The Higbee Family

Stadium of Fire!!

2011-04-12T22:09:00.003-06:00

UPDATE: Chris and Brian MADE IT into the TOP 25!! Thank you all for voting. Next up: 2 live auditions! We'll be sure to keep you updated.

Chris entered the Stadium of Fire Talent Contest on a whim at the encouragement of some friends and made it into the top 40 out of 500 submissions. He's singing with his friend Brian Clark. If you've ever seen Chris perform you've probably seen Brian by his side. They were in Young Ambassadors together (Brian is the one Chris crashed into and broke his leg 1 week before our wedding), they were 2 of the 4 guys in "Forever Plaid", they did their Senior Project at BYU together, and Brian was the Javert to Chris' Valjean in one of Chris' favorite shows to ever do (Brian actually went on to play Javert in the Broadway touring company of Les Miserables). I could go on and on... the two are awesome together and we love Brian!! If they make it to the top 3 they get to perform at Stadium of Fire in front of 65,000+ people with David Archuletta and Brad Paisley... FUN!! The next phase of the contest is determined by popular vote and the competition is super stiff. We thought this would be amateurs with home videos but most of them are actually professional music videos and promos! That means they are real groups with fans and everything!! We feel like the underdogs and need to rally some extra support. Could you please take a second to go here and vote for video #37? It really only takes about 30 seconds... I promise. You can vote for three DIFFERENT videos per computer, or just vote for Chris =). If you have more than 1 browser you can vote from those as well. This isn't one of those vote every day contests, thank goodness, so we don't need to worry about people with crazy friends and family just sitting there voting all day every day. Voting ends FRIDAY!! You don't have to live in Utah to vote so vote away!! We are so grateful for the support of our friends and family over the years and appreciate you taking the time to help Chris get into the top 25!! THANKS FOR VOTING!!!!

Busy, Busy!!

2010-08-13T20:43:00.002-06:00

So perhaps July was not the best time to try to get back to the old blog! It has been a truly crazy busy couple of weeks. Just a quick recap of where we've been this month:

June 26- July 1 Swenson Family Reunion in Zion, Utah

July 1- 14 Favorite cousins in town from California

July 17-23 More favorite cousins visit from Colorado

July 21-24 Higbee Family Reunion

July 28-31 Farnsworth Family Reunion in Island Park, Idaho

August 1-8 Trip to California to visit my Grammy

Add to that lots of photography, Saratoga Splash (I'm on the Committee), Chris' 20 year HS Reunion (he was in charge), day camps for the girls, a volunteer summer job at Thanksgiving Point (Max), Scout Camp (Chris), Scout Camp (Max), Space Camp (Max), Youth Conference (Chris), soccer, a couple business trips, concerts, holidays, birthdays, guitar and taekwondo, a stake calling that's keeping me on my toes and some smaller reunions and there hasn't been much time for blogging!

Needless to say I am painfully behind on editing pictures for clients, but once that is done and the kids are back in school (ahhh, routine!) I will post more about our exciting summer adventures!

Until then we need to get haircuts, new shoes, new clothes, school supplies and registered for school and Fall activities. 3 different schools this year, 3 different back to school nights, 3 different schedules to plan around. Lots of fun extra curricular activities planned. Looks like it's going to be a great year.

THE Audra McDonald

2010-07-08T12:42:00.002-06:00

Will and Audra (center) with of few of

our friends from the cast and audience)

Last Friday night we had the amazing opportunity to see Audra McDonald perform live in '110 in the Shade' at Hale Center Theater in Orem. What a treat. We actually went to see our good friend Will Swenson (Audra's boyfriend and he played opposite her), but are so glad we didn't miss the opportunity to see Audra. Hale is a very intimate little theater... only 7 or so rows, 'in the round' and there are no bad seats. Audra McDonald is a 4 time Tony Award Winner (one for the role she was playing in this show), 2 time Grammy Award Winner and she even has an Emmy Award. She is truly an amazing performer. I have been to broadway shows and seen many great performances, but in this setting, where you are so close, it was truly unforgettable. She is such an honest and beautiful actress. I was truly touched and inspired. And the rest of the cast was fabulous. I'm sure the idea of performing along side Audra brought out this all star cast... the ensemble was jam packed with performers you would usually see in starring roles. It was fun to see so many friends on stage together and they all did wonderful. Marvin Payne, Tim Threlfall, Jared Young, Korianne Johnson, Rachel Woodward, Kevin Geortzen, Lita Giddons... all were fabulous. We were sad to miss Emily Castleton, Hailey Smith and Melissa Lindsey who were in the other cast (they ensemble switches nights). I'm sure I forgot someone... but you were all wonderful. Then... there was the audience. The draw of Audra and Will brought out many old theater friends. It was a reunion all around and we saw people we haven't seen in many, many years... and some we see a lot too! Truly a memorable evening!! I wish I could do it again. If you live in Utah Valley and have a chance be sure to go see this show!! Audra and Will perform through this Saturday... you don't want to miss it!! But if you do, try to catch it after that... different leads but same show and sure to please.

To blog or not to blog?

2010-07-03T16:36:00.006-06:00

THAT is the question.

When I first started my blog a few years ago I thought long and hard about wether or not to do it. I really liked the idea of having an instant way to share my pictures and stories of my family that is much easier and more accessible than scrapbooking. I'm not a great journal keeper but I could do this. I also like that it was a great way to keep extended family, especially grandparents, and far away friends in the loop. Another plus was that it is creative outlet for me because it is so hard to spend hours scrapbooking with little kids around. So, why not, it all sounds great, right?

Well, the drawback for me was that I didn't really want one more thing to be "behind on". One more thing to feel guilty about. One more obligation.

That's how I have felt the past year while I have gotten more and more behind.

Why can't I have a blog and just post when I feel like and what I feel like?

Because I am slightly OCD. For reals. It runs in the family. It's not so bad that I can't leave the house, but it is bad enough to make a simple thing like a blog challenging. You see, I have this need to post chronologically and to not miss any events. There is one event from 2 summers ago that I skipped and meant to go back to that still floats around in the back of my head. There is a cute video of my kids skiing I've been meaning to add to the skiing post for a year in a half that I have written on my to do list every week... for the last 18 months. I have a list of about 5 tags that I feel guilty about not responding to. I also need to send my gifts and post about my pay it forward thing that is waaaay overdue. It's like I can't post anything new unless I go back and do all the post that I missed.

I have friends with brilliant blogs that are completely random, often with pictures that don't match the post, that are heartwarming, funny, entertaining and perfect. I often wonder why I can't blog like that. Mostly because there is so much freedom in them, but also because they are so honest in their writing. They preserve thoughts, feelings, true stories, emotions. My blog has been more of a travelog... "this is where we went" "this is what we did"... blah, blah, blah.

So, in answer to the question, I have decided TO BLOG. I am not going to set any unreachable goal about getting "caught up" (although it literally makes me sick to my stomach to think of all the fun things that may never make it to the blog), I am just going to start. I am going to try to write more freely about who we are, how we feel and our relationships with each other and less about where we go and what we do (although that will still be here, I'm sure). And, of course, lots of pictures. I'll try to get to a few of the big things I missed if and when I feel like it... no pressure. Right?

So there you have it. I've missed my blog and have enjoyed staying caught up on all of yours. I'm excited to have this outlet again and hope you will all follow along and leave me some comment love =)

(PS. When Max saw that I was posting he said I should apologize to you all for not blogging for an entire year... funny!)

Syd Riggs Scholarship Showcase

2010-02-03T23:07:00.002-07:00

Every year Chris and I participate in this wonderful event to raise money for the Syd Riggs Scholarship. Syd was a dear friend and mentor to both of us. I've included the entire media release below, so I won't bore you with details here, but Chris will be playing the part of Jean Valjean in the 'Les Miserable' section as well as Archibald in 'The Secret Garden'. I am doing tap dancing in a piece from 'Thoroughly Modern Millie'. We are also both in the opener and closer, which are both going to rock... literally. It's sure to be a great show and is shaping up to be even better than last year. If you want to come hurry and get tickets as it will sell out. Hope to see you there!

Media Release:

Wicked, Les Miserables, Rent, West Side Story, The Secret Garden, Lion King, Fiddler on the Roof…A showcase of popular musical theater featuring some of Utah’s finest talent! Hosted by award winning recording artist, Jenny Jordan Frogley.

ONE NIGHT ONLY!!!
Saturday, February 6th
Two performances-6:00 and 8:30
Orem High School, Elison Auditorium (175 S. 400 E. Orem) Arrive early for parking!
$10.00 general admission, $15.00 reserved-All proceeds will go to the Syd Riggs Scholarship. Tickets can be purchased in person or over the phone through the Orem High School financial office 801-227-8765 ext 252

The cast includes more than 100 of Utah’s finest performers, most former students and friends of Riggs, who are all donating their time and talents. Professional credits include: film, television, Broadway, national and international tours, commercial and print, recording, dance companies, cruise ship and theme park entertainment. The performance will also feature a performance by current Orem High School theater students.

This year’s show will also be a tribute and farewell to the Elison Auditorium as the reconstruction of the high school will be complete this coming spring.

