The Baxa’s

On Jeff’s tattoo. For all you impatient ladies out at the Will County Courthouse!

It is looking really good! The color adds so much. I can’t wait till the rest is done.

He’ll go back in about a month to get it finished. Mike said he could finish it up next time!

Well, not really. But I haven’t even taken those photos off my camera yet, and I have more exciting news to share with you! Jeff and I went to get tattoos yesterday. It was Jeff’s first, and my second. It was cool to go together. It still hurt BAD. For me at least. My new tattoo is much bigger than my first one. Jeff designed it for me, and I love it. It took about 2 1/2 hours, and Mike did a fantastic job. Thanks Mike!!

Jeff said the pain factor was about what he expected. It hurt more in some places than others, but overall it didn’t bother him as much as it does me. I do NOT have any tolerance for pain. Jeff’s tattoo was super ambitious for his first one. He went to Mike with some print outs of things he likes, and a general shape he was looking for, and Mike took it from there. Jeff sat for 3 1/2 hours today, and probably has about 8-9 hours left to go. I have to say, Jeff’s isn’t done, he has two more sittings to go, but when it’s finished – it is going to be awesome.

I can’t wait to post more when Jeff goes for his next sitting. Stay Tuned!

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!

Just when you thought things could not get any busier, you add a little bit more love to your life, and things get a little more hectic. Our new additions will be about 5 1/2 weeks old this weekend. They are growing, and definitely have their own personalities. Athena is a big girl, she eats twice as much as Zeus at every feeding. He is a little one, but is feisty! They love to play. I cannot WAIT until they will eat regular food. This bottle feeding thing is getting old. I can’t believe that we have only had them for three short weeks, it seems like forever.

Watching the parade on Thanksgiving morning, snuggling with some kitties.

So, things have been busier than usual around here. I have a couple of older posts to catch up on, you know BTK (Before The Kitties). I’ll get to them soon, I promise!

Well, we have a new addition to the Baxa family. Make that two new additions. These little cuties lost their momma. We thought they were two little boys, but found out this morning that we have one little boy and one little girl. They are about 2 and half weeks old, and have to be fed kitten formula by a bottle! This is all new for us, but I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we are in love.

Still trying to decide on some names for these little ones. But here are a few pictures.

This post was delayed because I just had too many pictures from this trip to sort through. Ridiculous, I know! Weeks ago, we spent the afternoon at a local pumpkin patch with some of our good friends. The kids all had an excellent time!

Quinn was a little (okay, a lot) scared of feeding the animals. I will say though, the goats were a little over zealous.

There was a huge hay bale mountain to climb. And the boys were getting in plenty of trouble for chasing and trying to scare the girls.

Next up, the big bouncy thing. It was super cool. Set in the ground, it was like a huge bouncy pillow. These kids were moving targets, hard to get a picture of!

Tricycle races. Quinn raced that tricycle just like he races on Mario Cart. He kept crashing off the course!

The big corn maze…

Finally, the corn kernel pit? I’m not sure what it was called, and I’ve never seen one before, but it was pretty cool. There was a place where you could guess how many kernels were in there. Seriously. I think the number would be beyond comprehension. Billions? Trillions?

Next post, Starved Rock I think.

We recently had the pleasure of enjoying a day with the two of them. The kids love the undivided attention they get when Grandpa Baxa and Grandma Barbie come over. Unfortunately, they were here to say good-bye, before they head back down to sunny Florida. We sure do miss you guys when you are away!

But on this sunny day, the boys threw around the football. Madeleine and Quinn had fun playing legos and house with Grandma Barbie. Then they headed outside and pretended they were on a boat!

I managed to snap a few good pictures.

Grandpa Baxa and Grandma Barbie, have a safe trip!

Well, I’ve been away again. I just haven’t been snapping many pictures lately. I’m jealous of April’s new camera and the awesome pics she gets I just feel like mine aren’t up to par. But, I forgot about some of the ones we did take.

Like this one. We were babysitting for April and Greg, so they could go out to dinner for her birthday. The cousins were all cozied up to watch a movie. I love that these cousins are so close, and love each other so much! It makes my heart happy. I only hope that they stay close as they grow up.

And this? Is my new Cub Scout. He is loving it, and looks so handsome in his uniform, yes?

Coming up…

A fun day with Grandpa Baxa and Grandma Barbie, and a trip to the pumpkin patch! Stay tuned…

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!

We recently enjoyed another great set of concerts at the Commons. We saw Fastball and Survivor. Survivor was the best. They were so eighties, it was comical. The lead singer was doing the jumping jacks clap over his head, and he kept dancing and swinging the mic stand over his head too. I wish we had a nice picture of one of those moves! It was a great time.

One more concert left before summer comes to an end!