What do you guys do on a Monday night?

So I ask you, What do you guys do on a Monday night? Family home evening (we do ours on Sunday, when we get it done) after school activities, play outside with the kids, go for a nice family walk? These are all things that I think would be a good way to spend a Monday night. Here and the humble Baxter home. This is what we ended up doing on Monday night. That is right, we play Guitar Hero. It seemed like all fun and games until riding in the car and I think it was Ozzy Osborn, could have been Black Sabbath I am not quite sure but both of my girls were singing along in the back ground. And then on Monday night my little Samuel started to play air guitar and head banging to the music. I am thinking now that we have definitely exposed our children to too much Hair Metal. I am sure that my husband would disagree, but I guess there are worse things, right? (please say right!)

Mikayla Playing Guitar Hero

Morgan Playing Guitar Hero

Samuel Playing Guitar Hero

Owen had already had his turn when I started to find this funny enough to take pictures of it.

Look What I Woke Up To This Morning

As I am sure most of you already know the weather people here in Utah have been saying that it was going to snow this weekend here in Utah. Saturday was cold but dry (we packed Troy for the worst when he went to the BYU game!) I was thinking that the weather people must have been way off!!!! Well much to my surprise when we woke up this morning. SNOW!!! And not just a little either!! I was really surprised how much it snowed. Usually the first snow storm is just like frozen rain that doesn't stick to the ground. The kids were really excited to see the snow this morning and then equally as disappointed when we came out of church today and it was gone. (ahhh fall in Utah) I love when the weather turns cold and all the family traditions start. I love to snuggle in the blankies and watch a movie with my family and make hot chocolate and bake anything and everything I want too. I am super excited for the holidays. This month is a big one for us with Morgan's Birthday and Baptism and then Halloween. So you will be hearing a lot from me towards the end of the month. Until then, enjoy a warm blanket and a cup of hot cocoa for me.

My Realization

So I don't have any pictures that go with this post but, I wanted to, I guess, say my piece. So on Sunday I was (unofficially) released from my calling as a primary teacher at my church. If you had asked me a little over a year ago when they called me to primary, how I would feel at this moment, I would have told you that I would be so happy. When they told me that the bishop wanted to meet with me. I knew what was coming and I have to say, I was really sad. I have learned to love my calling. I love both of the classes that I have taught. Some were a little rowdier then others but they were still good kids. I have enjoyed answering their questions and learning the answers sometimes as we went along. I loved to watch their testimonies grow right before my eyes. I am so grateful to Monica Sanborn for giving me this opportunity. I will miss being able to spend Sunday with these kids. Singing primary songs with these kids and listening to them bear their testimonies through words, song and even just in a look they give you. I will miss all of the wonderful people that serve in the primary and hope that they don't forget about me. Thank you everybody for helping me to strengthen my testimony too.

Look What I Did!!!!!

I have to say that I am pretty proud of myself today. I know you are not supposed to have pride but. . . oh well. On thursday I canned peaches and tomatoes with some of the ladies in my ward. Our relief society thought it would be a good acitivity to teach those that wanted to learn. Over the last two or three months I have heard so much from leaders and friends about food storage and 72 hour kits and being prepared. I have decided to work on that. So when they announced that we could learn to can, I jumped on it!!! My mom canned when I was little and I even helped her a little bit. But, this is the first time I have done this on my own. (by on my own I mean me and the 5 other women that were there) I am so excited, I think that I might even be able to do more. Someday maybe I will even get brave and have a garden. We will see. But for today I am pretty proud. I do have to give thanks to Mellissa Dickson for letting us do this at her house. And for her guidance and patients. She is truely a remarkable woman.

High School Reunion (of sorts)

On Saturday night my family and I went to a high school reunion (of sorts). The friends that I spent every waking moment with every day my junior and senior year in high school and I (and our families) got together for the first time in about 14 years. I have seen a few of them more often then that. Lisa and I (being "bestest" friends) I see pretty regularly. I saw Jeff last when he got on an airplane leaving for his mission. Stephanie, Ryan, Jen, Conrad, Lisa and I got together about 4 months after Jeff left and took some pictures and sent them to him. That is that last time I have seen any of them. To be blatantly honest I have no idea how it is that we all stopped talking, we just stopped. . . I don't know, looking for each other. When I signed up for "facebook" and saw that all my old friends were there it was neat but at the same time made me a little nervous. When Steph decided to have us all over I was nervous that things had changed too much and that we would sit there in awkward silence. In thinking about it though I decided that I really wanted to see my old friends again. To hopefully reconnect. I wanted to see my good friends that were with me through good times and bad. I have to say that it was really nice to see them. It was like we just picked up where we left off. Except there are now 33 of us instead of 10 (5 boys and 5 girls) . We have lost a few friends along the way but we are still for the most part the same. I was glad to see that everyone turned out ok. They all seemed happy and doing really well. It all seems to be ok now. I am kind of having a hard time putting it all into words. I will just sum up by saying that it was really nice to see everyone, and nice to know that even though a lot of time has past a lot of things are still the same.

