Finally Caught Up

Well, I think that I am finally caught up. . .well, when this post is done. My kids are out riding bikes right now. . . with no shoes on. I watched them for a little while and thought "If I was a really great mom I would probably make them get shoes on. I would proabably also make them disassemble their makeshift bike jump that looks quite unstable." But, it is just so nice and quiet in this house right now. I hate to do anything that might make it end. It was really funny watching Emily try to get up the jump with her tiny bike and training wheels. She tried and tried. . .but didn't want to get going fast. Once again I thought to myself "if I was a great mom I would go outside and help Emily get up that jump." Instead I watched her frustration increase until Ben and Rachel came and pushed her up and over the jump. At least she has a brother and a sister watching out for her.

Anyway, to close up my marathon day of posting I thought I would end with Halloween. We had our Baxter Family Halloween Party at Wheeler Farms this year. It was quite fun and actually relaxing. Afterward we drove up to Silver Lake and walked around.




Halloween was also a good time this year. Minus the rain. We went out anyway. . . and five minutes late had to go home because Rachel's shoes "were not waterproof" and she was crying because of her wet feet. No worries. A couple minutes later we had her in snow boots and we were back on the prowl. We got plenty of candy and my kids were hyped up on it for about 3 days. I am glad it is all gone now. Our neighbor painted us that awesome Halloween Pokemon pumpkin in the second pic.




So, that is it. I am done blogging just in time to go through the major holidays. We have our big sonogram appointment this Wednesday. It is a pretty big thing at our house discussing whether this baby is a boy or a girl. I am the only one who thinks it is a girl. It will be fun to know. I just hope the rest of the family can accept it when they find out that I am right. If I am cool I will blog it. :) See you then.

Emily's Birthday

Emily's birthday was October 4th. Poor Little Emily. Nate and I both had to work in Salt Lake on her birthday. Thank goodness for grandparents who made sure she had fun all day. My baby is four years old. She loves her older siblings and will follow them to the ends of the earth. She is a good girl. I work all day everyday and she is so patient with that. She quietly entertains herself and never causes me any trouble. She saves her trouble causing for when I am not working :). Emily still gives us kisses on special occasions and loves to be tickled. We do homework every night with Ben and Rachel. Emily loves to do her homework too. . . out of one of those preschool workbooks. She really is a doll. I keep wondering when she will stop being so cute. . maybe never. She is very excited for a new baby to come to our house and I am sure she will make a wonderful big sister.

Ten Years. . . Ten Years

This year Nate and I celebrated our tenth anniversary. Hard to believe that it has been that long. We have known each other for 17 years. Pizza, pizza in 1993. We met doing the dishes. I remember just talking for a couple of hours because. . . well, frankly, there was nothing better to do. We were stuck there for the night with a pile of greasy, disgusting pans. We just hit it off. I was hooked immediately. We had the wonderful blessing of developing a very solid friendship over those first years. It has made our marriage better. We have been on a lot of rocky roads over the years. I am just so glad that I have been on those roads with Nathan. And, I have to say, it is awesome to be on some smoother roads with him now. :)

We were hoping to do something really awesome for our tenth anniversary but that didn't work. So we stayed in Park City at the Waldorff Astoria. Way too classy for us. Valet parking only. We had a great time and enjoyed swimming in their very heated pool under the stars and a full moon. The jacuzzi was great too, if you minus the drunk people who seemed to gravitate to that point. We shopped (because I love to and Nate knows it), we had a nice hike, we ate, we went down the zip line at the Olympic park. We had a lovely time. And one day, Nate will take me to Italy for our anniversary. I am sure of it. Oh yea, and we still like to shove cake up in the other one's face. . . figuratively speaking. True Love. :)

Rachel is SIX

Rachel had her sixth birthday on September 23rd. She is such a stellar little lady. Starting school this year has been a wonderful adventure for her and she is proving to be very good at it. She has already gotten a safety award in an assembly for learning the rules of the school and doing them and this last week we got a note that said she had been invited to be the student council representative for her class. I know, she is only in kindergarten and not likely to do much with that. . .but it just shows her personality. She is very obedient by nature. A trait that I am sure will serve her well for many years. She is also a leader. She often comes home and tells me about how she befriended a new person or stood up for a student who was getting picked on. I think part of it is being one of the oldest in her grade, but she seems to take on responsibilities easily. Rachel is a joy to my life. :)

Some Things Never Change

My girls will always be Daddy's girls.

Neighborhood Parade

These are the kinds of things I don't want to forget as my children get older. The kids and their friends put together there own parade. I was the one and only spectator. . . I tried to cheer really loud.

Red Butte Gardens

Let's see, this was done on Labor Day. We went to Red Butte Gardens. Surprisingly enough, I didn't hear any butt jokes that day. They are plentiful every other day :). We had a nice time as the weather was perfect. . . although I remember Nate was kind of sick that day. Anyway, it was still a nice daycation and we took some cute pics.