The Baxa’s

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!

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!

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!

I have lots of pictures to share, and may never get to my missed posts from the fall! There are just too many things going on around here. But first, a few random thoughts.

I am thankful for my husband and family. My man supports my fanatical gym obsession. He even got the kids on the bus yesterday so I wouldn’t miss my workout. I love you honey, and I don’t tell you nearly enough. I am thankful for my sisters and their never-ending support.

I am happy that we got our first snow! Makes it seem so much more like Christmas time. I am loving our new little kitties. Even though they are a handful, they are soft, cuddly, and so much fun to watch them play. Their antics are comical.

Now, some pictures. Like I said, we got our first snow!

The kids could not have been happier. Josh even volunteered to shovel!

We went to cut down our Christmas tree, and had lots of company. It was cold, but we all had a good time!

Kristin and Mark, ready to cut down their first Christmas tree.

The kids, having a grand ole time.

The mountain man and his mistress – oh, I mean wife!

And the truck that they use for their tree delivery service. Thank you guys!

And what post would be complete with out at least one kitten picture? They are doing great! We are done with bottles and on to canned food. Soon, we will hopefully move on to dry food! Here’s Athena cuddled up among the pillows on the couch catching a little cat nap.

Hope everyone is healthy and happy. Enjoy this season, it only comes once a year!

I’ve been a total slacker. Again. My days just seem so hectic. Once I finish my work in the morning, I don’t seem to get back to the computer. So here it is. The post to get us up to date!

Quinn had his first sleep over at our house. His cousin Myles. They slept in Madeleine’s bed, since she was sleeping over with Ella. And she didn’t know about it till she saw this picture. Oops!

And as you read on April’s blog, we had a get together to make blueberry jam. It turned out fabulous. And it gave me such a sense of pride to make something of my own, instead of just eating the stuff that April makes! Here is Quinn enjoying some of Aunt April’s peach jam. It got a big thumbs up.

And with all the other goings on around here, we had the first day of school. The kids were ready to go back, and so was I! My baby is in first grade this year, can you believe that?!? And him and Madeleine ride the same bus. I love it.

Sorry, I couldn’t get a picture of the big fifth grader. He goes out for the bus all by himself now, and heaven forbid his MOM should be seen out there!

And finally, we went to a birthday party for Jake and Luke. It was huge fun playing soccer!

And with that, we are up to date. I will try harder to stay caught up, I really will!

Live as it happens – pics will be updated periodically. Just click on the picture to go to the gallery.

I really need to get moving here this morning, but I have an overdue post. The bachelorette party. I think it’s fair to say that everyone had a really, really, good time. It was definitely a very late night for this old mom. I haven’t partied like that in at least 10 years. It sure was a lot of fun. The pictures were even more fun, too bad most of them didn’t seem appropriate for posting on the internet! Oh, and let me just apologize now for the quality of the pictures. It’s really hard to take good photos, in the dark, when you have had just a few too many drinks!

Well Kris, only 10 days left!! Are you ready?

And the first pool day of summer. The water was cold, but the kids had a great time anyways. Looking forward to many more fun pool days!

As usual, the Nelson boys’ birthday party was a blast. For everyone. Good food, good company, and good fun. I think the Slip n’ Slide was the highlight for the kids. I wasn’t sure if my pictures would turn out, but I did end up getting some good pictures.

They were definitely slippin’ and slidin’. The look on their faces as they came down was priceless.

In a word, that is what I have been in regards to doing a post. It’s not like nothing has been going on, we’ve been busy, with a capital B. Parties, bridal showers, end of the school year coming up quick.

But, since my last post, we’ve had a birthday here at our house. My little baby turned six years old last month. 6. It blows my mind. What happened? 1st grade for my little Quinn next year. Quinn is my sweetie, and will always be my baby.

We celebrated at home, then had a party with his friends. Quinn had a really good time. I think his friends did too.

I think we need a different camera for all those action shots, lots of blur going on! Anyways, I will try to do better on posting, with the summer vacation looming, we are sure to have lots of good pictures!