Syds Riggs passed away unexpectedly on June 18, 2005. Thousands in Utah and beyond have seen and enjoyed her shows. Riggs worked on shows for Hale Center Theater, Sundance Summer Theater, Provo Theater Company, Thanksgiving Point, The Playmill Theater, Promised Valley Playhouse, Backstage Theater, SCERA Center for the Arts, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and Orem High School to name a few. She directed hundreds of plays and musicals in her career and was a beloved teacher at Orem High School for more than 15 years.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T12:58:00.003-07:00

For those of you I don't have address' for... here is what we're sending out this year:

and the letter that will accompany it:

The past couple of years our annual family letter has been dwindling... and this will probably be the last. Don’t worry, you’ll still get a card, but it has become increasingly difficult to condense our year into one simple letter. I’m sure you will all miss Chris’ thoughtful letters, I know I will. But, we are grateful for new technology that allows us to keep in touch with our friends and family all year long. If you haven’t already, come find us on facebook, follow our family blog (www.thehigbees.blogspot.com -and please let us know if you have one), Chris is even on twitter, and there is always good old email (cohigbee@gmail.com, kthigbee@yahoo.com) or even snail mail! We hope to hear from ALL of you!!

So, for the final edition of our annual epistle here is what’s going on in a nutshell:

Chris started a new job with HireVue as the VP of Marketing in March and is lucky to be able to work from home. He continues to love all things outdoors, going to sporting events, movie nights and performing when he can (he just produced and performed in an awesome Christmas Concert for a corporate event). He was an awesome Cub Master for the past couple years and just recently started working with the 16-18 year old Young Men in our church.

I am busy with your basic mom stuff... lots of housework and driving... it seems to never end. But I also find great joy serving on our city’s civic events committee, serving as our church music chairman, and was recently asked to be a cultural arts specialist for our area. I am most excited about turning my passion for photography into a business and really hope to spend more time on that this coming year. I really love being with my kids and having the opportunity to enjoy them as they grow.

Cassidy is back in school at UVU and just had a very successful semester. She has developed a love of Interior Design and thinks that might be the major for her. She is still working at DownEast and just got a new (to her) VW Beetle... so cute! She also nannies quite a bit for families in our neighborhood. She is a VERY busy girl. Cass continues to be the life of the party and is so fun to have in our home.

Max turned 12 this year and is in Jr High! He is doing great and enjoying all the things that come with it (cell phone, a little more freedom, pimples and squeaky voice). You wouldn’t believe how much he has grown!! We can hardly keep him in shoes and pants that fit and hope his growing doesn’t blow our budget for the coming year. He also plays the piano, cello and guitar and participates in Boy Scouts. He started club soccer this year with his Dad as the coach. It was quite challenging, but he really grew a lot and we are now looking forward to the spring season.

Abby is in the 3rd grade accelerated learning class at school and loving(?) the challenge. She really loves taekwondo and is doing quite well. She also takes dance and performed in 2 recitals... she even did a tap solo! She loves to sing and always has something coming out of her mouth... lucky for us she is actually quite good. She also loves poetry and art and earned an honorable mention in the reflections contest at
school. She is becoming quite a lady and trying really hard to be responsible. She was also baptized this year and we are so proud of her decision.

Afton is still a light in our home (despite the picture... it was very cold). She is always happy and cheerful and loves everyone wholeheartedly. She started preschool in the fall and LOVES it. She is learning so much, I am continually amazed at what she can spell and the concepts she comes home with. She has a very detailed imagination and is a joy to play with. She loves her little brother and is a great helper with him. She is also the child that always offers to help me fold laundry, clean toilets, do dishes, make dinner, you name it (I am really hoping this quality sticks around). I can’t believe how quickly she is growing!

Cole is truly our little monkey. He climbs everything can get out of anything and never stops. Ever. It is quite exhausting to be his mother, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Someone has to be with him constantly! But, he is so fun to be around and keeps us laughing... we’re convinced he will be the “class clown.” In spite of the challenges of his busy-ness, he is a very consistent little guy as far as naps and bedtime goes, which is awesome! He adores his older siblings and wants to do whatever they do. He also has quite the vocabulary and even signs a little. I am so excited to watch him grow this next year.

We have had a lot of great adventures as a family this year... Las Vegas for Spring Break, a beach house in Ventura in August, a couple family weddings, new schools, new jobs, and holidays spent with loved ones. We are grateful for family and friends like you who enrich our lives. We feel very blessed. We hope this finds you all healthy and happy and loving the life you are living.

Much Love,
The Higbee Family
Chris, Katie, Cassidy, Max, Abby, Afton, and Cole

Happy Holidays!!

We wish you all the very best!

Blog? What Blog?

2009-12-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T00:26:00.003-07:00

Wow. I am so behind on this blog... it is overwhelming. I have been so busy it's crazy. But, I didn't want to let this wonderful day pass without expressing my gratitude so here I am. I won't bore you all with a list... just know that I feel so blessed... words can not express how thankful I am for my life, where I am in this journey and the people who are on it with me.

I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. this video. Random people on the streets of New York City. Brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. I hope it helps you remember the little things that make your life wonderful! (blogger chops off the right side... you can still see it pretty well, or you can double click on it to see it on Youtube.)

So, what are YOU thankful for?

Flashback Friday- Things I found on Chris' Computer

2009-11-06T20:16:00.004-07:00

Every once in a awhile, when we don't have the camera handy, we'll take pictures with Chris' iphone. Of course I forget that they are there and never go back to see them. While looking at some other pictures on Chris' computer I came across these fun memories and thought I would share them for this weeks flashback. Hope you enjoy.

Afton's first haircut
We all know about Afton's hair issues... I've blogged about them quite a bit. She just can;t seem to grow it and we were thrilled when she finally started to get a little more length. However, it was growing in pretty unevenly so we were debating getting it trimmed... a thought I just couldn't get my head around. One day, way back in December, Chris was getting his hair cut and we were in the area so we stopped by to say hi. Imagine my shock when Chris asked the barber to cut Afton's hair and tossed her in the chair. I baremy had time to protest and just kept saying "I can;t believe you're doing this". Well, she loved it, she was so cute the whole time, and she looked adorable when all was said and done. We've had it cut a few times since... just to even it out. It's still growing so slow and so thin, but it's getting there.

Christmas Devotional
Just because there are so few pictures of me on this blog. Chris snapped this at a family get together to watch the Christmas Devotional last December. Yeah me!

'LaReve' in Las Vegas
Remember this? When we got to Afton's show I realized that my camera didn't have the memory card in it (Max had taken it to use on his Nintendo dsi... the little stinker), so we got this not so great shot with the iphone. Afton's show was the main reason we went to Vegas and it was awesome. SHE was amazing!! Totally worth the trip.

'Keane' in Concert
Chris LOVES 'Keane'. Lucky for him they came to Salt Lake in June and I took him for Father's Day. I must admit that I was not a fan... I just went because he wanted to. That definitely changed at the concert. It was THE BEST concert ever! Seriously amazing and the main singer is a great performer. I was in awe the entire time and may have even developed a little crush on him. I am most certainly a fan now and can't wait until they come back to town. You can bet we will be there!!

Just because...
... he is so cute! I found this on Chris' phone and it brought a smile to my face. I'm not sure when it was taken or why, probably one of the kids playing with the iphone, but I love it. Look at those eyes! They melt my heart every day.

Happiest Birthday Girl There Ever Was

2009-10-24T21:47:00.004-06:00

You'll remember that I mentioned in a previous post that Afton has really been looking forward to her birthday... a lot! We have had a lot of family birthdays lately and it killed her every time it wasn't hers... AGAIN. Well, once a month we get together with Chris' side of the family and celebrate all the birthdays for the month. On this particular night Afton's was included, but there were also about 8 others. You never would have guessed though. She took command of that party and made it her own. When the song was sung she want right to the front of the room and beamed like she's never beamed before. Chris and I were laughing so hard. I had to share some of her joy with all my friends on the blog!!

I'll bet any of you ten bucks you have a big grin on your face right now!

Boy Scout Court of Honor

2009-10-24T21:40:00.002-06:00

Max has loved the last year in Boy Scouts. They held a Court of Honor just before he turned 12 and he earned his Tenderfoot, 2nd class and a few merit badges. He has now moved from the 11 year old Scout group and in with the big kids and is loving it. He is working hard on his 1st class and getting ready for his first winter campout... BRRR! Sounds miserable to me!

Flashback Friday- Cutest Baby EVER!!

2009-10-23T20:22:00.004-06:00

(in my very biased opinion)

WARNING... total photo overload ahead.

Last June I was waiting for a client who was running pretty late so I decided to grab a few shots of Cole. I literally ripped his clothes off and threw him up there, which is why he has slight cheeto coloring around his mouth, lots of teething drool, and on obviously wet diaper. I was alone so I didn't have anyone to help with a reflector or keeping him in place so getting him to smile and not lunge at me in between shots was quite exhausting. The results, however, are some of my favorite pictures ever!! These are straight out of the camera... I can't wait to photoshop them a little bit!

This one is blurry, but I love his face!

Is that not the sweetest face ever?

EYELASHES!!

If you weren't already baby hungry... I bet you are now!!

I'm not gonna lie... It kinda makes me want another one!

Birthday Pictures

2009-10-06T13:24:00.004-06:00

I wanted to take some cute pictures of Cole with

the left over balloons from his birthday party.

He was so cute and happy to go along...

...and then he was done.

