The Baxa’s

Last Sunday, we had an impromtu beach day with the Nelson’s. We piled in the car and headed out to the Warren Dunes. I love doing outings with my sister. Not only do the kids have the best time ever with their cousins, but it reminds me to slow down, and relax. April is really good at going with the flow. Relaxing. Sitting back and watching the kids have a good time. Me? Not so much. I am a very scheduled person. I like a routine. So, when we do outings with the Nelson’s, I try to be more like my sister, and just enjoy the day. It is always a ton of fun, and relaxing. We spent the day at the beach, the boys and the kids hiked up the huge sand dune, we enjoyed the sun and the water. We packed up around 6 or 7. We stopped for dinner in a cute harbor town, New Buffalo. And we even got ice cream afterwards. We didn’t get home until after 10:30. It was a great day!

Our "camp"

Digging and building

Hauling supplies

Excavating

Serious discussions

Sisters!

The 4th of July was a really, really good day. It was sunny and beautiful out. The pool was clear and warm, and full of people! The whole family was there, along with some friends. The kids all got along. There was no crabbing and whining. We swam, we hung out, we ate, we drank, the boys played bags, we celebrated a birthday, and we watched fireworks.

It was perfect.

Loving the summer life!

Our kitties are seriously cute. Who would have known we would be such cat people??

It amazes us how different the personalities of this brother and sister are. One is rambunctious and always ready to play, one is more cautious, always testing the waters before they jump in. One comes to bed with us every night, one likes to scratch and chew on Jeff’s leg while he gets ready every morning. So set in their routines, so much the same but different.

Zeus absolutely cannot resist the bath water when Quinn is in the tub. The swirling, moving water, and the bubbles attract him like a moth to the flame. Athena, most of the time, she’s happy just to sit back and watch. Zeus has only fallen in once, but we are waiting for it to happen again…

Oh, and you’ll notice in these photos, there is no toliet paper on the holders in our house. The kitties keep unrolling it. And I was tired of using toliet paper off the floor. But now? They are knocking it off the counter, and shredding it on the floor. There is a reason they don’t sell shredded toilet paper people. It’s very hard to use.

My boy plays in the band. He plays the French Horn. He was one of two French Horn players in the 5th grade band. We will see what 6th grade bring, but he likes it!

A few pictures from his end of the year concert.

We had such a good time on our Florida vacation! We traveled by car to sunny Sarasota to visit with Grandpa Baxa and Grandma Barbie. The car ride was not as awful as I thought it would be, and the time in Florida was fantastic!

We spent nearly everyday at the beach.

Josh got a “skim” board for Easter, and tried his hand at that.

We looked for shark’s teeth.

Ate lots of dinners out, and had some good family time.

The Baxa boys went parasailing on Easter morning!

The kids stayed up way too late, the grown-ups stayed up way too late also, playing cards and having adult beverages. We played, we laughed, and we had a really good time. Thanks so much Dad and Barb for having us. We had so much fun!

Turned seven years old while we were on vacation! What better way to spend your special day than on the beach? I think my smiley, happy boy had a great day.

We started off the day with a gift from us.

Then we got our swimsuits and cover-ups on, and Grandpa Baxa and Grandma Barbie took us to Jungle Gardens. Where Quinn got to hold a real, live allligator.

After that we stopped for lunch, and headed out to Venice Beach to look for shark teeth. Everyone found some, and Quinn even found a really big one, even though it was broken.

When we were done at the beach, we went to Sharky’s for dinner. It is right on the beach, and we got to eat outside. I don’t know about you, but I love eating outside in Florida! It’s the best. They even sang Happy Birthday for Quinn. Notice his big smile.

Finally, we ended our day back at Grandpa and Barbie’s place. With more Happy Birthday, a little bit of cake that Grandma Barbie baked, and some ice cream to top it off!

My baby boy is seven. He’ll be in 2nd grade next year! I think it was a pretty fantastic day, and would love to spend my birthday that way. Quinn however, maybe he would have liked to have been at Chuck E. Cheese. No matter what, I think it’s a good birthday when you get to be at the beach!

Yes, I’ve been away again. No good excuses. Just lazy, and busy.

So, about a million years ago, my boys had an overnight on a submarine. A real submarine. They thought it was pretty cool, except for the fact that they came home smelling like diesel fuel!

Here are a few pictures.

Coming soon. Like, tomorrow. Quinn’s 7th birthday (while we were in Florida), Florida vacation, and a band concert. Maybe some other stuff, I can’t remember!

I can’t believe how big these kitties are getting!! I miss the tiny kitties.

Here are some pics from when we first got them.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t miss that bottle feeding at all. But they were so tiny!

Look at them now.

Clara, I can’t thank you enough for bringing these little loves into our lives! Even though they have been waking me up everyday at four in the morning! They are (mostly) a joy!

Ok folks. I want to start posting again, and I’m intimidated because of how far behind I am! So, we are going to catch up. We’ve had a lot going on around here.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of pictures from Christmas!! No one was manning the camera. Well, Christmas was awesome as usual. I get caught up in the excitement just like the kids. On Christmas Eve, the boys had a lot of fun with the beverages…

And the kids just had a lot of fun.

Jeff built a kitty condo over the break. The Kitties LOVE it. It is like a playground for them, and it is so fun to watch them.

We had a birthday in January. My baby girl turned 8. I can hardly believe it. We celebrated with family, and her “friend” party is this weekend. She’s just getting too big, too fast!

We said goodbye to another beloved four legged family member. Sam was Jeff and I’s other baby. We had gotten her about a month after Emma and she was fifteen years old. It was a hard day, but she was sick.

And later on that afternoon, we went out to get our mind off of things.

And last, but certainly not least, we have the blizzard. It did indeed turn out to be a crazy amount of snow! It was pretty cool. Now it is literally pretty cold!

And I think that about brings us up to date! I can feel free to post at random now. I do have some new pictures of the kitties to post. They are getting so big. I can’t believe how little they were when we first got them!

So, for all of you that are anxiously awaiting to see Jeff’s finished tattoo, this is for you.

He went Saturday night to get in completed. It turned out pretty great.

So now we just have to decide what we will do next!