We ELFed ourselves

Baxter Family Elf Dance

Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

Brianna

One of Brianna's young women's leaders took this beautiful picture of her at the temple recently. I thought I would share.

Thanksgiving 2011

It was a mellow and relaxing Thanksgiving..., at least after 10am it was. 



Karen beat the turkey!



I began the day with the Mesa Turkey Trot. I started running this in 2007 and have done it every year since. Karen and I went up together and had a fun morning. At the start we discussed the fact that neither of us felt super motivated to be fast, plus we were both fast last year so we weren't sure if we could get faster.  The horn finally sounded and Karen said goodbye! About 46 minutes later she crossed the finish line with a new personal record! Yay for Karen, she even "beat the Turkey" for bragging rights.  I started out and felt a little sluggish, with 'heavy' legs so I thought I would just settle in to a decent pace and take whatever time I got. However, when I looked at my watch at the mile mark I realized I was actually running at a decent clip. I was warmed up now and felt good so I sped up a bit. The next few miles flew by.  By mile 5 I realized I was going to beat last years time so I thought I might as well try to really beat it and I pushed hard for the last few minutes. I came in at 56:07, which was about a 9:04 pace. I'm pretty happy with that! Karen and I enjoyed chatting with a few friends we saw after the race and eating the delicious oranges but we pretty quickly headed home.

Scott and Logan went to play in the "Turkey Bowl" over at the elementary school field. They said there were a ton of people and they both had fun starting their day out with some football! They divide into age groups and play touch football, but it sounds like it gets pretty rough out there sometimes!

Candy Corn Turkeys

I came home and started cooking! I made the stuffing Wednesday but everything else still needed to be done. Scott deep fried the turkey so I didn't have to worry about that.  The kids pitched in peeling potatoes and mixing casseroles and pretty soon we had quite a feast.  My parents came (with more food) and crafted these cute little turkeys with the kids.  We had all the traditional items and were all stuffed. Lyndsee just ate rolls, but she ate enough to be stuffed too. Brianna made a chocolate pudding pie this year and it was delicious, especially next to a slice of pumpkin pie.  

We watched a movie, the parades, the dog show, football and played some games. Like I said...mellow. But I enjoyed it.  I'm still trying to decide if I hit the 'Black Friday' sales tomorrow.  It sounds like so much work, and wouldn't sleeping in be nice?

I hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous. I'm thankful to be blessed with a wonderful family and friends and hope we can all enjoy each other's company and avoid the 'rush' this holiday season. 

Boo!

Happy Halloween! Brianna and I made cake pops and she brought them to her friends at school! I'm glad she's not too old to want to bring a Halloween treat to school.

We didn't see much of Brianna this Halloween because she went to a friends house all evening. They made these cute "Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3" Costumes and went Trick or Treating. (Yes, Trick or Treating in High School, why not?) I think they had a good time. I hope to see some pictures of the three of them soon.

She's trying to show you Bella's face.  It's in there, I promise. She is a furry little thing but sure is a sweety!

Logan is.....well, he's blue.  When people asked him what he was he said "what do you think I am?" Whatever they replied he said, "yep, you got it." He had fun hitting every house in the entire neighborhood with his friends and coming home with a heavy load of candy.

Lyndsee was a Zombie Cheerleader. (Sorry Brenda, your old cheer uniform is a little beat up now...) The first house we trick or treated at she scared a little two year old boy who went running to his daddy and sobbing in to his shoulder.  It made Lyndsee feel really bad, but a little proud too of her creepy costume.

She came up with this herself and was very excited about it. She really wanted to be something creepy and unique.  Brianna did her makeup and really did a great job. It surprised me everytime I looked at her.

A close up of the makeup and costume. Thanks Doug & Kay for holding on to Brenda's Cheer uniform for 20 years so we could do this to it...sorry! :)

 

Brothers will be brothers. This is Lyndsee trying to drag Logan away from her candy stash.  They had fun sorting and trading together. Brianna came home later with several full size candy bars. Now Lyndsee wants to go trick or treating at Brianna's friends neighborhood next year.

