The Baxter Family

Grandpa's Funeral

2011-05-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

The Baxter family had a wonderful reunion this past weekend. Close to ninety Baxter relatives (and some Nicolaysen's) converged on our small town, to honor the patriarch of our family, Grandpa Baxter. His funeral was Saturday, May 7th. The night before we had a big family dinner at the church, and it was just like a ward party. We all introduced ourselves and enjoyed getting reacquainted with relatives we haven't seen for a long time. Family came from Alaska, Maryland, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, California, Colorado, and from the other side of Oregon. Nineteen out of twenty-four grandchildren came, with all their families, and several of Greg's cousins came with families. I think Grandpa was smiling from heaven.

Greg planned games for the kids and they sure had fun. In one game he had them pushing marshmallows with their noses on the floor, then before he could stop them, they picked them up and ate them. There were so many cute great grandkids. Grandpa and Grandma have quite the posterity.

Diana is Greg's Uncle Alton's granddaughter. She and several members of her family came from Utah.

Everyone had a good time visiting.

Grant and Aunt Leila.

The great grandkids and some of Grandpa's great great nephews and nieces practiced singing, I Know That My Savior Loves Me. Only in our church can children from different areas know the same song. And they sang it beautifully.

This really brought tears to my eyes. Grandchildren and their spouses, if they had one, practiced singing Each Life That Touches Ours for Good. This was such a good looking group of young adults. Courtney is in the front.

The funeral was a wonderful tribute to Grandpa. Grant gave the life sketch, the great grandchildren sang, Greg spoke, the grandchildren sang, Dean spoke, Bishop Hindman said a few words, and the President Orton, our stake president, ended with a few comments. It was a happy funeral. Most of my tears came when I thought about Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn who were unable to attend. One thing that was reaffirmed to me is that life is all about family and very good friends. The pallbearers were all the grandsons, even the three who couldn't be there. Jake is in the back. He got to give the final push of Grandpa's casket into the hearse.

My awesome parents came for the funeral. Although they haven't been able to spend tons of time with Grandpa and Grandma Baxter, they've always had a lot of fun when they've gotten together. The two couples have had great respect for each other.

I'm grateful to have a loyal, loving, supportive daughter.

After a delicious lunch provided by the Relief Society ladies of Baker 1st and 2nd wards, all of Grandpa's posterity plus a few friends traveled to Joseph, Oregon, to bury Grandpa. He and Grandma are being buried in the Tucker family plot, near Grandma's family. The setting was beautiful--rolling hills and mountains on one side and lush green fields down below. Carl and Pam sent the pretty flowers above.

Two friends--my mom and mother-in-law--visiting and keeping each other warm. Greg, in the background, is visiting with Darlene Tucker Turner (her grandfather, Dave Tucker, is famous in this community). Jary, the lady in beige, works in the circuit court in Enterprise. She told me that they love it when Greg comes to Enterprise to be the judge.

This was striking to see Grandpa's grandsons carrying his casket.

The National Guard were at attention, ready to do the 21-gun salute. The military men were impressive.

Everyone first sang, I Am a Child of God, followed by Mike Christofferson, Maxine's oldest son, who dedicated the grave. The grandchildren, accompanied by Aaron Kerns on the guitar and Joe Baxter on the violin, sang a special request by Grandma, In the Garden. This song made me go into what Oprah calls the ugly cry.

Everyone but one baby loved the 21-gun salute. I am thankful for the men and women who serve and have served in the military. Grandpa served in the Navy in San Diego during WWII.

Taps

Our wonderful family! We missed you Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn. Everyone agreed that this was a beautiful day, not only the funeral services, but the weather too.

Joe, who is in the Coast Guard, presented the flag to Grandma. It was very special.

Our beautiful daughter

2011-05-08T16:29:00.001-07:00

Courtney turned nineteen last week. It's so weird to think of her being that old, but she is. She is a wonderful daughter to have. She has a rock solid testimony of the gospel, she is super fun to be around, and she is dedicated and disciplined in whatever thing she is working on (right now that is her college studies). We are thankful for our beautiful girl!

