Halloween Saga Continued...

A poor attempt at a Halloween Poem

'Twas the night before Halloween

In our cul de sac

The pumpkin needed carving

To be turned into Jack

I called up the neighbors

A knife and pumpkin they'd bring

We were anxiously waiting

For our spooky doorbell to ring

The Potts family rushed over
With supplies in hand

Ideas were brewing

Make mine monogrammed!

Before we could carve

I'd be sure to trace

And make certain my monogram

Was perfectly in place

I steadily worked

I used elbow grease

For soon I'd reveal

My Halloween MASTERPIECE!

Ta Da!!!!!

Shannon and I carve away!

The Potts Family cheated and used an electric knife. (Just kidding...so did we.)

Shannon looks a little too excited about gutting his pumpkin

FooFoo doesn't need to carve his...He just holds it and it looks cute!!!!

Sam decorated his with markers

Sam and Shannon show off "The Beast" (It looks better in the dark w/ the candle inside.)
So the festivities continued on Halloween. We went to Muzzy and Boppa's house to enjoy a pot of the traditional Tronco's Halloween chili. Shannon and I took Sam through the neighborhood as Fulton led the way, holding his pumpkin flashlight. Every 10 seconds he'd hold it up, pucker his lips, and say "OOOO". He was the best little Yoda EVER!!!! Sam got enough candy for 12 children and it was such a joy to watch him trick or treating.

May the force be with with you! Happy Halloween!!!!

WOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEE!!!----What a day!!!!

It all started with church, then lunch, naps, TRUMC Pumpkin Patch, and Halloween Parties!!!

Need I say more??? OK...if you insist!

Ugly Pumpkin Search

After naps we took the boys to the Pumpkin Patch where Sam and I set out on our quest for the ugliest pumpkin. He said he was going to get a big, pretty pumpkin and I told him I was going to get the ugliest pumpkin because why should it just sit there and rot when we can take it home, carve it and make it BEAUTIFUL. The pumpkin patch crop was looking pretty skimpy by this time of the season anyway so it wasn't hard to find a really ugly pumpkin. Only, the really ugly ones had already started to rot and had worms and fruit flies all over them and they sho ain't going home in my car! Any who...I am on a serious mission from now until 6:00 tomorrow to find the beloved ugly pumpkin. (Be looking for my Children's book ;-) That's one thing I have not yet attempted. I might need to grow another hand so I have one to put in that pot, as well.) If anyone has any ideas of where this fresh ugly pumpkin might be found---I'd appreciate some info. You can leave anonymous comments ya know!!! So TRUMC wasn't a winner for me but Sam and Fulton wanted to take all of them home. They found some really nice ones!

Sam picked out a "baby" for FuFu

Fulton likes this one right here and decides to sit next to it so no one else will take it.

Sam made a fine choice for himself and was very excited about it. He was amazed by his strength when he realized he could pick it up!

Powell Halloween Party

Okay so the pumpkins have been selected. We raced home and put on our costumes for the ultra spooky and fun Powell Family Halloween Party. Sam and Fulton enjoyed playing with several of their buddies. As always, Steven and Marie's house looked lovely. It was great seeing the Westons, McCarleys, and Kelleys and all of their precious little goblins.

Costume Confession and Therapy Session
If you know me well, you know I'm not a very big fan of store-bought costumes. I don't want anyone taking offense to that because I do and I have purchased costumes. As a matter of fact, Sam's has been purchased the past three years. Yikes!!!! It's just one of my quirky little idiosyncrasies. My very creatively inclined Momma is to blame for this one.

• Sidetrack: My entire life, I had home-made costumes. My mother had her wheels turning 365 days a year. My brothers and I won many contests and all the candy, cash and gift certificates we could want. We ran the entire gamut of costumes. We have been: Gumby hand-stitched from foam, a Mermaid (before the whole Ariel bit, around the time of the movie "Splash"), a real aluminum foil and chicken wire Hershey's kiss, a man sitting in a chair, King Tut, Cleopatra, Pebbles Flintstone, Robots, Hulk Hogan, a beautiful Harlequin Clown, and my all time favorite...Mr. Potato Head. I know there were many others but that might give you a general idea of why I feel like I'm jipping my kids of the creativity of Halloween when I go to the check out at Target with a costume in hand. Any who...Fulton's costume received rave reviews from many folks. And while I would love to take credit...It was not I that made it. It was yet another creation in the stitchery of Cathy P. Tronco. She has an ebay store which is very appropriately named "Perfectly Appointed" because everything she does is so very detailed and precise. I have never seen anything less than perfect. (Shannon and I are working on her very own website.)

