The Baker Bunch: July 2008

We had the best time at the Baker Reunion! Thanks to Pat and Pam for all of your hard work, and thank you for new cookbook. It is wonderful!

We got up early on the 24th to drive from Santaquin to Beaver. We wanted to make sure we got down there in time for the parade. We were all so excited. Mandalyn just kept saying "We're going on vacation." It truly was a vacation.

Beaver has the best parade. Here are some pictures of the kids watching.

Eli was such a hoot. He loved this frisbee that we got during the parade he thought it was the best toy.

Some of our favorite things about the Beaver parade are; the candy, (they throw a lot of candy), the cheese curds that the cheese factory float throws, and the fire truck that sprays everyone at the end. Every year the very last thing is this fire truck. All the kids ( and some adults) gather behind the fire truck to get cooled off.

Probably our most favorite thing about going to Beaver is the horse races. This year only Uncle Pat had a horse racing but it was very eventful. Uncle Pat's jockey just happened to be at the center of all the fun. One race, a horse that Pat's Jockey was riding fell head over heals and they had to call for the ambulance. The Jockey and the horse were fine. Then there was a jockey inquiry which resulted in a fight (again, Pat's Jockey, but the other guy really deserved it). We were hoping for a win for Capitol Storm (Pat's Horse) but Capitol Storm fell coming out of the gate and was never able to take the lead. I think he took 3rd or 4th place.

Our family having fun at the Beaver Horse Races.

Eli, Tyson & Mandalyn (you can't hardly see her) having fun at the races.

Uncle Pat's Race. Go Capitol Storm!

This is the first lap around for Capitol Storm.

This is the end of the race. I'm not sure how well you can see it but Capitol Storm wasn't 1st.

I had to put this picture in. This Jockey is a GIRL! She won twice that day. You go girl!

All of these activities plus fireworks happened BEFORE the reunion even started.

The first night of the reunion we went up to the Ponderossa Campground to have dinner and play games. It was a lot of fun. It is so beautiful up there. One of the nicest things about Utah is that there are canyons just about anywhere you go. There is always some place to enjoy nature and just go for a drive if you want. It's really beautiful however mother nature decided that we needed a little shower. We decided to cover the dutch ovens with this tarp so the coals didn't get wet. It worked really well but the underside got a little toasted... oops.

Eli having fun in the dirt. What a cute boy.

One of our activities was a silly camping game. Chubby Bunny. It was silly but we had a lot of fun. Even the kids and Grandpa and Grandma participated.

Taking my turn at funny bunny. I think I only fit 5 in.

Eli tried his hand at chubby bunny but it seemed he was more interested in eating them. Mandalyn did a good job too. She said she fit 20 marshmallows in her mouth. (the small ones of course.)

Dad & Aunt Camille

Dad fitting 10 marshmallows in his mouth. I think 10 was the breaking point for just about everyone. Uncles Nathan & Jerame. I think Nate won.
Melanie, Austin, Camille & Adam

Aunt Ashlee.

Grandma & Grandpa Baker

Watching Grandpa Ron and his brothers was hilarious! Uncle Pat was such a good sport. He HATES marshmallows and hasn't eaten one in 40 years. Uncle Ken has the biggest mouth out of the boys.

Aunt Bonnie beat the boys! I think she fit 11 in her mouth. Nice job!

Uncle Pat brought these HUGE dutch ovens, they made the standard size looks so small. They were so big but were awesome. They held so much food and it was yummy!

After dinner Grandma entertained us with some poetry and family history. Grandpa entertained us by playing the the accordion. It's so fun to listen to him play. Grandma Baker reminds me of my own grandma when she reads.

What a funny expression she has here.

Mandalyn was so cute, she was tapping her foot keeping the beat along with grandpa.

After dinner we all played games and visited. It was a great day.

Saturday started with the annual golf tournament. This year Mandalyn and Eli came with us. The rules this year were pretty simple, each couple take turns hitting. If Adam putted the ball in it was my turn to drive. Not a good situation. :) We had so much fun with our kids. They loved golfing and Mandalyn loved driving the cart. She was a really great driver.

After golfing it was Swimming, geocaching (we found lots of treasures) and nap time as you can see Eli doing below... He wasn't actually sleeping like he should have been but rather playing with mom's glasses.

Saturday evening we all got together for dinner and games. Pat gave us new cookbooks of all grandma's favorite recipes, we had an egg toss for the adults and a water balloon toss for the kids. Then we played pantyhose soccer as seen below. It was a riot. We were laughing so hard.