My father-in-law

2011-05-04T14:29:00.001-07:00

My father-in-law, Norman Baxter, passed away on April 27th. Greg and I were there when he died, which was a good experience for us. Grandpa had suffered with Alzheimer's for years, and the first thing I thought after he died was, "He doesn't have Alzheimer's any more and never will. He can remember things, he can speak, and he can walk." Grandpa had many wonderful qualities such as being humble, mild-mannered, and without guile. I never heard him say a bad thing about anyone. He was well-loved by the students he taught and extremely loved by his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He had a gift for loving and taking care of babies. This picture of him holding two-month-old Courtney is typical of the soft touch he had with our five babies. They would snuggle up to him as he patted their bottoms, and they were as comfy as could be. We will miss you, Grandpa!

Jacob pulled this picture out of his scrapbook, to show us what Grandpa looked like when he was healthy. I fell in love with it. Grandpa is so happy holding his little namesake, Jacob Norman. Jake has always been proud to have the middle name of Norman. In his early years in school he wrote "Jacob Norman Baxter" on every single paper. Now Jake is 16, and he was fortunate to see his wonderful Grandpa a couple of hours before he passed away and have the opportunity to kiss him and say good-bye. He will cherish those memories.

My husband, Greg, has many of his dad's great qualities. They are both excellent teachers. Every morning when we teach early-morning seminary together, I am continually amazed at Greg's gift for teaching. He laughs and jokes with the kids, but when it comes to teaching the doctrines of the gospel, he does it with great clarity. His dad was a masterful teacher of the gospel too. One thing Greg says about his dad is that he always knew his dad loved him. Greg is also a wonderful father to our children.

Time has flown!

2011-02-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

Our family is still alive. It's been a long time since we've posted. Here is a brief update on what our family has been up to since May.

In June we had our 1st Baxter Family Reunion in Florida. We hadn't all been together at the same time since Sam went on his mission in 2006. We had a wonderful time at Disney World, Daytona Beach, and Jacksonville.

In July Greg and Jake went to the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. They went with the troops from the Blue Mountain Council. They got to see Uncle Carl and his son, cousin Stan. They also toured in Washington, D.C. Jake earned some merit badges and earned the really cool George Albert Smith scouting award. Although they practically melted in the humidity, the guys had a wonderful time.

In August Zack flew down to Dallas, Texas, where Sam had been working all summer. He and Sam spent a few days doing fun things. They went to the Oregon State/TCU game (OSU lost). They drove up to Rexburg together.

September: We took Courtney to BYU-Idaho for her first semester of college. She lived in one of the dorms. We LOVE this campus. Greg and I went there thirty years ago and love to visit every chance we get. We have so many good memories there. We got Courtney settled in and spent time with the boys.

Greg and I spent a couple of days in Utah before heading to Martin's Cove, Wyoming, for a handcart trek training. This was one of the most spiritual experiences of our lives. The training by the missionary couples was exceptional, and the Spirit was so strong. We loved hearing the stories of the pioneers and how they kept their hearts focused on Zion. The last day we were there it was really windy and we could imagine just a little bit how cold, hungry, and desperate the people were. Our testimonies were definitely strengthened.

October: Jake ran cross country again and had a good season. Jake and Greg celebrated their birthdays. Jake is now 16! I went to Florida to visit Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn. They always make my trips fun. Brooklyn was cute, especially when I watched her while her parents were in the temple. She loves to sing Leo the Lion, Jumbo Elephant, and the Bumblebee Song with me.

November: I went to Salem with my niece, Stacey, and her four kids. Jake ran at the State Cross Country meet again in Eugene. He has a fun group of kids to run with. He also got his driver's license on the snowiest day of the year.

Sam, Zack, and Courtney came home for Thanksgiving. They brought a friend, Holly, with them. It was a good week until at least three people got the flu and colds during the week.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving it was discovered that a pipe had broken in the courthouse. The extremely cold weather had caused the pipe to burst directly over Greg's desk. His office was destroyed by the gushing water. All of his furniture had to be thrown out. The court has been moved to a former elementary school. It was a blessing that no one was hurt. The courthouse was a mess!

December: Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn flew home for Christmas! Coming from warm Florida to freezing Oregon was quite a shock to their systems.

We made goodies, played games late into the night, and one of us got her wisdom teeth pulled. It was fun being together with the entire family.