I really didn't want to reveal their costumes before Halloween but since most of you have been partying with us I'll go ahead. It's kinda like seeing a bride before her wedding. I take this Halloween stuff pretty seriously!!!!

Sam is the very store-bought Darth Vader (I wasn't about to attempt to make that one[and he refuses to wear the mask so it's only half a costume]) and Fully is the adorable side kick, YODA, hand-made by Muzzy!!!

Trunk or Treat

So off we were to the St. John's Trunk or Treat put on by the EYC. It was very cute. Sam truly enjoyed his candy prizes from playing the games.

After the fair...he's a pro at the old Ducky game

Same waiting to play the bean bag toss

And 3-2-1...Night, Night

Needless to say, the boys were pooped. So pooped in fact, that we had to miss the Kirkland family's Pumpkin Carving Party. I was bummed but bedtime was calling very loudly.

Anyway, Halloween is not over yet and you haven't heard the last of the What's Bakin' Halloween Saga. To Be Continued...

Casino Night with Boppa

Uncle Michael and cousin Jameson arrived from Summerville on Friday A.M. Michael came for the game and Jameson came to play. Aunt Kristin and Isabella were left behind for a nice and quiet girls weekend. Friday night we piled into Muzzy and Boppa's house for pizza followed by Romper Room! Jameson and Sam had so much fun. I've never heard two boys laugh so much at just about everything. Boppa decided to redirect their energy into a more organized activity...POKER!!!!! OK, not really poker, but a few card tricks and games. The ottoman made for a very nice casino table. It was very cute and some much needed structure.

Even little Fulton had some fun on his own. He knows just where to find all the good stuff...in Muzzy's secret cabinet.

Fulton's Playdate

Sam and Charlie had a play date at the Wheelers' house this week. Poor little Fulton always has to tag-along with Sam and his buddies. But fortunately the Wheelers had baby Brooks right after Fulton was born and... voila!... instant buddies. Mrs. Brooks sent me this precious picture of them. I just love it!
They are just now starting to interact with each other a little bit. Before, they would just crawl around and stare at each other. They're so much fun to watch. Brooks and I love how they imitate us using the phone and they hold it between their neck and their shoulder. It's kind of sad. HMMMM what do they see us doing?????

Anyway, it will be fun to watch them grow up together... just like Sam and Charlie.

It's round two of the Bakers and the Wheelers!

Fulton and Brooks

The Fair has come to town!

Ahhhh the fair. How does one describe the South Carolina State Fair? Amidst the sea of wide-loads, poor dental hygiene, body odor, cow manure, child abuse, and a fine smelling chicken coop there is still fun to be had.
This gentleman makes a living playing bicycle horns. Quite interesting.
Any who...The Baker family managed to have a great time. Sam was reluctant to ride at first but ended up riding EVERYTHING twice!!! Fulton loved the Ferris Wheel and all the lights. The 9'3" robot was also a hit.
Sam and Shannon coming down the slide-Sam's face is priceless!

The party goes on!!

And the party continues... In my family we didn't have a Birth-DAY, we had a Birth-WEEK. You had a family party, a school party, and a friend party. It went on forever. So how could I cheat my boys????

Sunday, October 15th Sam celebrated his REAL birthday. He wanted to go to TGIFridays and play at the mall. So off we went! When we returned, we gave him his presents and he was so excited. As some of you know, Sam has inherited the music gene. Boppa (Tronco) is quite proud to say the least. After going through 2 "little boy" drum sets, Sam finally received his BIG BOY drums!!!! His sense of rhythm amazes me. He enjoys drumming along with the Eagles in concert on DVD. He stays on beat and tries his hardest to mimic whatever it is they're doing. He actually does very well. We have looked in to lessons but no one will take on a 4 year old. We'll just have to wait a couple of years.

And then there's the class party. Sam specifically requested the Cars theme for school. So we celebrated at school on Monday. Cupcakes were delivered by Mommy and Fulton and we all sang to Sam. (Probably a little too much celebrating for a child who does not like to have attention drawn to him. He is his Father's child!!!!)