The dogs came trick or treating with us for awhile but Jack got a little squirly with all the people and crowds and Bella got tired. Later they piled on Scott, as always. It's a little weird how much they love him.

40 is Fabulous!

I loved turning 40! My friends spoiled me!

Lisa and I threw ourselves an 80s themed birthday party. (She's WAY older than me, turning 40 a few weeks earlier than me.)

It was totally rad!

 The Begleys looked great, even though they were just BABIES in the 80's!

 Lisa and Brad really lived through the 80's together, Scott and I didn't meet until 1990.

 Our dessert table showed alot of the music and movies of our decade.

Our friends pegged their jeans, wore double polo's and even played some Michael Jackson Just Dance and Rock Band. 



Let's hope the next decade will be as much fun!

Lyndsee's Camping Birthday

The group: Baxters, Browns, Codlings, Evans and Manwarings
Another great trip!

We camped at Woods Canyon Lake, Aspen Campground over Labor Day weekend. The food was great, the weather was cool, the company was fantastic!

Lyndsee's birthday was on Sunday so she spent her day being spoiled, including spending some time in her very highly desired "Birthday Camping Chair."

Lyndsee's "Birthday Camping Chair" had all the accessories needed for a comfortable camping trip: A cooler, cup holder, foot rest, umbrella and even a bottle opener!



Beautiful view on the Mogollon Rim



Brianna and Emily





Jack was very popular with the kids and got lots of love and more walks than he probably wanted.




I don't know the story with this picture, looks like someone was torturing a polly pocket!  Just a guess, but I think his name begins with J...




Love the camping hair!



Lyndsee LOVES the nightly washcloth baths with warm water.

Princess Bella, also VERY loved by all the kids there. She occassionally escaped into our tent for a nap. She did great on her first camping trip.

Lots of games were played, and I think Dean won more than his fair share this time!

We really had a great time. Next time we may look in to the Crook Group site, the bathrooms were WAY better and it had a nice shaded group ramada in the center. Can't wait to get out in to the great outdoors again!

MHS Cheer

For the last year of Brianna's life she has worked super hard at her tumbling, jumps, flexibility and more so she could try out and make the high school cheer team this year, and her work paid off!

I can't wait for her first game tomorrow. It will be fun to see the girl who used to be so shy come out of her shell to cheer for her school.

Go MHS! We are proud of her and especially of all her hard work and dedication to the sport.

Brianna and Jade right before their tryout



Three Schools

The year has finally come that I have my kids at three separate schools. It will be like this next year too. 

Brianna entered Mesquite High School as a Freshman. She already seems so confident. Last night we had back to school night and I tagged along cluelessly.  Her teachers seem fine and she has some interesting classes. He schedule includes: Honors English, French, Honors Lab Biology, Yearbook, Seminary, and Honors Geomotry. She is planning on trying out for Cheerleader next week! I'm excited for her. If she doesn't make it she wants to join either the dive or swim team. I'm glad she wants to be involved. Most of my best high school memories come from being part of dance team.  I was sad my senior year not to be a part of any clubs, teams or organizations, it's such a huge part of high school life!

I only had a second to snap her picture before her ride came, but isn't she gorgeous? Looking at her makes me feel old.

Logan headed out the door right after Brianna. He was completely confident to start 7th grade. If he was nervous he didn't show it.  His schedule includes: Language, Social Studies, Honors Science, Honors Math, Yearbook and PE.  He is planning on going out for the football team at the school and then later in the year doing cross country, basketball and/or track. He seemed to know someone in most of his classes so I think he will be just fine.  

I wish I had gotten a closer picture of his face. He looks so grown up with his braces and "fro-hawk" hair. 

I thought maybe my baby would have some nerves for the first day of school, but they seemed to have passed on Monday, once she attended Back to School night. She has Miss Fulghum this year for 3rd grade. Brianna and Logan both had her and she really is a FABULOUS teacher. I'm excited for Lyndsee to learn and grow this year.