Brooklyn sporting her new purse!

January: It was busy with swim meets and going to the gym to work off our Christmas pounds. Courtney is off-track right now from BYU-Idaho and has been raking in the money working several good jobs.

February: It snowed again after several weeks of no snow. We were looking forward to spring.

Busy May

2010-06-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

This May has been so busy. Courtney turned 18 and that same night, she was the MC at National Honor Society inductions. She was awarded her second letter. The next day we had Senior Recognition Night at the church where Courtney received a beautiful quilt from the Relief Society. Sister Maness put a lot of time and love into her quilt.

Courtney and Jacob participated in the State Choir Competition in Newberg were their choir Bel Canto placed sixth. They did a great job and Courtney even had a fun solo in one of their songs! We went down to watch them and went to Uncle Duane's beach house afterward. At the Senior Concert at the end of the month, Courtney was given the National School Choral Award. Zack gave his homecoming talk in church on Mother's Day. Lot's of family came and we had a great time together.

Katy Hindman, Courtney, James Smithson, Sis. Baxter, Weston Anderson, Taralynn Taylor, Dekker Smith, Chelsea Bliss, and Shannon Brady

Courtney graduated from Seminary on May 23rd. Greg and I both taught early morning Seminary and I had the privilege of teaching Courtney's class. Courtney had the opportunity of teaching a STEP Aerobics class at the YMCA gym twice a week during her Senior year of high school. It was a great mother/daughter activity. She worked us hard!

We celebrated my birthday early because Greg and Jacob were out of town. Greg made my cake and dinner. It was great!

I blew out all of my candles in one breath!

Courtney graduated from Baker High School on May 30, 2010. It was a nice ceremony and it didn't rain! Stacey's family came down and we had lots of friends over dinner. We are proud of Courtney and she is very excited to go to BYU-Idaho with her brothers in the Fall! Class of 2010 Greg, Courtney, Karen, Jacob

Zack's Homecoming

2010-06-03T13:42:00.001-07:00

We were excited for Zack to come home from Russia and Kazakhstan from his mission on Thursday, April 29. We weren't too surprised to find out he had missed a flight. They had scheduled some of his flights too close together.

On Friday, as we were waiting with Carl and Pam's family and Stacey and her two little boys, Zack surprised us by being delayed in Salt Lake because of lavatory problems on the plane. About 14 hours later than he was supposed to, Elder Baxter walked out of the airport gate!

Zack brought fun souvenirs home, like this Kazakh outfit.

Welcome home, Elder Baxter!

All together

2010-03-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

We are going to Disney World in two months! Our first family reunion!

Old Times

2010-03-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

We found some old pictures around the house and couldn't believe how long ago these were.

I had broken my collarbone on the playground the day we were celebrating my birthday at school. I ended up on my Mom's lap instead of enjoying the popsicles we brought. I was wearing my new outfit that I am wearing in the picture below. This picture was at my seventh birthday party a few days later.

This was when Dad was running for District Attorney in January 1992. Mom was pregnant with me.

Greg, Dad, Zack, Mom, and Sam

This picture goes way back. This was Mom and Dad's wedding announcement, taken in Nov. 1983.

Fun in Florida

2010-02-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

Mom and I went to Florida to see Greg and Kacey. It had been too long since Brooklyn had seen her Grandma and favorite aunt Courtney. We spent a week shopping, reading, and going to the zoo. We had a layover in the Minneapolis, Minnesota airport and got to see Snoopy from Charlie Brown.Our future left handed Brooklyn eating a delicious breakfast.

Grandma reading to Brooklyn.

We went to the Jacksonville Zoo when Greg was at school. Brooklyn and I got to feed the giraffes together. Brooklyn was cute and kept on laughing.

Brooklyn, Kacey, and Grandma Baxter

Kacey and I got the carousel all to ourselves. I chose to ride on the alligator.

I fell asleep in the car on the way home from the zoo and Brooklyn just patted my head.

Grandma and Brooklyn read a lot of Dr. Seuss's books. Her favorite is ABC's which Greg and Kacey both have memorized.

Brooklyn loved to push her baby around the balcony. She would often shrug her shoulders and say, "I don't know," when you ask her a question.