One-Two

2009-10-06T12:57:00.004-06:00

Max is officially 12!! He had his birthday last Friday. I can't believe it. I especially can't believe that on his next birthday he will be a teenager! Crazy how quickly time flies. I still remember so clearly the day he came into our lives. He is our firstborn and his arrival was probably the most life changing of all of our children. He made me a mom. He has had to endure all of my learning moments. I am grateful to him for his patience and helping me learn to be a good mom. I remember back when it was just him... no other kids around. He and I had some really good times. He was totally my little buddy. I remember telling Chris how much I enjoyed spending time with Max and just having conversations with him... even when he was just 2. He was always so curious and interested in he world around him that even a trip to the grocery store could be an adventure. He has been a joy and I love the young man is becoming. Over that past few months we have noticed huge changes in Max, both physical and otherwise. He is definitely taller, he's shaving, we all know how proud he is of his armpit hair, and he grows out of clothes and shoes faster than I can replace them... which is great for his younger cousins! But it's the other differences that mean the most to me. He is mellowing out, he's great with his younger siblings, he tries to be helpful at home, he is quick to apologize, he is loving school and scouts, he practices his instruments without being asked... he really is becoming a man. We love this kid so much and are so proud of who is and who he is trying to become.

Happy, Happy Birthday Max!!

(Sorry this is 4 days late)

Dress-Up

2009-10-06T12:47:00.002-06:00

Afton pretty much lives in dress-ups... but on this day her outfit wasn't her traditional get-up so I had to snap a pic. Such a pretty little peasant girl.

Three

2009-09-29T20:58:00.004-06:00

Today this beautiful, sweet, joyful little girl turned three years old. Words can not begin to express my feelings for little Afton. She is a light in our home and such a blessing in our lives. I can remember the day she was born so well. We thought we were done having kids, but after a five year wait she finally joined our family. It is the only time I remember crying at the birth of one of our children. I can definitely see the hand of God in how things happened because the timing couldn't have been more perfect and we were so ready for her when she arrived. To say we were happy would be an understatement.
Afton could not wait for her birthday. She has been talking about it for months and planning. It has been very challenging for her to watch so many others celebrate and she kept asking us when it was her birthday. We celebrated last Sunday with all the Higbee's and you've never seen a little girl so thrilled to have people singing 'Happy Birthday' to HER! She celebrated again at preschool yesterday and picked special cupcakes to share with her class. She enjoyed all the phone calls and birthday wishes today as we went about our normal routine. We will round out 'birthday week' with a celebration Sunday evening for my side of the family.
How to describe Afton... she is definitely all girl. She loves to dress up and pretend she's a princess (with Cole or Dad as her prince) and she lives for her ballet class. She loves to play pretend and assigns everyone their roles. She speaks well beyond her years and comes up with the funniest stuff. We are always laughing when she is around. She sings all the time and loves to call us Chris and Katie. She started pre-school this fall and couldn't be happier. We are just sure she is the smartest one in her class. She is still teeny-tiny and only wears a 2t, but eats very well and will eat almost anything. She loves everyone with all of her being and isn't afraid to let it show. She is a total cuddler and very physically affectionate. And, just so you won't think she is absolutely perfect: her new favorite words are 'idiot' and 'stupid' and she has recently started hitting Cole thinking that if she says sorry it makes it all okay.
I can't even describe how much we love this little girl. She is my almost constant companion, my little sidekick. What a sweetheart.

Happy Birthday, sweet Afton.

Hope this next year is just as great as the last three.

(photos from our beach vacation last August)

Flashback Friday- Who IS this kid?!?

2009-09-25T15:27:00.005-06:00

Back in June I was getting ready for a photo shoot and asked Max to pose quickly so I could test the light. I didn't think much about it until I pulled the pictures up on my computer and was shocked at how old he looks. It's crazy to me how fast he is growing up. He's gotten taller, his interests are changing and he's even taken to proudly showing us his armpit hair (gross... I know, but it's endearing how excited he is). I decided to pull up a pictures from exactly 1 year ago to see how much he's changed.Shocking, isn't it. My baby boy is in Jr. High now, turns 12 next Friday and is turning into a man before my eyes. Some days I love it, other days I want my sweet little baby back. He was such a sweet baby. At church recently a 14 year old young man gave a talk. I sat there listening thinking that he is only 2 years older than Max, but he was tall, had a deep voice and looked more like a man than a kid. Max still looks like a kid, and it hit me how much he is going to change in the next 2 years. I know Max is ready, but I don't know if I am. I guess I better get used to the idea because it's going to happen wether I like it or not.

Peek-A-Boo

2009-09-25T15:20:00.002-06:00

Cole's new favorite thing to do (when he isn't climbing on the piano... and yes, I do mean ON) is definitely peek-a-boo. He'll play it anytime, anywhere with anyone. Next time you see him try it out. It's funny, even though every baby in the history of forever has played this game... it never seems to lose it's novelty or cuteness factor when your baby learns it. We do it over and over and over and we are all laughing along with him. Ah, the simple joys of life with a baby!

Cole's 1st Birthday EXTRAVAGANZA!!

2009-09-19T22:17:00.009-06:00

Well... it was actually just a little Sunday evening get together with family for cake and ice cream to wish Cole a happy first birthday... but it was still fun! We started out playing "How well do you know Coleman". It was packed with pretty tricky questions about Cole's life so far and I think people had to pretty much guess on most of them.

Granny was the champion and answered the most questions correctly, 2nd place was a team effort by cousins Cole's cousins Taylor and Ben and 3rd place want to another cousin, Christopher. They all got a bag of my very favorite sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting from Smart Cookie... for being so smart!

Time for cake! Cole was fascinated by the flame and kept trying to grab it.

He was a little tentative at first but once he got going there was no stopping him!

Once he was bored with the cake he had fun playing peek-a-boo with the balloons.

After a quick bath in the sink it was time to open presents.

We are so grateful to all our family who came to celebrate Cole's first birthday with us. It means the world to us to have you all in our lives and we appreciated the effort you all made to come.

4 generations: Cole, me, my dad and step-mom, and my grandparent's (my dad's mom and dad) and 3 generations: Cole, his dad, and his grandparents.

With his Uncle Luke, Uncle Peter, Aunt Aubrey, Granny and Grandpa RJ

With Great Grandpa and Grandma Farnsworth

With Grandma and Grandpa Higbee

With his Great Uncle Joel and cousins Dallas and Katlin

Uncle Marvin

Kisses from cousin Alyssa and Aunt Jolie

Cousin Matthew, Aunt Leisa and Cousin Chris

Uncle Sam and Aunt Saundra and cousins Lizzie, Taylor, Ben and Sarah

Aunt Karen and Cousin Alec

Us! Max, Chris, Cole, Afton, me, Abby, Cassidy and Roxy.

Coleman sure does have a lot of people who love him.

What a lucky little boy!

Flashback Friday- Water Fun

2009-09-11T13:32:00.005-06:00

Abby got out of school a week before all the neighbor kids and was so excited when they were finally done too. The very first Monday she and her friend, Bridgette, spent the entire day together going back and forth between houses and playing all sorts of fun stuff together. During one stop out our house they pulled out the water toys and got busy. It was so fun to watch them and such a beautiful afternoon so I got my camera out to play with the settings. They obliged me by posing, doing cartwheels, handstands, leaps and just being generally silly. They kept saying "take a picture of this" over and over! It reminded me of the carefree days of summer when I was a kid and things were less structured than they are today... when you just roamed and did whatever you felt like whenever you felt like it. Looks like it is going to be a great summer!Oh, and guess who is NOT afraid of water? Cole crawled right into the middle of the action. He was fascinated by the squirty things and didn't even flinch when they squirted him in the face. He sat and explored and watched them and laughed until he was literally soaking wet and shivering!

One.

2009-09-10T13:26:00.003-06:00

I just finished tucking Cole into bed. Last year at this time I was sitting in a hospital bed in American Fork wondering at the beauty of this sweet little boy straight from God. It was joyful. I felt just as much joy tonight as I sat nursing him and rocking him and thinking about the last year with him in my life. I know it's what every mother says, but I seriously can not believe a whole year has passed since that night. On one hand it seems like it was just yesterday and on the other hand I can barely remember my life before he was in it. I guess the lesson here is to really live each minute of life because it goes fast!So, in honor of Cole's special day I am going to tell you a little bit about Cole right now. I usually try to do one for each year of life, but that won't really work for this one so I am going to do 1 for each month instead.

*Cole is my most consistent baby. He has always napped and gone to bed at pretty much the same time every day and with the same routine.

*Words he says: mama, dada, Afton, Roxy, thank you, hi, bye bye... i think that's it. words he signs: milk, more, eat, and all done.

*Cole is a climber. He literally attempts to climb the walls! He also likes to climb on boxes, toys, tables, you name it... he tries to get on top of it. Instead of playing nicely with toys, he prefers to dump everything out and play in or on the basket the toys were in. This also applies to laundry baskets, kitchen drawers, etc., He does everything BIG and LOUD!

*Cole is a great eater! Always has been. His favorite foods are watermelon, corn, veggie bites, and whatever ever you are eating.

*He is a great mimicker and can usually be found following one of his older siblings around trying to copy whatever they are doing. He really loves them all so much!