Lyndsee's going to have to make some new friends this year, because most of her "besties" are in another class, but you can see here that it looks like a fun group of girls in this class! Purple was the color this year!

Baked Ratatouille

I have been LOVING veggies lately and came across this recipe for Baked Ratatouille. It was so good, definitely worth all the chopping!

The picture is from the website I found the recipe on. Mine was pretty, but not THAT pretty. 

http://vmacandcheese.com/2011/08/04/baked-ratatouille/


Delish!

Logan - What would I do without him?

This is a photo of Logan installing a ceiling fan in Brianna's room yesterday.  I can't tell you how often this boy helps me out.  Countless times throughout the day I pepper him with requests - yesterday some of them were:

• "can you bring me the ladder from the garage?" - a minute later he is there with it, asking "where do you need it?"
• "will you bring out the recycles?" - off he goes
• "can you move the clothes from the washer to the dryer?" - done!
• "we are going out, can you make sure you and Lyndsee get dinner?" - they had pizza, grapes and milk...
• "dad needs help hanging a ceiling fan for Brianna..." this time I didn't even have to ask, he just went to help.

A few minutes later I went to check on them and discover that Logan is hanging the ceiling fan, and Scott is helping.  He did a great job and Scott commented on how "handy" he is around the house. It's true. We can count on him for so many things. He mows and edges the lawn every week. He can cook as good or better than most adults - specializing in chocolate chip cookies, waffles and crepes.  He gets his schoolwork done without prodding (yes sometimes it is at the last minute, but he remembers and does it on his own.) On school days he gets up and makes his lunch and sometimes his sisters too.  He makes sure he is at his practices, scouts, church assignments, bus stops, etc. at the right time - if he is late it is almost always my or his sister's fault!

Every now and then I have to reward him...here he is with a 32ounce Bahama Buck's Birthday Cake flavored Shave Ice.  He deserved the whole thing...but was nice enough to share with Brianna and I. Watch for an upcoming Bahama Bucks blog coming soon.

We are glad to have him in the family, what will I do in a few short years when he goes off and leaves me? Poor Scott, he will have to go back to being my only errand boy.

Banana Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting

This is a recipe my mom gave me that she has had for ages. It is really delicious and great served straight from the fridge.

Mix together:
one and a half cups of mashed bannanas
two teaspoons lemon juice

In a separate bowl mix together
three cups flour
one and a half teaspoons baking soda
quarter teaspoon salt

In a third large bowl cream:
three quarter cup soft butter
two and a eighth cup sugar

Then add:
three eggs
two teaspoons vanilla

Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk
one and a half cup butter milk
stir in bananas

Heat oven 275 (yes, that says 275)
bake in a 10 X 14 pan for 60min (use the toothpick test to see if its done)

Frost with a half pint whipping cream (whipped) sweetened to your liking with powdered sugar and flavored with cocoa powder (start with a Tablespoon and add more if you want)

Store covered in the refrigerator.

The big 4 0!

Today Scott turned 40 years old. I tease him about being soooo old, but I'm less than two months away from also celebrating that milestone birthday. We've been married for almost 18 of those years and I've known him for about 21 years now.

I think he looks great for 40.  The picture above is from when he was 30 with Brianna and Logan. Hasn't he aged well?  It really does just seem like yesterday that we were having little babies and dealing with toddlers and potty training and fits. Now our family drama is a little different, but always interesting.  I'm also adding a picture from just a few months ago of him snowboarding with the kids. Snowboarding at 40?  Amazing! And still doing crazy things on a mountain bike - getting faster and faster too.  Hiking the Grand Canyon and carrying lots of extra gear on his back so me and the kids can have lighter packs, AWESOME!

Happy Birthday babe! We've made so many memories and I know there are so many more to come. You are amazing and I love you!

A few more memories...(so many to choose from)

2003

2004

2006

2007

2008

2005

2002

2003