Brooklyn is a little jabber and loved to talk on the phone.

Greg was a good dad and loved reading to Brooklyn. We celebrated Greg's birthday a month early and he got a grill so he could have BBQ's. Kacey found a chocolate face mask and we all decided it was time to clean our pores. Greg decided to put it on his neck.

Courtney, Karen, Greg, Kacey

On Saturday we decided to go to the beach and walked on the pier. Brooklyn loves to walk and ran with me up and down the pier and at stores. Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn

Brooklyn was such a cute little girl and we loved to visit. We can't wait to go back with our whole family. Everyone will love her.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-01-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad have been married for 26 years. They were married on January 20, 1984 in the Seattle Washington Temple. Happy Anniversary!

My Jacksonville Trip (pictures below) and Moscow pics

2009-11-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

We are having a problem with our blog. It's not allowing us to put the post with the pictures. If anyone has any ideas to help us, please respond. I am not great with this kind of stuff. We're just lucky to even have a blog! My trip to Florida early in November was wonderful. It was warm there and I got to be with Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn, which was a blast. It was cool to see my son be an adoring daddy to his little girl. Kacey is a great mommy and I can tell Brooklyn is loved and well cared for. My flight was great. A friend from Baker, who is in our ward, Sharon, was also flying to Jacksonville. She was helping a friend, who I also know, Kara, travel to Jacksonville with her two small children, so they could be with Kara's husband, Wesley. Wesley served in Baker on his mission a few years ago. We had such a good time traveling together. It made the traveling so much more fun than if I went alone. Their two-year old, Ryan, was such a cute little boy. Greg, Kacey, and Brooklyn picked me up at the airport and they had a welcome sign which was written in Portuguese. The next morning it was present time. I had to take gifts! Brooklyn loved her Winnie-the-Pooh dvd. I couldn't resist taking her a Christmas dress to her, and she looked beautiful in it. I'm not sure she'll have need of the tights I took, what with the Florida temperatures being in the high seventies. The weather was like Baker is in the summer. I had so much fun with Kacey. She is like a best girlfriend that is easy to talk to and hang out with. One day we walked to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and when we came out the sky was very dark. We ended up walking home in a downpour, but in Florida it's warm rain. We girls also went to the zoo, which was a gorgeous zoo with every animal you could think of. Not many people were there that day, so we did everything--the train ride, the carousel, and feeding the giraffes. There must have been 7 giraffes. One late afternoon we went to the Jacksonville Pier. We packed our dinner and had a picnic on the pier and watched the fisherman. We thought one man's pole was going to break because it was bent so much. A huge crowd gathered around as he brought up a huge fish. The ocean was so blue and the sunset was pinkish-orange. When we got there the sea was dotted with dozens of surfers in wet suits catching the big waves. They were fun to watch, and they're much braver than I. On Saturday we drove to Orlando so Greg and Kacey could attend the temple. I had the privilege of taking care of Brooklyn. She and I met lots of nice people as we walked around this gorgeous temple. Any time we saw children Brooklyn gravitated to them. A young father and his children were waiting for their wife/mommy and his two youngest kids adored Brooklyn. I love being a grandma. I would love to have Greg and Kacey live closer, but I would never want to deny them the opportunities that they are having in Florida. They have a supportive, fun ward; they have good law school friends, and they have a nice life going for them. Moscow pictures: Zack sent us these cool pictures of Red Square in Moscow. He's doing very well on his mission and travels a lot.

Karen's Florida Trip

2009-11-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Pictures from Moscow

2009-11-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

State Cross Country 2009

2009-11-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

Jake left early Friday morning for Eugene where the state cross country meet was held on Saturday, the 7th.

Seven runners are on a varsity cross country team. Baker sent both a boys and girls team to state plus one alternate boy.

When we got to Eugene, Courtney spied Jake and his teammates at the edge of the track where they were watching the end of the 1A/2A/3A race.

Jake and some teammates with his cute sister Courtney encouraging him from behind.

Jake was a bit nervous just before the big race. Behind Jake is part of the course.

I loved these shots of Jake and Karen together. Courtney is in the white and purple jacket to Jake's right above.

Warming up for the 3.2 mile race.