Sadly, Mrs. Frannie was absent but Mrs. Darcy filled in nicely

Sam and Kieth Giese have a blower war

Happy Birthweek Sam!!!!!

Party Party Party!!!

Party Time!!!

Happy 4th Birthday to MY Superhero!

Sam was surrounded by a dozen or more of his good buddies. They arrived at the house dressed in their finest Superhero garb. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and they all looked adorable. We had Supermen, Spidermen, Power Rangers, Batman, and Buzz-Lightyear zooming around the yard.

I had never witnessed a cupcake free-for-all until Saturday. I made some "Very Vanilla" cupcakes that were gone in just seconds! I was very proud until the birthday boy himself remarked, "mommy, I don't like these. I wanted red cupcakes." Any who...so much for home-made with love.

The little masked avengers did not escape the party with their goodie-bag filled with Superman paraphernalia and a stick of glowing "Kryptonite". Sam and Newton Grier carried theirs around for hours!

Newton stuck around to help Sam open his wonderful gifts. We had a "Super" time. I can't believe he's already 4! Where does the time go????

Porter, Kieth, and Sam attend the Superhero conference on the playground

Judson and Newton pose with their cupcakes

(top to bottom l to r) Charlie Wheeler, Judson Holmes, Henry Gibson, Duncan Moorman, Stephens West, Mason Harrington, Porter Stanley, Kieth Giese, Newton Grier, Chapman West, Andrew Barker, Harris Jackson, Sam Baker

Fall Festivities!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Welcome to Baker-ville!

I love Halloween! It is by far my favorite Holiday. It's an excuse to be Ultra-Tacky!

The combination of Orange, Green, Black and Purple just does something for me!

I take pleasure in finding tacky little nick-nacks to greet my guests as they come to the door. Nothing too lavish or frightening. We don't want to scare away the trick-or-treaters, we simply want to make them smile and feel like we put a little extra into the season.

Picture #5 is a Baker Favorite. It is age-old and has annoyed friends and neighbors for several years now. It is none other than, the Halloween Doorbell.

Picture #4 is a very fitting broom to let visitors know whether or not I am "in" or "out". It is the most recent Halloween purchase.

Picture #1 showcases three of our holiday pumpkins. We will be adding more to the collection, as pumpkin picking and carving is one of my favorite past-times. We have been invited to the Anna (Rock) Kirkland's party to do just that and I can't wait to go!!! The top pumpkin is a "Lightening McQueen" pumpkin that was given to Sam by the Precious Potts family across the street. The bottom right is Sam's pumpkin that he decorated at his Playgroup Halloween Party (See next subject.) The bottom left is a stand-in faux-carved pumpkin to fill a space for our Family Pumpkin that has not yet been created.

(Check back for Pumpkin updates)

Playgroup Halloween Party 2006

For those of you unfamiliar with our All-boys-Playgroup, we are the phenomenon that has even the greatest statisticians perplexed. We were organized about three years ago as a group of seven moms who all had something in common, BOYS!!! All of our boys were born within the same year. Since then, we have each had a second child...ALL BOYS!!!! Now, the first mom to be expecting her third child is having ANOTHER BOY!!!! If you don't want a boy...stay away! If you are desperately wanting a boy...join us!!!

Regardless, we have all become very close and truly enjoy watching all these little guys grow up together.

'Tis the season for their Annual Halloween Party. We had a fabulous time at the Dorsey Estate where the party was held. The boys ran around in their costumes, ate pizza, cupcakes, and "dirt" w/ worms. We also decorated pumpkins. The evening was topped off with a Moms-Night-Out, as dads took the boys home.

We gladly welcomed a couple of extras that are obviously not boys and a couple who are not in the original group because... Hey! the more the merrier!!!

top to bottom: Andrew Barker, Lela Skipper, Charlie Wheeler, Kendrick Skipper, Cannon Dorsey, Sam Baker, Blake Weinbach, Conner Caulder, Stephens West, Grant Dorsey, Harris Jackson standing (l to r): Luke Weinbach and Chapman West

Cannon and Kendrick wait patiently

Mrs. April sets the stage

Fulton and Brooks create a little chaos of their own

Sam shows off his fabulous creation