*Coleman loves everyone. He truly lights up when he recognizes people... which makes everyone very happy to see him.

*Favorite nicknames include Colie, Cole-man, and monkey.

*Another favorite nickname is Houdini because the kid can get out of anything. And I do mean anything: stroller (either one), grocery cart, car seat (yeah, that's fun). The only thing that can still hold him is the high chair... and I'm not sure how long that wil last.

*Cole started rolling, crawling, and walking early but he has gotten his teeth late (he still only has 2).

*It is very hard to change his diaper, get him dressed or put him in the stroller, high chair or car seat when he doesn't want to be put in them. He has perfected the art of flailing, arching his back and twisting faster and better than any baby I have EVER seen.

*Cole never stops moving (unless he is asleep). He is constantly on the go, even while trying to nurse. It is very exhausting.

*Coleman has the cutest giggle you have ever heard. It comes quickly and is truly contagious.

Happy Birthday!! We love you so much!

Our Labor Day Weekend "Stay"-cation

2009-09-08T23:02:00.004-06:00

I hope you all enjoyed a break from your labors this holiday weekend. I know we did. We had plans to leave town but we decided to cancel it last minute. We still didn't feel quite recovered from our vacation in August and the start of school, Chris actually had some work to do in preparation for a business trip and we thought we'd rather use the money on something else. So, we decided on a "stay"-cation and tried to do something fun everyday. I took very few pictures so here is the run-down:

Friday night we went to dinner at one of our favorites, "Rubio's" and then, after a stop at the video game store, went home and played on the wii for the rest of the night. Saturday morning was a day of work and we got a lot done. We thoroughly enjoyed the BYU game that evening!! Sunday morning we went to church and enjoyed a Sunday evening drive and walk through the river bottoms. It was such a beautiful evening. On Monday we went up to Park City to do a little shopping at the outlet mall and then enjoy the resort. We topped the day off with caramel apples at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and the only pictures I took of our Labor Day adventures!

Happy Labor Day!

Locks of Love

2009-09-07T09:16:00.005-06:00

It was all Abby's idea. At the beginning of summer she decided she wanted to cut her hair really short. I told her she had to at least wait until after we did her baptism portraits in June. She agreed, and then we sort of forgot about it in the busy-ness of summer. After watching the movie 'The Ultimate Gift' while on vacation in August, she remembered that she wanted to cut it and decided she wanted to donate her hair to the organization Locks of Love, which takes hair and makes wigs for children who have lost their hair for medical reasons (cancer, burns, etc). I was so proud of her decision and the appointment was made.

Look at that gorgeous hair!

Someone is going to be very lucky!

We divided her hair into pig tails and carefully measured it to exactly 10 inches...

we didn't have much to spare.

Pig Tail #1... she was a little nervous now and looked a bit shocked when she realized how much was really gone. Too late now!

Pig Tail #2... gone!

Ta Da!!

I think she looks absolutely adorable and get tears in my eyes when I think about her generosity and willingness to sacrifice for someone else. She has gotten a lot of compliments and loves to tell people why she did it. What an example to us all. She is already looking forward to growing it back out and donating again in a couple years.

Flashback Friday- The best reward ever!

2009-09-04T22:15:00.007-06:00

Back in May, Afton became obsessed with the idea of getting a slide. I decided to take advantage of this obsession by promising her that if she learned how to go potty in the toilet and wear big girl panties we would get her a slide... one of those little plastic ones you can put anywhere. It worked like a charm. We had a chart and she got a sticker every time she went potty and when it was full we went to Toys R Us to pick out a slide. While there I noticed that for just a few more dollars we could get one with a playhouse type thing attached to the slide. Way more fun, but I know Chris doesn't like them and it would take a lot more space than just a little slide so I figured I'd call him and get his opinion. He shocked me my saying "Why don't we just get a swing set?" Um. Okay. So he got on the computer and I was in the store and he looked at other stores as well as what I could see in front of me and we settled on one from Toys R Us and went for it. The boxes were too big to fit in my car with all the kids so we decided I would go back the next day with all the seats down and pick it up and then we would build it Saturday evening and then BBQ while the kids played on their new treasure.

We were obviously very naive.

So, the plan is to build at 5:00 and then do dinner and play, right? Wrong. So very wrong.

Here is the before shot:

And this is what it looked like after we unpacked the boxes.

That's right... tons of wood and more screws than I've ever seen or care to see.

Chris was ready to dive right in, but being slightly OCD and noticing how similar all the pieces were, I insisted that we go through and find and label everything BEFORE we started. That turned out to be a great plan in the long run, but it took as over an hour just to sort it!

We were finally ready to start.

Open the directions.

It says: "10-12 hours assembly"

Hmm... maybe they should put that on the outside of the box.

So much for dinner and playing. We threw together a super fast easy dinner and decided to start building and go until it got too dark to work.

Abby liked that this was an 'A'

Chris trying to sort through the hardware.

Seriously... SO frustrating.

They weren't divided or organized in any way.

Blurry photo courtesy of Abby...

and, no this wasn't staged.

And also, no, I am not pregnant!

At the end of the night this was all we had accomplished.

We definitely had our work cut out for us.

Sunday after church we changed our clothes and had lunch as fast as we could.

We don't usually do this kind of thing on Sunday, but we were all out there together and it was actually a lot of fun to build and be together enjoying the cool, early summer afternoon.

A few hours into our work we noticed the dark clouds gathering and knew a Utah summer storm was rolling in fast. We started working as fast as we could to get as much done as we could before it hit. We did get rained on, but it only got bad enough to make us stop a little bit.

Starting to take shape.

Afton was so patient.

She just kept saying that she wanted to slide.

Getting there.

Almost done.

We worked for a full 7 hours on Sunday and still weren't finished.

On Monday when Chris was finished with work we put on the finishing touches (about 3 more hours of work) and finally, around 9:00, we were done. The kids went down the slide and played on the swings for a few minutes and then we ran and got dinner to celebrate.

The finished product!!

A swingset where there was no swingset before.

It was totally worth it!

We actually had a lot of fun building it as a family.

They haves spent HOURS out there this summer.

It's been a castle, a water park, a cafe, a school, a broadway stage and even a Cirque de Solel show with synchronized acrobatics (we have very creative children).

Definitely quite a reward for learning to go potty in the toilet.

We were joking that we'll never be able to offer Afton a reward again!

Pig-Tails

2009-09-03T11:15:00.004-06:00

That's right... PIG TAILS!

At almost 3 years old I was finally able to style her hair-

other than little clips and headbands.

How precious is that?

I could not get over how cute she looked!

Side view.

She loved showing off her pig tails to everyone all day

and she LOVED the attention she got!

And would you look at those eyes!?!

Seriously.... some major cuteness going on here!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-09-03T11:00:00.008-06:00

Ahhh... the first day of school. I LOVE the first day of school. I love the new school supplies, clothes and shoes, haircuts, the excitement in the air and all the promise and opportunity that the new year holds in store. This year is especially exciting for everyone in our family. Max started Junior High, Abby is at the local school for the first time, Afton started pre-school, and Cassidy has a new dedication to getting a college education! Lots of fun and excitement for all! We'll start with Max:

Monday morning, August 24th at 7:15 am he ventured out to catch the bus. I offered to give him a ride since it was the first day, but he insisted that he ride the bus. So much for taking pictures and stuff... but he is growing up and did NOT want to be the kid whose mom drove him to his first day of Jr. High *tear*.

Look at this kid! I can't believe he is officially in Jr. High... it's killing me. Can we please stop time? He is so excited and is still loving it after 2 weeks. He is in the gifted program and loves the challenge. Just yesterday he said to me that he hadn't been feeling well but went to school anyway because Jr. High is actually fun. *fingers crossed that this lasts!*

Max is playing the cello in the orchestra and has to lug it back and forth. I think it's so funny to watch and always ask him if he's sure he wouldn't rather play the violin.

Okay... so I may have gone a little paparazzi on him, but he's always wanted to ride the bus and this is the first opportunity he's had! And I've always wanted those cute "getting on the bus" first day of school pics and never had the opportunity. Well, I certainly couldn't follow my almost 12 year old 7th grader to the bus stop to take pictures so I *might* have put on my telephoto lens and stood in the street snapping away. That is until some kid asked who was taking pictures and Max had to admit it was his mom. When he waved at me I made sure to do the biggest nerdy mom wave back that I could. What's the fun of having a Jr. High student if you can't embarrass them a little?

So, the bus actually loaded up the street where I couldn't get a shot... bummer. But here is the bus as it drives away, carrying my baby boy off to the scary world that is Junior High! *sigh*

Once I gained control of my emotions I ran inside to help Abby finish getting ready. She was probably the most excited of all. She picked her own outfit and hair-do, got herself up and ready and even made her own lunch! She is thrilled to be attending school with her neighbor friends but over the last couple weeks has mentioned that she misses her old school and friends a lot... I do to... but we are both really happy with how things are going so far. She rides her bike to and from school each day and is also participating in the gifted program, which she is really loving. Abby DID let me give her a ride the first day and even let me walk her to the door and give her a big hug and kiss!

What a beauty...

I can not believe how old she looks in this picture.

Homework over the summer! Thats right. She had to come the first day with a poster all about her. She did an excellent job and put a lot of thought and effort into it. I think it turned out great. You can click on the picture to enlarge it and see the detail if you want.