Here are their pictures from high school (don't kill me guys!)
Lisa (my bestest friend)

Me (had to include my picture to be fair)

Stephanie (our hostess)

Candice (Seriously, look how long her hair was I was always jealous of her bangs)

Melanie (she wasn't there but she was still part of the group)

Conrad (he was a year older then us and therefor not in the group pictures)

Jen (She had/still has the longest hair I have ever seen I was so jealous in high school)

Those are all the single pictures I have

Here are some of us as a group

This is what we look like now.

Not that much different (that's my story and I am sticking to it)

Front Row: Ryan, Conrad, Jeff Back Row: Me, Lisa, Candice, Steph, Jen

(for those who are wondering how it is that I look so tall, Iam wearing really tall shoes and standing on my tippy toes)

Bus Stop Babes

So I am a little surprised that I haven't talked alot about my awesome friends that I met here in our new neighborhood. I will give you a little background (because I want to and because I can it's my blog). We met last September when we all converged on a corner here in the neighborhood to put our children on the school bus. All of them, but me, were first timers with Kindergarteners. This is why there were so many of us. This year they all got smart and just let the kids walk themselves. No, no not me I of course, I am too paranoid. That is a whole other subject. Anyway so we met at the bus stop (hence the name, Thanks Kymber) We are Kymber , Katie , Megan, me, and Renee. These cute ladies have been my saving grace. With Troy out of town so much, I used to close myself in and not talk to anyone. I was very lonely and miserable. Troy was not a fan. These guys have befriended me and made me feel like there was someone that I could go to anytime. We have said that we have been in the past a bunch of misfits that somehow found eachother and just fit. It is so true. They bring out the best in me. They have opened my eyes to new places and things and most importantly new foods. These girls are very special to me and I am so thankful that I am able to call them my friends. I love you guys!!!

The pictures are of our "Girls night out" We went to IKEA and they walked around with me and dreamed of all the furniture that I want to have someday. Planned my kids future rooms and just had a blast.

We then went to the Cheesecake Factory.

My first time there and I was really impressed. I dont really know why we ordered food. We were really only there for the cheesecake. Which, by the way, we were too full to eat and ended up taking it home with us. Although I did try Avacado Eggrolls, Lettuce Wraps, and a Portabello Mushroom Burger for the first time. Believe it or not. I have photographic proof.

High School Tag

High School Tag

I was tagged by Adam Lott. I know I was surprised as well. I am not even sure how this whole tag thing works but oh well here we go

1. Did you date someone from your school? Uh yeah! I had a boyfriend or two all through high school.

2. What kind of car did you drive? Didn't need a car that is what the boyfriend was for. Didn't buy my first car until after I was married. Even then it was in my husbands name. Still carrying on the need for the boyfriend even now.

3. Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? Written test - Yes, Driving test - No.

4. Were you a party animal? Not really, didn't really hang out with the party kind of people. We were the hang out and "watch a movie" kind of people.

5. Were you considered a flirt? That is an understatement. Ask my husband.

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Choir; I am your classic choir geek. But I was considered to be in the "cool" crowd in the choir. (not that it counted anywhere else)

7. Were you a nerd? I don't know. Maybe, What is a nerd anyway. Does it count if you feel like a nerd but don't really act like one?

8. Were you on any varsity teams? Yeah right!!!! I think the choir question should cancel this question out!

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? Umm no! To quote Mary Poppins "Practically perfect in every way!"

10. Can you still sing the fight song? No, but I was one of the few that could while in high school (Choir! I kinda had to know it)

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. Petersen (math) and my English teachers all of them.

12. Where did you sit during lunch? over on the left hand side at a table with all my friends and usually on some boys lap. (never ate though)

13. What is your schools full name? Alta High School

14. School mascot and colors? Hawk; Black, Silver, Red

15. Did you go to Homecoming and who with?Jeff Cloward (Jr. year) Conrad Connelley (Senior year).

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No, I thought that High School was brutal.

17. What do you remember most about graduation? Thinking that we were so cool now and could stay out all night and then falling asleep at like 11:00 at my friends house and waking up really disappointed.

