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!

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 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?

Ok, so I’m a huge wimp when it comes to pain. I’ll admit it. Everyone who knows me, already knows this. Never in a million years did I think I would have the guts to go through with something like this.

I think Jeff STILL thinks it is some elaborate hoax. He’s waiting for it to wash off.

I would have never, ever, ever done it – if my MOM hadn’t gone first. She was all smiles. Told me it didn’t hurt. Said it just kind of burned, and that a paper cut was worse. And I BELIEVED her!

Then Janice went. She said it wasn’t bad either. She’s a big liar too.

She got two.

So then, the moment of truth. And I thought, if my MOM can do it, so can I right? Seriously, what was I thinking!! It hurt bad. BAD.

But, I do really love it. I can’t stop looking at it. I’m so proud of myself that I actually did it. I told Mike that he better make it spectacular, because this was my first and last tattoo. Did I mention that it hurt?!?

Then it was Kris’s turn. She told me if I got one, she’d get the stars she wanted. She decided to go with on the top of her foot. I think hers hurt worse than mine. I didn’t feel sorry for her. Is that mean?

I wish April were there. We would have chipped in for yours April!

I guess the lesson learned is, never trust your mother. Or your sister. They don’t tell the truth. Or, I’m just a bigger wimp than them.

Well my friends, on Monday, at 11 am I thought, what am I going to make for dinner? I wanted soup, in the crockpot. A quick mental inventory, and I don’t have the ingredients on hand for one of my traditional soups, but I do have potatoes. So, I did a few searches, and found a recipe for a cream of potato soup in the crockpot. I had everything I needed to get it started, so I did. I’ve never made a cream soup before, and was a little intimidated. However, the soup turned out better than I expected. It was delicious! Of course, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, what fun would that be?

Now, Jeff was making fun of me for taking pictures of my food, but I was so darned proud of myself, I couldn’t resist!

And to go with the delicious baked potato soup? A loaf of fresh baked french bread, with a little cheese thrown in for good measure.

And before you go thinking I’m some fancy cook or something, I’ll tell you what is on the menu for tonight. Frozen pizza, or maybe hot dogs. I have some hot dog buns that are at the end of their shelf life.