Her awesome teacher, Ms. Earl. I can not tell you how much I like this teacher already. Abby loves her and I think they are going to have a great year together. She already comes home each day excited to share what they did and do her homework. I love it!

All lined up and ready to go make some new friends. *another sigh*

Chris and I enjoyed a few quiet days at home with Afton and Cole and then decided that Afton really needed something. She was begging to go to school each morning and even packed lunches for herself with all the kids. I called a pre-school right down the street and they just happened to have 1 spot left in the MWF 3 year old class. I went down right then and signed her up. So, on Wednesday (a week and half late) she had her first day of pre-school. This time the tears were flowing (mine, not hers... although she did cry when I came to pick her up)!! She is just so sweet and tiny and was SOOO excited and suddenly seemed so grown up.

All ready to go... each morning she asks me about 10 times if it is time to go to school yet!

With her teacher "Mister" Jensen. (Her way of combining "Sister" and "Mrs."- I think it's so cute)

Lined up with her class... look how little she is compared to the rest. Also notice that there are 3 girls and 9 BOYS! Should be very interesting.

Showing off her work. I was shocked that she came home the first day already writing the letter P and saying p-p-p! She was also *sort of* writing her name and singing (to the tune of "are you sleeping") "r-e-d red, r-e-d red. I can spell red. I can spell red. Fire trucks are red... " you get the point. I think this is going to be a great year for her!

No pics of Cass... but she is back at UVU and so excited about her classes. We have high hopes for her and think she's going to be awesome!

Lest you think I am bored and lonely at home... please remember that I still have this adorable and BUSY little boy around to keep me very occupied!

Here's to an awesome school year for everyone!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

2009-09-02T22:25:00.002-06:00

I give up. I am officially raising the white flag and accepting the fact that I am NEVER going to "catch up" on the blog. I mean, let's face it, I am still back in May in blog world and it's already September 2nd here in the real world. Part of the reason I keep getting more and more behind is that I really have no desire to blog the things I did back in June... I want to blog what happened this week. Besides, you probably don't care what happened way back then anyway! However, the OCD side of me is literally sick to my stomach about not going in chronological order and skipping certain events. Because we all know that if it isn't on the blog it didn't really happen, right. So, I have come up with a compromise... an new "feature"... you may say. I am going to just start posting in the here and now so I can stop being behind and post what I am most excited about, BUT each Friday I will have "Flashback Friday" where I will do a few posts of what we did over the summer... because we did some great stuff and took some great pictures that I'm sure you don't want to miss! Sound good? Good. I thought it seemed like the perfect compromise. So... look forward to regular posting again. I know your life just wasn't the same without it =)

He's leaving... on a jet plane

2009-08-09T16:29:00.005-06:00

This is our nephew, Jaremy (with his girlfriend, Dani). He graduated from BYU last August and, after a taking a year off, has signed up for a program called 'Teach for America' where he will be sent to a struggling school to teach (he was assigned to Mississippi after his summer training in Texas). We are so proud of him and think he will do a great job. The kids are going to love him (he'll be teaching High School Biology and Chemistry). He has been there a few months now and is learning and growing and seeing so much hardship. I'm glad he is doing whatever he can to make a difference. He has already promised to take his top 2 students to Washington DC at the end of the year and has had quite a few 'freedom writer' type experiences. The Sunday before his departure we gathered at his house for desserts and s'mores around the fire to spend some time with him. We wish him the best and were so glad to be there with him!
(Higbee's: I took a lot more pictures than this. I'll post them over on the family blog... someday... maybe...)

Music Man

2009-08-09T16:19:00.004-06:00

The last Saturday in May Max had his piano recital. He did awesome and even played a piece that he arranged himself. He had taken songs from his video games and learned to play them by ear and then arranged them into a piece. We were very proud of him. I'm not going to post video this time because it is really long and I'm so behind I don;t want to take the time to edit it. Besides it's mostly for the grandparents anyway... so if you want to hear it please ask him to play it for you=)After the recital Chris took him to get a cello. That's right... in addition to the piano and the guitar, Max has decided to try his hand at the cello. Chris plays and so Max has always wanted to learn. He has signed up for the beginning orchestra in Junior High and they have summer school to get started on their instruments so we needed to get his cello in time for him to start.
It really is a gorgeous instrument... the wood is absolutely beautiful. The day he got it he could already play 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'. I am so excited for him. We love music in our home and are thrilled that Max has embraced it and loves it too.

End of School Party

2009-08-09T15:57:00.008-06:00

Last year our neighborhood started a fun tradition (see post here) of gathering for a picnic lunch, whipped cream fight and water games on the last day of school. It is so much fun and so many people come out to celebrate the end of school and beginning of summer. This year proved to be even more fun than last year!! We are grateful for fun neighbors (Cami) who plan things to bring us all together!

Abby was so ready for the fight this year. We stocked up on whipped cream and she was ready to go!!

I have no idea what she is saying to this boy...

but I love her face and how quickly she ran when he responded!

I think she ate MOST of her cream!

Plotting with her cute friend, Bridgette.

Abby always loves the slip n slide.

Afton, on the other hand, is much more hesitant to try things.

She sat and watched tho kids on the slip n slide forever.

She even got up close and touched the water. I could tell she really wanted to do it but was scared so I cut her to the front of the line and talked her into it.

Getting a last minute pep talk for her BFF, Ellie.

She didn't really slide... she mostly just scooted, very slowly, down the slide.

But she loved it. Just look at that smile.

She did it! Once. She wouldn't go again.

But I'm proud of her for being so brave.

Cole, on the other hand, is absolutely NOT afraid of water.

He was right there in the middle of everything and kept crawling right into the slip n slide.

It's a miracle he didn't get run over.

He loved to watched the kids slide past him and feel the splash of water on his face.

He laughed so hard!

Little Slugger

2009-08-08T22:13:00.003-06:00

Notice Anything Different?

2009-08-08T22:02:00.005-06:00

In preparation for the end of school 6th grade dance my baby SHAVED! That's right, this boy is clean shaven and proud of it. I was not home when Chris taught him so I didn't get any pictures, but I couldn't pass up documenting this milestone anyway.

Truth is: he really needed it (he has his father's genes). I just can't believe this kid is growing so fast. He grows out of clothes faster than I can by them, he wears the same size shoes as me, he's starting Jr. High this fall and now THIS! Can somebody please stop time for a little while? I just want to enjoy my little boy a little longer before I turn around and he's a man!

Just because...

2009-08-08T21:59:00.004-06:00

I think he's cute.

Sometimes I just want to gobble him up!

Grandpa's Grave

2009-08-08T21:43:00.003-06:00

On the way home from our fun weekend we stopped in Spanish Fork to visit Grandpa's grave and leave some flowers. This was our first time back since he passed away last October. I love that he is buried here... small town cemetery's are great. There were so many people there, the place was covered with flowers, and there was just a general overall good feeling. We took some time to walk around and enjoy the surroundings.

We went over to the Veteran's Memorial.

Grandpa's name is now officially engraved on the memorial.

My favorite thing was this grassy area where thy had put out a flag for every vet that was buried in that cemetery. We walked up and down the rows looking for grandpa's, but they weren't in a particular order so we never found it. I was still so touched by it and thrilled that he is honored in such a way in the town he grew up in.

I know I'm extremely late, but...

Happy Memorial Day!

I'm so grateful to those who have gone before who have helped shape me and make my life as wonderful as it is.

Just Call Me Ree

2009-08-08T21:20:00.007-06:00

As in 'The Pioneer Woman'. (Note: If you do not follow her blog, you should. That's all I'm going to say about that!) When we left the cabin on Memorial Day we all went over to a real working ranch to help 'sort calves'. I must admit the only reason I wanted to go was to take cool pictures and have funny stories just like Ree. And I thought it would be a fun and different experience for my own little punks. Well, let's just say it's not as glamorous as she makes it look. It was hot, dusty, smelly, noisy, and the mosquitos were out in full force. We only made it about an hour before the babies were ready to go, but it was a fun experience anyway.

Max, Peter and Aubrey ready to get to work.

Afton doing a great job staying out of the way ;)

Abby was totally into it. She sat on this fence and watched with great concern the entire time. She only got down once to come over to me and express her sadness for the calves and her worry that they were in pain. I pointed out that it's just like when Coleman gets his shots, he cries for a minute and then he's fine. I pointed out that the calves just hop up and run to their mom's the minute it's over and are just fine. I love that she is so tender-hearted and loves animals so much.

Aubrey, Chris, Sam, and Peter pushing the calves through.

My Dad... I'm not sure what he was doing...

he was kind of all over the place.

Max was the first one to get bored. He really didn't like the heat, dust, and bugs. He went and sat in the car. (Good thing I'm really not the Pioneer Woman.... he'd be in big trouble!)

Cole sat so happily the entire time. Just a happy little kid.

Afton was not so happy. This activity fell right during her nap time and she was very mad that she couldn't be right in the middle of things and that I was taking so many pictures but not any of her pony. (I did finally take one.) She is the main reason we ended up leaving when we did. (Side note: we left the ranch and went into Ephraim to see some of the places Chris grew up and have lunch at the Malt Shop. Afton had fallen asleep in the car and when I took her in she stayed sound asleep through the entire meal... she never does that!)