Trevor was Baker's fastest runner all year and he continued his strong performance at state.

Jake was one of only about 10 freshmen that ran at state. There were about 130 runners in his race.

Skyler had a great run and set a personal best.

I was very proud of Jake. He truly gave his all in the race.

Skyler sprinting at the end while sporting his scruffy look.

Jake died when he hit the track. He had given his all and didn't have much left. He is in the back of the track.

Jake was dying at the end. But he finished in exactly 20 minutes. Way to go Jake!!

Jake with his senior friend Eric.

Jake killed his ankle three times in the race. He was so tired. I had a great picture with mom, Jake and Courtney but my fingers accidentally deleted it.

Jake sporting his new tee shirt from state!!

State Bound!!

2009-10-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

In May 2006 and May 2007, Zack was a member of the state championship Bel Canto choir. In May 2008, Courtney was a member of Bel Canto as it won its third straight state championship. This fall Jake was one of three freshmen boys selected to be a member of Bel Canto. This week was the fall concert for Bel Canto. Courtney was sick, so she could not sing, but Jake dressed in his new tux clothes and stood on the top row, far left corner -- exactly where Zack stood throughout his last couple of years in the choir. He looked and sounded great!

We had a great time carving pumpkins. Jake was excited to light them all.

Ghoulish glow.

Today was the Greater Oregon district cross country championship. It was held in Ontario. The course was fast and the weather great -- about 50 degrees. Jake is shown above in his Under Armour as the teams readied for the start of the race.

La Grande, in blue, had a stacked team with six seniors on the varsity team of seven. They didn't disappoint as they won the boys' district crown. The Baker girls won the girls' title.

Jake went out hard from the beginning . He and Mitch pushed each other and finished 4th and 5th for Baker's second place team. This place earned them a right to participate in the state championship next week in Eugene.

Jake didn't feel well before the race and threw up afterward. But he gave his all during the race. Here he is enjoying a smile with his good friend Ivan after the race.

The course was VERY fast. Jake was anxious to check the board to learn just how fast he and his teammates had run the race.

Jake crushed his personal record by two minutes as he ran 3.1 miles in 18 minutes and 25 seconds. His teammate, Trevor, won the district race with a time of 16 minutes and 29 seconds. Trevor was over 30 seconds faster than the next runner. Small wonder Jake didn't feel too well. He shaved almost 40 seconds off of each mile he ran. Way to go Jake!!!

Jake's 15th birthday and 5th place medal

2009-10-22T19:25:00.001-07:00

Jake turned 15 on Tuesday and life is going GREAT for him!! This afternoon he helped Baker obtain a perfect score in cross country by passing an Ontario runner in the last 600 yards of the Baker Invitational for 5th place. He received this 5th place medal. He ran another personal best by running 3.2 miles in 20 minutes 23 seconds at the Baker golf course.

The team wanted "Baxter" to hold the 1st place trophy and all five medals.

We always hide birthday presents in the living room. Jake is showing off his new strength and jumping skills as he finds a present hidden on top of the closet. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday because Karen and I had to be out of town during his birthday.

Opening one of his presents. Friend Pattie came over to celebrate with us. Jake hopes to be driving soon!!!

Karen made Mississippi Mud Pie so she and Courtney placed the candles in a zucchini.

Mississippi Mud Pie and Jake are all smiles!!

Jake is warming up by lengthening his stride just before the race began.

Jake ran most of the race with his sophomore teammate, Mitch. They really helped each other hold off some Burns and Elgin runners. Finally, Mitch told Jake to go after the Ontario runner. Jake had to overtake the Ontario runner three times before he finally passed him for good.

Jake sprinting to the finish!

The medal winners: Jake, 5th place; Jake P., 4th; Joe A., 3rd; Eric R., 2nd; and Trevor F. 1st place in 18 minutes and 23 seconds.

The 2009-2010 Baker Cross Country team.

Cross Country Update

2009-10-16T21:25:00.001-07:00

Courtney took this picture from on top of a hill at the golf course in Milton-Freewater. It was a beautiful setting but made for a hard race today. This is the start of the race where the boys are bunched together. Jake has come to realize that he is a good runner and has begun to push himself more in practice and we looked to this meet as the one that would help Jake know where he is as a cross country runner. He didn't disappoint.

