Some Fond Farewells

My Grandpa Baxter passed away in 1988, my father in 2002 and my beautiful Grandma Baxter in October of last year. Sometimes I miss them so much I can't breathe. Now my Grandpa's wife Elizabeth is getting to the point where she needs round the clock help. My wonderful aunts (my dad was an only boy in a family of 6 girls. Yikes, I'm betting he was spoiled!) went to Wyoming to pack up her house and move her into an assisted living center. Then they had a garage sale with all her belongings she couldn't keep. My aunts are completely, totally awesome. They are the cutest aunts in the world. (I can say that because I don't know your aunts so there is no contest!)

Saturday morning I made Madie and Alex get up early (8:30) and make our way to Aunt Marsha's. Aunt Marsha is the best. She was my biggest support when I was having marital problems and then finally divorced. She had been there and knew what I really needed to hear. Then when I started to date my cute new husband she was my voice of reason. She went over all the pros and all the cons and wasn't afraid to tell me what she thought of me dating someone older than me. Here she is with a painting that she was trying to sell. She still highly recommends not getting married at all...she is just too funny! She is going to be the only speaker at my funeral (someday) because I want people laughing not crying and she can accomplish that.

Alex and my niece Ashley spent most of their time sitting in shading yakking on the cell phone and enjoying a large Coke, a staple in Alex's life. Alex has the fastest fingers in the west. He had almost 3,000 text messages last month. Good thing school is out.

My dad's oldest sister Jeanene with Mindy my cousin and her boys. Mindy is the most creative person in our family. She made my dress and Madie's for my wedding last year PLUS she did all the catering. She did an awesome job. Here they are selling cupcakes and punch for all those hungry garage sale maniacs.

Here, posing on an exercise bike that is for sale (can't figure out why nobody wanted this relic) is Aunt Brenda. Starting on the right is Madie, Alex, my sister Marrla and Ashley.

And here is Aunt Diana, my Uncle Don who is married to Janene (and who most people who see him with all the aunts thinks he is a polygamist) and my exotic Aunt Bonnie. She lives in Huntington Beach so the next time you visit a Hollister store go check out the live picture of the beach. If you look to the far right you can almost see Aunt Bonnie's house. Lucky her!

Missing this morning was my Aunt Merla. I am such a good niece that I didn't even ask where she was. Sorry Aunt Merla!

And here is my cousin Rex who drove up in a 1999 BMW. I was filled with envy. This has been the car I have always wanted.

Finally, here is what we put up on our front lawn Saturday morning. I am torn about this. I love my house, love the location and have great neighbors.


BUT....my kids need to be closer to school and their friends so now we are off to find a new place to live. They say selling a house ranks right up there with Death and Divorce so here's hoping that hubby and I still like each other when we're done with this. Plus I am hoping this will make Madie want to spend more time with us. Now that is another story......

2 Weddings & A Parade

We had another busy weekend. Well, weekend before last anyway.

Friday we met up with three of hubby's daughters and several of their children for dinner at the local buffet. There were 17 of us total and we ate and laughed and had quite a good time. I got to sit with four of the grand kids and we had a great time. I haven't laughed that hard for a while. Tanner is such a crack up! Alexi was trying to teach him table manners in case he ever dates. He still has a few years until that time. Jadera and Tanner were throwing out some tips too.

After dinner we went back over to our house to sit around and chat for a while. We drug out the hula hoops and the kids ended up trying to ring each other with them. We had a wonderful time sitting around talking the night away.

From Right to Left:

Here is Damen, Tanner and Jadera Hula Hooping it up in the backyard.

The whole gang posing. Front Row, Alexi, Ben, Matt, Tanner, Damen and Jadera. Back Row: Jessica, Kailee, Connie, Linda, Gwen and Jim.

Hubby with his three oldest daughters: Linda, Gwen and Connie.

The next morning Jim, Gwen, Damen, Tanner and Jadera left to head back to Arizona. I am really going to miss them. Wish they lived closer.

On Tuesday we got back together with Scott, Connie, Matt, Ben, Jessica, Alexi, Kailee and AJ for a get to meet the soon to be in laws for Josh and Molly. Josh is Scott and Connie's oldest and is marrying Molly in October. The picnic was at Sugarhouse Park. We met Molly's parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews.

Here are Jessica and Ben marrying in May, and Molly and Josh marrying in October.

Turns out Molly's grandpa's wife and I had a lot in common. She is a very sweet lady and I am so glad we got to spend some time getting to know each other. I am looking forward to seeing her and the rest of the family this October.

Here Alex (doesn't he look happy to be in the picture?) and me posing with Verli. She and I both married older men and spent some quality time comparing stories. She is such a sweetie!

We were also pleased to find out that son #3, Ben is engaged and he and Jessica are getting married next May. Jessica is a sweetheart with the most infectious laugh. We are very excited to have her as part of the family.

This past Wednesday our neighborhood had a Red, White and Blue Pioneer parade. Alex and I went out front to watch but the first group of kids must have been really excited for Popsicles because they rode their scooters by at about 70 MPH. The rest of the group came by at normal speed. It was fun to see all the kids with their bikes and scooters all decked out in red, white and blue. There were even some pioneers in the mix.

Starting with the top row: Our trusting Cub Scouts carrying the flags, Emily holding Abbie's new puppy Piper, Mikey finding a shady spot, Michael after the color guard and Ellie eating her Popsicle. Love these cute kids!!

Frontier Days

Our little family outing on Friday was a fun filled event. We stopped by my brother Jack's house for a hot dog roast and then traveled onto the carnival.

Here is where I my I left (lost) my loving spouse.

He saw this horse pull going on and dumped the Ole Grey Mare for a bunch of testosterone filled giant stallions. (they weren't stallions, but anything else would not have the same meaning!) He stayed here almost all night. He did take a break to buy me a churro and I must say I was unimpressed. Maybe I need a churro from Costco, they are supposed to be the best, or so I've heard.

So, Jack, his wife Kristin and I drug the kids to the carnival. I got the two teenagers and the four little kids went with Jack and Kristin. I stood and watch as Alex and Tal went on the scary rides. Here they are on the Zipper and screaming like little girls. OK, I added that, but I so wish they would have. That would have made my night.

Here is evidence of my churro tasting. The problem was I had built it up to great proportions in my head and was severely disappointed at the first bite. I shared it with all the little kids who were like ravenous wolves. We had just eaten, what was wrong with them. Luckily I came out of it with all ten fingers. Little demons! (Not really, but I love the visual of them as demons.)

Here is another picture of Alex and Tal and I really want to know what the big deal is with these tight girl pants on boys. Alex just became obsessed with these and I broke down and bought him some for his birthday...and told him they were girl pants. Now he is warped for life. More Mom guilt!

Anyway, we did have a really good time, and we stopped back by the horse pull and watched those massive animals pulling 10,350 pounds and I get winded carrying a 10 lb bag of potatoes. Such a WHIMP!

Here is one last picture of Jack and Kristin with their kids. They are missing Jonathan the oldest who was at work. Such a cute bunch.