Baxter Balderdash Bash

Pictures of our 4 hour game of Balderdash on Christmas day. I guess I was the best liar, 'cuz I won by 3 points. Andrew said when he moves into his own place, he wants a Balderdash game for a housewarming gift!

Christmas Eve

Patiently waiting to open their Secret Santa gifts

Julia showing her 50 cents. She had a bet with me that she knew who everyone's secret santa was.

Sisters

Snow Days

With school being out this past week, Daniel and Julia have spent a lot of hours outside in the snow. Sledding is becoming an art, with jumps being built with great precision. There have been several new sledding "games" invented. It is good to see them enjoying the snow because that is probably what we will be seeing for the next 4 months!

Poutine

Hannah's job at work is in the kitchen. She makes subs, fries, wraps, etc. But one of her specialities is poutine. For those of you who don't know what poutine is, you will have to visit Country Corner Store in Linwood to find out!

Pascaline sampling her first taste of poutine at the Linwood Country Corner Store.

Daniel's version of Joyride

Joyride is an indoor BMX track in Toronto. Recently, Jim took Daniel and a friend there for the day and this is some of the video footage they took. They had a great time and hope to take the Baurer there when they come up next : )

A Few of Andrew

Ok, that is one I didn't see actually happen. I am sure there are several more that I would be worried about to. Good thing God is looking out for him, too!

Andrew with his first car, a Honda Civic. He had to learn how to drive a stick, but it was easy for him.

Some of you may know where this was taken. He takes after his mom on the diving board : )

A French Farewell

It seems like only yesterday that our exchange student went back to France, but it has already been a whole month. This is a photo of the last night she stayed in Canada. We have been very blessed to have been able to host her and all of us realize this was part of a much bigger plan than just a Canada/France exchange program. God has an amazing way of working as we have witnessed in Pascaline's life over the few months she was here. Hopefully, she will be back in Canada someday!

Happy Birthday, Daniel

13 years ago, an awesome little boy was born. We have watched him grow up and he has finally reached his teen years. Daniel will be busy boy today opening his 13 presents throughout the day. Jim is also taking him and a friend to Toronto to an indoor BMX park. These pictures are just a few of the faces of Daniel.

November Update

Novermber is turning out to be a very busy month for our family. Here are some of the reasons why:

Andrew: is just finishing his fourth year playing volleyball. He is great at spiking and blocking and was one of the key players. They had a game just about every Tues. and Thurs. after school, with practices on the other 3 days of the week. Usually after volleyball, he went to work at McDonalds until close. This does not leave much time for anything else, including homework. Thankfully, he has an easy semester and a spare period. He has finally gotten some regular hours at work, which will mean we get to see him once in awhile : )

Pascaline: our French "daughter" went home on the first Friday of November. We enjoyed having her live with us for the few months she was here. She discovered some things in Canada she really liked: our peanut butter, Tim Horton's Iced Cappachino, EDSS, our church Kioninia, TIFF, Toronto, to name a few. She really liked our school system and all the activities that we get to do while getting an education. There was only one thing that I know of she didn't like: my beef barley soup with cow tongue : )

Hannah: is moving into the boys' old room and is busy getting it re-painted. She was not fond of the race car decor. We are currently painting it two shades of purple. We are also going to tear up the carpet and put in laminate flooring. She did a great job of hosting Pascaline and will now be preparing for her stay in France this winter.

Leah: is busy with her 3 horses. She has been working on different things with each one and trying to ride them each at least twice a week. Since the time has changed, this has become more difficult. It now gets dark at 5pm. I guess we will have to put up that indoor arena! She is contemplating selling or leasing her pony, since she only needs him for the Prince Phillip games in the spring. Then, she can contribute to the bigger trailer we have to buy since her show horse outgrew our other one!

Daniel: is getting busier with homework. Being in the 8th grade, his teachers are trying to prepare him for high school. Next week is his 13th birthday, and Jim is taking him and a friend to an indoor BMX track in Toronto for the day. Jim is also preparing to take him on a father/son weekend together in the near future.

Julia: is playing basketball every Sat. morning this fall/winter. She is very excited about getting the chance to play. (I am too, finally one of the kids wants to play some other sport than soccer or hockey. . .they all have American blood in them, why aren't they interested in football, baseball, or basketball????) This only takes a bit of time away from her pony, who she is now training to jump. (sooooo cute. . .this wee little pony jumping over the big jumps!)

Jim and I were just counting the trips we have made to Toronto since August. . .it will soon be 9! That is more than we usually do in 9 years! He is just wondering if we need to MOVE there. . ? Work has been busy for both of us and we are also doing a small Bible study group in church on parenting teenagers. I did manage to get my Christmas lights up this last week, which is a FIRST! I usually don't get them up until 2 weeks before Christmas. I will not be putting up the indoor decorations until December, though. More pictures to follow in a later post.

The (W)hole Day

On Saturday, Hannah, Pascaline, and Julia each got a piercing. We went to a tattoo parlor (first time for everything) because not many businesses would do the cartlidge and nose piercings. Hannah went first and got her nose pierced (totally painful!) It did look nice with a small diamond. Pascaline went next and got her cartlidge done on one ear. She was very brave and claimed it didn't hurt much. The parlor would not do Julia's ears because she was under the age of 14. Not to worry though, we took our business down the street to a hair salon to get her ears done. All three of them are very happy so far with their new holes.

On the Trail Again. . .

. . .just can't wait to get on the trail again. . . . . life I love is riding horses with my friends. . . . .

Pascaline, Julia, and I riding on a lovely fall afternoon

Double Digits

Julia had her 10th birthday on Sept. 30 and in the Baxter household, this means a big party. She invited 6 of her friends to our house for pony rides, a pinata, homemade pizza, and a big bonfire at the neighbor's cabin in the woods. Can't believe our baby is this old already! She prayed for good weather, and that is what she got; one of the few dry, sunny, and warm days in September. Her favorite part of the party?. . . . all the presents of course. Thank you all who sent gifts and cards. She was finally able to get the camera she has been hoping for.

Horseshoe Valley

On our recent weekend away, Jim and I went for a free ride down the zip line at Horseshoe valley. Jim is not crazy about heights, but "free" sounded too good to pass up! This was one of the highlights of our trip because the colors of the trees were gorgeous.

The only way up to the zip line was the ski lift. That ride went quite a bit slower than the other one.

On our way home, we stopped at Boyne Park and hiked to the top of the Pinnacle. Again, the colors were awesome and you could see for miles all around. The song that came to mind was, "I'm on the top of the world. . ."

Weekend Getaway

Hiking in Beaver Valley overlooking Hoggs Falls.

On top of the ski hills in Collingwood.

Jim was still able to squeeze in a nap. The weather was great and there were NO bugs. We made the most out of our time at the top of this hill; the view was awesome!

Standing in front of the resort we stayed in at Horseshoe Valley

You know you have too many horses when. . .

. . .your daughter can invite all her closest friends over for a trail ride and you still have one left over!

Leah's newest addition to the barn; Jackson Brown. He is a 13.2 Welsh cross pony she intends to use for Pony Club.

Toronto International Film Festival

Hannah and Pascaline waiting for the film "Amigos" to start. We were viewing it at Ryerson University Theater in Toronto. The director, producer, and 3 of the main actors were there to introduce the film.

A highlight for Pascaline and Hannah was getting to see Ryan Gosling up close on the red carpet before his new film was shown.

We finished the day off with supper at the Old Spagetti Factory. Hannah and Pascaline hanging out in the dining car.