There are 7 runners on a varsity cross country team. Jake ran varsity today. His goal was to run with some of the faster, older boys. As they started out, the oldest five Baker runners were bunched together. Jake was a few seconds behind them -- much closer than he has been in other races. About halfway through the race, they had to run up a steep hill. By the time he got there, he had passed one of the older Baker runners so he was in 5th place. Jake is the boy in the middle of the two white-shirted runners.

Staying close to Joe, a senior.

Starting downhill.

Shortly after this picture, Jake passed Joe to take 4th place among the Baker varsity runners. This was while they were on top of the hill.

Jake was awesome in this race. Though he thought he was going to die a couple of times, he gutted it out and had a personal best in a tough, tough course. He placed 4th among the Baker varsity runners and 15th overall. There were about 50 runners in the race. Not bad for a freshman!

Jake's hard work paid off and it was recognized by his teammates and coach. Last week and this week he was elected the most inspirational runner in practice by his teammates. Trust me, he is really working hard. And, as a result, he was named the male runner of the race for his team today. Way to go, Jake!! Oh, he was so sweaty and had little bugs stuck all over his neck.

On the 10th of October, Saturday morning, it was so cold in La Grande as the boys ran. They ran only 1.8 miles. Jake showed then that he was making great strides as he placed 4th amongst the Baker runners while 3 or 4 of the top runners were gone.

Jake was staying warm in his Under Armour.

Jake had a great race.

Celebrating Cameron's 18th birthday with many friends.

Just two days before the La Grande race, Jake ran in Ontario at the future site of the district meet to be held on October 31st.

Jake liked this race. He thought is was a pretty fast course. He placed in the top 7 for Baker.

Gutting out a great race. Neither Karen or I got to see Jake run in this race.

This is an additional picture from Jake's first race in the mountains outside of Elgin. These pictures from La Grande, Ontario, and Elgin were given to us by one of the moms whose son runs on the team. We are grateful for her generousity.

Homecoming Game and Dance

2009-10-16T19:58:00.001-07:00

It was freezing the night of Baker's homecoming game against a high school from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada (and by the way, we creamed them!). Princess Courtney wore her dress, Under Armour underneath her dress, wool coat, gloves, and a blanket, and managed to still be beautiful and smiley.

Right before halftime the homecoming princesses got into several convertibles (Courtney's was a 1957 Plymouth--at least we think that's what it was) and rode around the football field.

Courtney and her friend, Mallory Bailey, rode together in Lee Swiger's car. Right before they pulled up in front of the spectators in the stands, the girls yanked off their warm coats. The announcer read a prepared statement about each girl. We are so proud of Courtney and what she stands for.

Although it was literally freezing outside, the girls braved the cold while their dads escorted them down the middle of the football field. When Courtney's name was announced, she got a huge cheer from the crowd. Let's hear it for all our friends and supporters. It was a magical night. I (Karen) still have people talk to me about Courtney and her beautiful dress. The Lord blessed us to find a dress that could be made modest, and not only was her dress the only modest one, it was also stunning in color and style.

Here are most of the homecoming princesses and their dads. Before halftime I noticed that a dad had a large bouquet of flowers. I thought the school had given them to him to present to his daughter, so I figured they'd give Greg some too. I was wrong. Tori Wirth's dad talked with Greg just before the half. He had received a phone call right before the game and was told to get his daughter some flowers. So he drove to the store and got a dozen roses. He realized that Greg hadn't received the call so he immediately handed over 6 of his dozen roses. He even cut the ribbon around the bouquet in half. Greg was so grateful, but then he noticed that a single mom of one of the girls didn't have flowers and was feeling bad about it. Greg gave her two of his flowers. She saw another father without flowers, so she gave him one of hers. Tori's dad noticed that another father didn't have any flowers so he gave him two of his remaining six flowers. Out of a dozen roses, Tori's dad ended up with four, but more important than that, there were several grateful fathers, a grateful mother and some happy daughters. I am so grateful for good people on this earth, people who give from their hearts.

I love this picture. I couldn't be prouder of these two. Courtney represented our family, our church, the community, and the Savior well. She kept her standards high and was rewarded with an exceptional experience. Dad was proud too!

