been so delinquent in our duty of sharing more wedding photos with you all! Sometimes, life just gets in the way, and we were just having way too much fun living it! But on the eve of the Blizzard of 2011, we figured tonight is the night!!!!

A very special thanks goes out to Jen Badalamenti and Jen Grant for capturing all of the special moments from our wonderful day! Without the two of you, none of these blog posts would be possible, and the memory of the day would not have been so wonderfully. We can't thank the two of you enough!

Another very special thanks goes out to Ann Benjamin. You made our day absolutely perfect with all your work on the flowers and decorations! We loved everything you did for us. It all turned out spectacular! There were a few moments when we might have been second guessing the "no tent" decision, but it all worked out and the day was beautiful! Again, thank you so much Ann!!!!

A friendly warning to those of you that want to view all the photos in this post, we have included all the photos from the Reception. There was just no way we could pick and choose which photos to share, and because so many of you are in the photos, we wanted to share them all. That being said, prepare yourself for 341 photos! Enjoy!

p.s. Check back soon for some honeymoon photos in another blog post!