Wendy did something with the shots...

brave woman... I could never do that!

My brother, Luke, held the branding wand at the ready so they could grab it and do it quickly. He refused to look at me so I have about 15 pictures that look just like this.

My very own "Marlboro Man"... take me home cowboy!

Down to the Cabin

2009-08-08T20:58:00.005-06:00

Memorial Day weekend we went down to Mount Pleasant to spend a little time at the cabin with my side of the family. We had quite a crowd and a lot of fun. We drove down Sunday after church and enjoyed the evening relaxing, playing games, watching movies and bonding.

After getting very little sleep (let's just say a lot of little kiddies and babies waking each other up with every little sound made for a long night) we arose early Monday morning. The dad's and middle-sized kids took off on a 4-wheeling adventure:

While the rest of us stayed behind and held down the fort:

Look! It's a picture of me!

Afton had a great time picking wildflowers for her mommy...

and playing on the swingset with her cousins.

While Cole bonded with Grandpa and cousin Sarah.

This is my sister, Aubrey.

We call her the dog whisperer.

This is my brother Peter. We call him ChiaPete...

although that has nothing to do with this picture.

Then we packed up the car and headed off for our next adventure.

A Perfect Sunday Afternoon

2009-08-08T20:43:00.004-06:00

Remember all that fun summer stuff the kids got for Easter? One Sunday after church Chris made us smoothies for lunch and we all went out in the back yard to enjoy the beautiful spring weather and play. The girls loved playing with the bubbles, Max was all over testing each water gun, and Coleman just loved to watch the kids and laugh. Of course I took about 100 pictures... I love outdoor pics that include bubbles, water, sunshine and happy children. I had a very hard time narrowing it down, but here are just a couple of my favorites. It really was so much fun! Truly, a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

This is awesome

2009-07-30T11:37:00.001-06:00

Some friends of ours just found out they are having twins.

Check out the awesome way they announced it to their friends and family.
Man, I wish I was that creative!

Abby's Last Day of School

2009-07-29T21:44:00.002-06:00

The last day of school was bittersweet for Abby. She has been at American Heritage since kindergarten and we have decided to attend the local public school next year so it was her last day at the school as well. We will miss American Heritage and the friends, teachers, administration and spirit that is there. They really have some great programs and are truly a unique school. We have decided to switch for various reasons (we actually moved Max over last April) and, who knows, we may be back in a year or two. We are very excited about next year. Abby is excited to attend school with all of her neighbor friends and even a cousin! She also tested in to the Accelerated Learning Lab and we are looking forward to the challenge that will bring. I am looking forward to an extra 10 hours a week because I will not be commuting to the school... yeah! For now, Abby is looking forward to enjoying a nice long summer.

Working in the garden

2009-07-29T21:41:00.001-06:00

We decided to expand our garden this year.

I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be helping.

Maybe they were lending moral support?

Piano man and his biggest fan

2009-07-29T21:40:00.003-06:00

We've Got Teeth!

2009-07-29T21:30:00.003-06:00

Finally!! Most babies get their first teeth at 4-7 moths (I looked it up)... Cole finally got teeth at 8 months. So cute!! I love the toothy little grin. I also love that we won't have to deal with drooling and fussiness anymore... at least for a little while.

A close up for you:

Hmmm... maybe we shouldn't let him do this anymore.

Poser

2009-07-29T21:23:00.005-06:00

So maybe I've been spending too much time working with my camera. Afton has become quite the poser. While I was playing with exposure one day she gave me these gems... totally unprovoked!

Science Project

2009-07-29T21:19:00.002-06:00

Abby was so excited to build this volcano at school in her science class. We made the clay at home and sent it to class with a water bottle. At school all the kids built their volcanos and then they made them erupt. When she got home we did it again as a family. Pretty cool project for a 2nd grader!

National Golden Gloves Boxing Championships

2009-07-29T21:07:00.004-06:00

In May Chris had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem for the National Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament. Of course he did awesome and the best part was that we were able to stick around and enjoy the evening... ringside VIP seats too! Let me start by saying that I am definitely NOT a boxing fan. I have never watched it at all (unless you count the 'Rocky' movies) and I've always thought it seemed like a brutal sport. Well, we had a blast. I was so impressed. Just a little background, Golden Gloves has been around since the 1930's and is a program for young men (teens and early 20's) to train. This program is what has created some of the biggest names in boxing... I was surprised how many I recognized. Also, I have NEVER seen such polite young men and great sportsmanship. They were polite to everyone around them, their opponents, the refs, each other. The fans and coaches as well, no arguing with refs or other coaches... It was amazing and actually made me a little emotional. I am so glad there are programs out there where young men can learn a skill and do something they love while learning to be gentlemen as well. I also think these are kids that would probably end up in the wrong crowd if they didn't have something like this. It was an awesome night... very fun and something different.

Green Belt

2009-07-29T18:20:00.003-06:00

Abby tested for her green belt in early May. I didn't get any pictures of her actual test (long story), but here is her belt ceremony and then we had her do her form when we got home. She is really doing so well in Taekwondo and I am so glad that she has found something she really loves to do.

Keep up the great work, Abby!

Just Cole

2009-07-29T17:49:00.007-06:00

In April I attended a lighting demo with one of my favorite photographers Nicole Hill. I have attended a few of her workshops and have loved every one of them... she is awesome. The next day after church I decided to get out my camera and experiment. Cole just happened to be around and so he got to be my subject. I wasn't really trying to get great shots, I just wanted to play with my camera and see what I got when I tried different things. The plan was to delete them all. However, when I looked through them they so perfectly captured who Cole is right now... at almost 8 months old. So here are some of my favorites... even the fuzzy and dark ones!

Cole is a very fast crawler and uses his skill to get into a lot of mischief!

Look at this face. He makes it all the time and it totally cracks us all up. He breathes really heavy while he's doing it, too, which only adds to the hilarity.

Ugh! This is a little habit I do not love. Cole has a bad habit of eating dog food and playing in the water. One of those bowls is gone now because Cole picked it up and threw it! We now keep the bowls on the counter and only put the food down at meal time and the water down when Cole is asleep, trapped in his high chair or not even home. Poor Roxy.

He is constantly trying to get up the stairs. He learned how to get up pretty quick... he has yet to master going down!

I love those eyes. I also love all the drool... it was because he was teething in a major way that week.

You may think this picture is cropped pretty weird. I actually did it on purpose. I wanted to remember the rolls in his thighs and around his wrists. There is nothing cuter than a chubby baby!

For about a month Cole played with this cup more than any other toy. It's so funny to see what they get attached to. He would examine every detail of that thing and tried very hard to get the Mickey Mouse sticker off that someone put on back in 1999.

Again with the eyes... they get me every time. I'm pretty sure I'm in trouble with this one. He'll be 16 and batting those eyes at me and I'll cave every time! Maybe it's because none of my other babies really had eyes? (see current photos of each child on the left)

His cute smile.

Another one of his scrunchy face

(Abby used to make this face, too.)

The end... thanks for humoring me!

Faux Hawk

2009-07-29T17:35:00.005-06:00

Remember this post? As most of you know, our sweet little Afton has not been blessed in the hair department. The picture in the aforementioned post was taken when she was 20 months old and I was thrilled to see just a little hair on top of her cute head. Well, since then it has definitely been growing VERY slowly. She has had 2 haircuts (and is due for another one soon) just to even things out and make it look less stragley (is that even a word?). Anyway, while I was taking pictures of my niece my sneaky nephews, Jaremy and Aaron, did Afton's hair.

I was just so excited that it was so high!! There is hope for us!!

"Always leave room in your garden for fairies to dance"

2009-07-28T18:41:00.001-06:00

That is a quote that is on a plaque in my mother-in-law's garden... except it says angels instead of fairies. One warm Sunday afternoon, Abby picked these vines off our grapevine and made these adorable wreaths for Afton and her to wear. They pretended they were fairies and danced around the backyard. I couldn't help but think of that quote as I watched them. They were so sweet dancing and giggling together... and they looked so beautiful in their hand-made wreaths... it was one of those moments I was very grateful to be a mother of daughters.

Vegas, Baby!!

2009-07-28T18:20:00.003-06:00

We decided to head down to Vegas for a couple of days during Spring Break. We had a blast. We arrived Thursday night just in time to check in to our hotel, grab a bite to eat and go see Afton DelGrosso's show 'LaReve' at the Wynn. (Afton is a former student of ours and is currently engaged to our nephew, Zack. We are so excited for her to join the family. We have always loved her and even named our Afton after her). The show was amazing!! We all loved it and for the next few days our Afton kept saying things like "Did you like my show?" and "Are we going to my show now?" because we kept talking about 'Afton's show'. (Photo to come... I have to get it off Chris' iphone.)

First thing Friday morning we did a little sight seeing. We like to get an early start to try and beat the crowds. We hit all our favorite spots:

We walked the strip and admired the cool hotels.The Lion's at MGM.

This was the coolest Lion I've ever seen there...

it seemed like he was actually posing for us!

m&m world... where we spent $20.00 on 2 pounds of m&m's just so we could get them in odd colors. We also enjoyed the Coke Factory. By then we were dying of heat and the babies needed naps so we went back to our hotel for some time in the pool. That night we had dinner at Benihana's... so good. The kids were exhausted so we went to our room and watched a movie (we hate being out on the strip at night anyway). Saturday we swam until we had to check out (see swim pictures above.... it's a mix of both days) and drove home. It was a great way to get away for a couple days.