Courtney and Jake are very close. They decided to go to homecoming together with a big group of their friends. Didn't they look great!

This is a good group of kids. They had so much fun together.

Belles of the ball.

They started the evening with dinner at the Hindman's house. We moms helped prepare the meal, but Chrisanne went all out with the table decorations and ambience. After dinner the kids went to the dance for a while, then half of them came to our house to change clothes and watch a movie. At midnight they all went home so they could get up for church the next morning. This was a busy week for the kids, but it leaves behind a great memory.

Homecoming Court and Pep Night

2009-10-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

Courtney was a beautiful homecoming princess. Her dress was modest and stunning. I am still in disbelief that our little girl is a senior. We were very proud of her.

Courtney with her good friends, Annika, Tori, and Melissa. Melissa was chosen as the homecoming queen. She wore her grandmother's dress from 1957. Such pretty girls.

The Homecoming Court

Weston Anderson escorted Courtney. He is in my (Karen's) seminary class and is a great young man.

Pep Night is crazy loud and there is so much spirit in that gym. Jacob is somewhere in the sea of red-clad freshmen. The poor freshmen won nothing in the spirit competition, but they had fun anyway.

The senior class' theme was "Top Gun" and it was clever, especially the way they did the spell-out. I couldn't begin to describe it with justice, but the letters for "SENIORS" flew down a zip line and a senior boy was on a ladder waving glow sticks. It was like the guy on the ship in the movie "Top Gun" when he waves batons so the pilots know where to go. A few more notes about the Bug Collection and Virtue Flats pictures below. Bug Collection: this was the fifth and final bug collection that our family has had to do for Biology. We have collected bugs since May, put them in Ziplocs, and into a shoe box that we kept in the freezer. I am no longer stinking scared of insects. Jake had some huge bugs. We got some in Florida when we were there, and some friends who went to Southern Utah brought one from there that we don't have here in Oregon. Virtue Flats: This area is a few miles east of Baker. I told Jake as I was driving him out there, that it was cool he was able to run so close to the actual Oregon Trail. It's definitely not the pretty mountainous side of Baker, but it has history.

Bug Collection

2009-10-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

Jake had to do a bug collection for his Biology class. He had some really cool dragonflies.

Virtue Flats

2009-10-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Jacob ran at Virtue Flats last week and did great. It was a dual meet with La Grande and he ran it in 23 minutes. Courtney helped and timed all the runners with her friend Tori Wirth.

Good job, Jacob!

Family history in Wallowa County

2009-09-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today I took Grandpa & Grandma Baxter to Enterprise with me. They spent the day with me in court. We had a great time together. Here they are with Tracy who is from London. She has an awesome accent. Grandma's beloved grandmother, "Gram" and her husband, Sam Bannister, are buried in the Enterprise cemetary. Their graves are on the northeast side of the cemetary towards the top of the hill.

Buried next to them is Grandmother Tucker's sister, Ethel Wade, and her son, Max Bauer.

Wallowa County is truly beautiful.

This is the Praire Creek cemetary just a couple miles east of Joseph. Here is the Tucker plot for Granddad's family. Grandma Baxter told me today that the cement surrounding the plot was poured by her grandfather, George, and her great-grandfather, Landon. She is pretty impressed with the quality of cement they poured. The large tree was planted by her grandmother Estella who died in the fire. Buried behind the large metal grave marker is Landon's wife. He is buried somewhere around Medford. Grandma and Grandpa Baxter want to be buried between the large metal marker and the gravestone for Granddad and Grandmother directly in front of where this picture was taken.

Two uncles of Granddad Tucker, Maxine, his parents, and the nephew who died in the fire with his mother are also buried in this plot.

Grandma's twin sister, Maxine, is buried to her right. Maxine died at age 4 1/2 years after a tonsillectomy. Though she had a bad heart, that isn't what killed her. The doctor nicked a vein in her neck during the surgery and sometime after waking from the operation, she bled to death. After she died, the doctor turned to Grandma's folks and said, "Every doctor makes mistakes. This is one of them." Each Memorial Day, Grandmother Tucker would take pink rose buds to put at Maxine's grave.