Garrick and Rachel Baxter are loving life with kids Zander and Emmelia. We are carving out our lives in our new Nebraska adventure. We are endeavoring for great things in continuous improvement and paid & search engine optimization. And we always look forward to visits with family and friends. BTW ... GOBIGRED and LETSGOREDSOX >>> Thanks for carving out time to visit us online, on facebook (garrick / rachel), and on twitter (garrick)! Oh, and we can't forget the PHOTOS.
In November ...
We're moving again. Look for our update soon. In the meantime, check out Zander's and Emmelia's new class photos.
In October ...
We didn't make one update. Ugh.
In September ...
Wow, what the heck can we say about September? How about leaving great jobs, especially Rachel's 11 year tenure with Pella Corporation ... taking both kids with us to visit family and friends in Eugene and Portland, Oregon ... moving to Omaha, Nebraska (and praying that we sell our Pella home) and already enjoying Lucas' football games, a birthday party, an overnight stay with family, and starting a new job for Rachel and Garrick. Oh, and we enjoyed the first game in our seats watching Nebraska demolish Arkansas State. Definitely not a boring month.
We ended July with Garrick going to Husker Football 202. What an experience! We got an autographed football for Zander signed by Coach Bo Pelini. We got to see Tommie Frazier speak. And we saw every coach on the staff present the details of what they do, what their philosophies are, and how much they love coaching in front of the greatest college football fans. Definitely going next year.
We've started August with a visit to see family in Nebraska. Grandma Billy and Uncle Lucas got a ton of grandkid/nephew-niece time. They went to the pool and to the park and to McDonalds and just about everywhere around Lincoln.
It was great fortune that our very good friends had the birth of their first child during this weekend. Kurt and Tonya were blessed with a 8+pound / 21" boy with some seriously jet black hair. Welcome to the world, Baby Boy Boeckenhauer!
In July ...
The fourth of July here at the Pella house is always a busy one. The neighborhood has hundreds of people visiting our 'hood because of the city's fireworks display just a few blocks away. We are able to sit on our deck and watch the affair. This year, Zander stayed up for the show, which was VERY exciting. We spent time with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jerry, including grilling, playing games, and hanging out with the grandkids while Garrick and Rachel got away for a few hours.
The second week of July was definitely all about family time. We hung out at Lake Red Rock for a picnic and watched everyone fish on a (finally) hot July afternoon. Then we were officially admitted as members of the First Reformed Church in Pella, a pretty cool event during an outdoor service.
The third week of July included some projects, and an Iowa Cubs baseball tailgate and game. The kids were wiped out by the 4th inning as were Garrick and Rachel. Zander spilled pop, threw popcorn, and was a micro fraternity party. Emmelia was a total squirmer while grabbing jewelry and hats from the nearby ladies in our section.
This fourth week of July, we saw an awesome video as a prelude to our pastor's sermon at church. Check it out and break out the kleenex ...
In June ...
The kids and Rachel hit the trail to NW Iowa to see family for a short trip. They had fun with Bella.