Happy Birthday

2009-07-28T18:14:00.003-06:00

To my Grandma, my dad, my brother, Joel,

and nephews, Ben and JJ (not pictured).

All way back in April, of course!

10, 9, 8, 7...

2009-07-28T18:05:00.004-06:00

Remember a long time ago when I told you that my family likes to blow things up? Well, Easter Sunday was no exception. This time the victim was the dragon pinata from JJ's birthday party. We did fill it with confetti to add a little extra "wow".

We're an odd group.

Snake Charmer

2009-07-25T23:37:00.002-06:00

Abby is not your typical girl. She loves bugs and snakes and other things most girls tend to shy away from. While at dinner at my parents house one evening she found this snake early in our visit. She did not leave the snake for the entire evening. She had it crawling all over her, made it a little house, and was trying to convince us that we should take it home with us. We didn't. Since then she looks for it whenever we go over to visit. I am so glad that Abby is passionate about the things she loves and that she doesn't follow the crowd. I hope she uses her love of animals in her life to do good things in the world. She'd be a great vet or scientist!

Easter Sunday

2009-07-25T23:10:00.007-06:00

Easter morning was a bit of a rush. We have church at 9:00 am and the choir was meeting at 8:15 am to run through the songs for the meeting that morning. I barely got a picture of what the Easter Bunny brought us before we had to rush and get ready to get out the door.

Our baskets full of yummy treats.

Lots of outside toys to keep us busy and out of the house this summer. Bubbles, play-doh, squirt guns, sidewalk chalk, and a sprinkler toy... looks like we are going to have a blast!!

After church we took pictures of all the kids in their Easter clothes:

What a good lookin' group. We decided not to do the 'matchy-matchy' clothes this year and we just used things we already had... Quite frankly, I just didn't feel like shopping this year!

Max, 11 1/2 years old
Abigail, 7 3/4 years old
Afton Grace, 2 1/2 years old
Love that face!
Cole, 7 months old.

This was the best picture we could get of him...

he kept crawling to eat the dirt!!
We finally had Chris hold him up so he couldn't get away.
I love that precious smile.
Roxy was NOT loving the bunny ears.

You can re-visit my actual Easter Sunday post here

It's a beautiful message and is meaningful any time of year.

Happy Birthday, JJ

2009-07-25T23:04:00.002-06:00

In April we celebrated my sweet nephew, JJ's, 5th birthday. I can hardly believe he is already 5 and will be going to kindergarten in the fall. He is such an awesome nephew and I feel blessed to be his aunt.

We hope you had a great Birthday. JJ.

Thanks for including us in on the fun!!

Easter Fun

2009-07-25T22:51:00.005-06:00

The day before Easter Grandma Higbee came over to our house to make sugar cookies and color eggs with some of the grandkids. She loves this kind of thing and the kids love doing it with her. It was fun to spend time together and we all agreed that we should make this an annual event.

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

2009-07-25T22:36:00.003-06:00

The kids had a blast at the egg hunt this year. It was freezing cold... again... so we pretty much went, did our thing, and then got home as fast as we could. Fun to spend the morning with out neighbors and friends, though. Maybe next year it will be a little warmer.

Pucker Up

2009-07-25T22:34:00.005-06:00

Afton has figured out where I keep my favorite lipstick...

the little stinker!

Indian Day

2009-07-25T22:25:00.003-06:00

Abby's class was studying the American Indians and each child was assigned a specific tribe to research, write a paper, make a poster and present an oral presentation on. Abby was assigned the Cherokee Indian Tribe, which was great because she has ancestry from that tribe. It actually turned out to be a very fun project to work on together and we learned a lot. During the process we made sure to look into our family history as well to personalize it as much as possible. On the day of the presentations the children were able to dress up of they wanted to. Abby did a great job on her first big project and I was really proud of her desire to really learn the material and present it so well.

Busy Boy

2009-07-25T22:07:00.005-06:00

These pictures were all taken when Cole was almost 7 months. He was in this stage where he was suddenly learning and discovering new things every day. I loved watching him and was in awe at how quickly he was learning and changing. In this first picture he had just discovered his shadow. It was a magical moment and I was lucky to have my camera in my hand right then. Chris and I looked down and noticed that he was "playing" with his shadow. Awesome.The downside of this stage is that we are constantly on our toes. He started attempting stairs much sooner than I would have liked. The first time I saw him try to climb them I literally said "Oh, No!" This is the first time he started trying them... we were surprised that he even attempted it and that he actually did it pretty flawlessly.
When I think of Coleman I think of all the prepositions I learned back in 7th grade... on, over, under, around, in, through... he is all over the place. He doesn't play with the toys, he dumps them out and climbs in the basket, he is on top of everything, he usually doesn't go around things, but tries to go over... or even under. One I was making my bed and walked around to the other side, leaving him on the floor on the original side. I was shocked to see him come put from under the bed to find me.
I wish I had more pictures if these things because they are such a huge part of who he is, but I'm usually running to grab him before he gets hurt so there isn't time to get the camera and take a picture... you understand, right?

Front and Center

2009-07-13T22:20:00.004-06:00

Afton's cute little face was front and center on SigningTime.com for a couple months again. I didn't even know it until I went to purchase a gift for someone and recognized her adorable face. It's gone now, but she is still featured on BabySigningTime.com.

Babies have binkies...

2009-07-13T21:55:00.006-06:00

... BIG girls have ear rings! At least that's what we told Afton to finally get rid of the binky. I have never had a child this attached. Even though she was all for it and excited to get her ears pierced, she cried like she was loosing a good friend when we had her throw them all in the trash. It really was the saddest/sweetest thing. We headed to the mall to do the deed and talked it up the whole way. My sister and step-mom even met us there to lend moral support. Max and Abby kept telling her how proud of her they were and tried to keep her happy about her decision. It was quite an experience...

Here I am giving her the pre-pierce pep talk.

Ready for ear number one... trying to hold her as still as possible.

Done! Look at the face. She was NOT happy. She wouldn't even look in the mirror at it.

I think the anticipation of ear number 2 was harder on me than it was on her. She was screaming. By this time we had a little audience gathered around and I was seriously questioning my decision... what kind of mean mother am I?!?

Yeah!! We're done. She is still screaming, of course, but it is over.

How sweet is that face?

It took is a while to calm her down, but then we got some dinner and she forgot all about it. She kept talking about her big girl ear rings and was so excited. She couldn't wait to show her dad. These were taken when we got home. First she showed me one ...... then the other...
... then both.
By now she was so proud and excited!
For the next couple of months she loved to tell people that "Big girls have ear rings, not binkies" and would tell them about how she went to the "doctor" and cried and cried but now she looks "booful... like a princess"

Beauty

2009-07-13T21:46:00.007-06:00

While we were hanging out at the geography bee waiting for the results of the preliminary round there was this big window so I thought I would play with my camera. I wanted Abby to be my model and thought she would jump at the chance. She was not thrilled, but I did get this great shot. I can't believe how grown-up she is and how beautiful my little baby has become.

That was it, though... one shot and she was done.

After that I got:

The pouty lip (Cassidy does this in almost every picture, in fact, most people that age do. Cassidy tells us this is to eliminate the double chin. I think I'd rather have a double chin than look like that in every picture!)

She also practiced her future facebook profile picture pose.

And here we have the: "Seriously, Mom. Don't take another picture!"

Oh well, at least I got the one.

State Geography Bee

2009-07-13T21:33:00.004-06:00

You may remember a while back when Max won the school geography bee. Well, he studied hard and we all went to support him at the State Geography Bee. He did great. There were 100 scholars from all over the state, who were then divided into groups of 20 where they would each answer 10 questions. The top 10 scores overall would proceed to the final round. Max did not make t to the finals, but he did great. These questions were really hard and I'd be sure he wouldn't know it and then he did!! The kids there were amazing. In Max's room there was a boy who won state 2 years ago and went to Nationals and the little brother of the boy who won state last year. Some of these kids/families are really into this stuff. We were really proud of Max and he represented his school very well. He is already looking forward to do it again next year.

The pre-bee orientation and pep talk.

A LOT of people... a little overwhelming.

Getting ready to begin in his room.

Quick pic during a break. We weren't allowed to take pictures while they were actually doing the bee. They are also very strict about any extra noise, eye contact, etc.

A big hug from his little sister... she was so proud of him!

Afterwards we went and enjoyed a celebratory lunch at the Deli (our fave) with some good friends who also had a son competing. It was a really good day.

The Littlest Ballerina

2009-07-13T20:44:00.010-06:00

In February I jumped on Afton's sudden interest in dance and signed her up for a class at a local studio. She did great! From the very first day she has loved it and has done very well. Her teeny tiny size (and lack of hair) is misleading and the first day her teacher came and told me how impressed she was with her verbal skills and ability to follow directions and stay with the class. She is actually the same age as most of them... she just looks so much younger. In late March the teacher, Miss Anne (who Afton adores) let us all sit in one day so we could take pictures. I took so many it was hard to narrow it down, but here are a few that stood out to me.

They start class with warming up. She has these activities memorized and will often play "dance class" with me at home... following the exact outline of her classes and using the same phrases her teacher does.