18. Where did you go senior skip day? Never skipped!! Not even seminary (that's right we do exist)

19. Were you in any clubs? No (didn't have enough money or the right connections)

20. Have you gained some weight since then? Umm I have 4 kids what do you think!!! Plus I was a touch on the anorexic side in high school so that is an unfair question!

21. Who was your prom date? Conrad Connelley

22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Did and it was an ENORMOUS waste of time. It was just like the stupid assemblies in high school the coolies sat with the coolies and the choir geeks sat with the choir geeks and nobody talked to anybody else. They only showed pictures of the coolies in the slide show. I can't believe I ever thought that was going to be a good idea!!

23. Did you have a job while in high school? I worked at Big Bee's for a little while in high school but got tired of asking for days off for dances and such. Quit so that I could go to Senior Dinner Dance. That's right I was that smart!

I tag Kaci Odell, My husband to make him actually contribute to our family blog, Melanie Sloan, Lisa McKenzie (she doesn't blog yet but she should), Katie Lott out of morbid curiosity, Kymber Jasperson same reason and to give her something to blog about. Megan Castagnetto curiosity. Cuca Sanborn, Heidi Gray, Kelli Beardall, Laurie Sorensen, Shelley Porath, Aimee Gibby, Mennifer, and Tiffany Smart.
Enjoy everybody!!

Collective Soul!!!!

On Saturday night Troy and I went with Quinn and Kelli, Troy's brother and his wife, to see one of our favorite bands Collective Soul. Yes yes the same Collective Soul that was around in the early ninties. Troy was out of town when they came here to Utah so we drove out to Wendover to see them. They were awesome!!! The venue they played was a smaller one so every seat in the house was a good one. They started out taking away everyones cameras and phones but the band told the security that because this was their last show that any one could take any pictures they wanted. So we did. I am kind of picky when it comes to live performers, I probably expect too much. These guys were really really good. The vocals sounded great and they all played everything perfect. This is not the first time we have seen Collective Soul and I promise it won't be the last!!! I want to thank all the Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and Friends that watched our kids so that we could go and stay the night. I am always a better mother after a little break.

I want to thank Quinn and Kelli for inviting us and mostly to Kelli for keeping me company while the guys went and played for a bit. We had the best time!!!

The next olympic gymnast Morgan Baxter

This week was a big week for posting. I was going to try and just talk about them together but they are all so different I thought it might be a better idea to just do it seperately. I get confused far to easily. Ok so for this little post Morgan wanted me to talk about her starting gymnastics. She was soooo excited and has been begging me to sign her up at the legacy center. It took her friend Faiths mom calling and telling me that Faith was going to start and that they should do it together. She has been doing cartwheels and handstands all over my house and yard for 3 years now I guess it is time. Her favorite thing to do was the uneven bars. Troy was really impressed that she could flip herself around the first try. I guess I will have to put my order in for my box to house her gold medal. ;)

Morgan and Faith on their way to win the gold

Reunion #1

Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing my roommates from college. Bethany was my roommate my first year at Snow College and Jennifer was my roommate my second year at Snow. My sister Kara was best friends with Bethany and Jen in high school. That is how I ended up roommates with Bethany our first year. It was awesome! We had the most fun a freshman at a college in the middle of nowhere Utah can have. We had diso dances because someone decided to cover the 1960's light fixture in tin foil. We sang in LD's together, we sang anywhere we wanted together, but most of all we laughed a lot together. Jen figures into the story of how Troy and I ended up meeting. I Happened to go to Ephraim to sign contracts for another apartment. While we were waiting we Happened to run into Jen when she was walking home. She Happened to have a roommate moving out. And her room roommate Happened to be dating Troy's best friend Edda. He Happened to be going home one weekend with Troy and I Happened to need a ride. The rest is history. I thank Kara (ok not out loud but in my heart) that she was nice enough to let me hang out with these two girls. We haven't really stayed in touch over the years, so it was really a treat to reconnect with them. I guess I have facebook (and Candice Bradfield) to thank for being able to see my old friends again. It was really nice to catch up and see how good everyone looks. It was really strange to sit there with my roommates and have all of our kids running around. Life sure flies by when you aren't looking. Bethany's husband Brett and I met when I was Morgans age (that was a trip!) To all of my friends ( and my sister Kara) and roommates from college; thanks guys for everything you did for me both of those years. Those had some of the best and worst times of my life in them and I am grateful that I had you with me.

This is Me, Kara, Bethany and Jen

This is Me and Bethany December 1995

This is Me and Jen August 1996