Then they move to the ballet barre, which Afton obvioulsy loves. She pays a lot of attention to detail and is very careful about making sure her feet are in just the right position. I love watching her find first position!

Next, they do across the floor exercises: ballet walks, battement (kicks), chasse, galloping, etc.

The next part is probably Afton's favorite. They play "freeze dance"... this is where the teacher turns on some music and will let them free dance and when the music turns off they all freeze. Afton strikes this pose every time she freezes... eyes to the side, hands up, so cute!

During the game they each get a chance to dance with the princess wand. She loves this and is especially creative when she gets to be the princess.

Then they work on a little routine. During February and March they learned a dance to the song "Baby Face" (video at the end of this post). She LOVED this!! She would sing it at home and dance her little heart out. Even after they moved on to another routine she would ask to do this one... she even refused to do the other one for a couple weeks (much to my frustration!)

Here is a spliced video of Baby Face. It takes her a minute to get with the program. My favorite things about this movie: her giggle when they are skipping around the room, her finding first position after the boogie, and the look of joy on her face at the end of the dance. Just try not to smile!

Spring has Sprung?

2009-07-13T20:35:00.003-06:00

This photo was taken March 26, 2009.

Afton played forever in the snow and loved every minute of it.

She danced and ran and ate it and threw it.

I'm glad someone enjoyed it.

Others of us weren't as happy about the lingering winter.

Some of us were ready for some sunshine.

More fun with Nana

2009-07-13T20:16:00.005-06:00

While my mom was still in town we went over to the Thanksgiving Point Farm with my brothers kids to visit the animals and see if there were any spring newborns. The kids had a lot of fun running around and feeding the animals, playing in the houses, and spending time with cousins and Nana. Here are some highlights:

My mom with 6 out of 10 grandchildren.

(L to R: Ana, Abby, JJ, Max, Afton and Cole)

Max posing in the window of one of the little houses.

Of course Abby has to as well...

And whatever Abby does, Afton does!

Then we rode the ponies. Abby loves all animals

and is a regular little horsewoman...

Afton, clearly, was not as excited to ride the ponies. This was back on March 21st and I still haven't been able to get her on a pony!

She felt much better after her sweet big brother took her to feed the little newborn goats.

Just look at that smile.

Ana LOVED the pony ride. She was giggling out loud and even rode it twice.

Ditto for JJ.

(Max was too cool to ride this time around).

Afton was not afraid to pet a big gross cow.

And they all loved feeding the animals and being tickled by their big fat tongues.

How sweet are these 2? Cousins are the best!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

2009-07-07T22:19:00.006-06:00

My mom's visit just happened to coincide with her birthday, which was awesome because we don't usually get to spend it with her. I called all the local relatives and we planned a big, fancy dinner at The Harvest Restaurant at Thanksgiving Point. Seriously one of the best nights ever. We had a blast. The food and service were great and we laughed and laughed. It was exhausting. Reminded me why I love my family so much!! Everyone brought lovely gifts for my mom, we sang to her, she got to blow out a candle and we even went around the table and told our favorite things about her. It was so fun to honor someone who does so much for all of us and spoil her for the night. I think she enjoyed it too!

Later in the evening we got a little silly with the camera.

This is my Uncle Joel... he used to be a mime so he can make his face do the craziest things:

Self Portrait:

Cassidy, my brother Joel and I practicing our best facebook/myspace profile poses:

My very attractive husband:

Okay, funny story: While getting ready for the evening, Cassidy came into my room to ask if her outfit looked okay and we were wearing the exact same thing... literally! So, I changed. When we arrived at the restaurant my cute cousin, Katlin, and I were wearing the same thing! Of course, she looked much trendier than I did!

The whole group outside after dinner (minus Eric, who had to hurry back to work).

What a great family!!

PS. If any of you want any of these pictures just right click on it and you can save it to your computer.

Night at the Museum

2009-07-07T21:56:00.005-06:00

In late March my mom came to visit and so we decided to head over to the dinosaur museum and enjoy the after noon.

Abby took detailed notes of all the exhibits

and wrote it all down in her journal,

as any good future scientist would do.

My mom did an excellent job listening to my kids go on and on about different things.

It was nice to hear "Nana! Nana!" instead of "Mom! Mom!" all afternoon.

She also did a great job following Afton wherever she lead her.

And I enjoyed the break from that job.

Traditional picture in front of the dinosaur leg... this time with Nana.

Afton loved all the interactive/hands on exhibits and would have played for hours if we would have let her.

Total concentration on her little project in the sand.

Cute Abby had this group of boys working with her and doing whatever she told them too.

When we first got to the museum Afton was a little afraid of all the bigger exhibits, but about half way through our visit she started acting like a dinosaur and roaring... totally unprovoked!

Another picture tradition... we take one of these everytime we are there.

Eventually Afton started trying to crawl in to all the exhibits. She may have even been successful a couple times and I may have had to jump in and grab her. Shhh... don't tell anyone.

Abby really does love all things science and she takes her digging for bones very seriously.

Afton, on the other hand, played in the sand as though she were relaxing on the beach!!

Night Sledding

2009-07-07T21:09:00.006-06:00

Some of our friends invited us to their cabin up at Sundance to enjoy some night sledding and a really delicious dinner. We had a lot of fun visiting, the kids had a blast and the food was to die for... seriously.

Who can resist this? I just love Afton's pink snow suit with the white snow. She pretty much just wanted to eat the snow... we had to watch her close because most of it wasn't very clean.

Max found this little hill and taught her how to slide down it on her bottom. She loved it and did it over and over and over.

I love this picture... I think the little ball on Abby's scarf sticking out below her coat is so funny... I kept calling her cotton tail all night.

On one of her earlier runs of the night she had a little accident. She was riding with one of the other kids and they wiped out at the bottom and the other kids landed on top of Abby's head, and she landed face down in the very icey snow. Like any dutiful scrapbooker, I took pictures instead of running to her aid.

This is where she got mad that I was taking pictures instead of helping her.

This is where she got sad and felt truly abandoned in her pain... also where I started feeling like a bad mom.

After we got her all patched up and feeling better, we bundled her back up and got her back out there. I was really proud of her because if that had happened to me when I was a little girl I would have gone sledding again... and not just that night... EVER! But, she wouldn't get back on the sled. Instead she adopted Afton's method of sledding down on her butt. It worked well and was the perfect speed for her.

Max had the most fun of all (except for the 20 minutes he had to sit out as punishment for pushing Abby's sled down the hill and causing the aforementioned accident).

He was really flying down those hills and seriously making me nervous.

It got so I couldn't watch him after a little while.

It was a great night and fun to be with each other and friends. We look forward to hanging out again next winter (hint hint).

Draper Temple Open House

2009-07-07T20:49:00.003-06:00

Last January we went with my side of the family to visit the Draper Temple Open House. It was fun to be together and to share something so sacred with all of our children. My kids had been to the Newport Beach Open House but they were only 4 and 7 so I don't think they remember much. It is a beautiful temple and one of the most amazing Celestial Rooms I have ever seen. This is also the first temple that Max has been able to attend the dedication for. I took him while Chris stayed home with the younger kids. It was great to experience it with my oldest child. Just last week we had the opportunity to attend the Open House for the newest Temple in Utah, the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (no pictures). It was mostly the same crown and another special experience. I love the exterior of this Temple... so beautiful. The inside was very simple and elegant. I am excited that Abby will have the opportunity to attend the dedication this time. Afterwards we all went to Red Robin together and had a blast. I am grateful to live in a time when we are blessed to have Temples all over and to live in a place where I have such easy access. I hope I can take advantage of this blessing and take every opportunity I can to attend the temple.

Draper Temple

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Note to all of my non-LDS (Mormon) friends: If you live in an area where they are building a temple, be sure to visit the open house. It can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, it's free, and it's a great opportunity to learn more about the church. A lot of people think our temples are mysterious or secret... really they are just sacred to us. That is why you can only enter if you have a temple recommend issued by your church leader. Anyway, it's a chance to learn more about our temples and our beliefs... and I promise they will not baptize you on your way out (unless you would like them too ;D )

Evan and Sarah get Hitched!

2009-07-07T20:09:00.007-06:00

Back in March my cute nephew, Evan, married his sweetheart, Sarah. I remember when Chris and I were first dating we took Evan and his brother, Joseph, to the Lehi Roundup Rodeo. That was the first time I met him. Evan and Joe were both decked out in their rodeo clothes and so cute. Now Evan is all grown up and quite a young man. I am so proud to be his aunt and thrilled for him and Sarah! And the wedding was a blast. I was not the official photographer, but I was asked to take candid shots all day. Needless to say, I took a ton of pictures. So, for the purposes of this blog, I am going to try to limit it. (For the members if the Higbee family: I will post a lot more over on that blog... someday... maybe...).

This is one of my favorites from the ceremony.

They were so sweet and the location was beautiful.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Evan Fitzgerald!!!

The bouquet toss... Abby was so excited

(she's wearing the choral dress in the left of the photo).

Abby after she didn't catch the bouquet...

she was mad for about an hour!!

Until she talked one of the bridesmaids in to

giving her a flower out of her bouquet.

How cute are they?!?

Max danced with both of his little sisters...

as every good older brother should.

They were both thrilled!

Chris and I at the very end of the night...

it was a very long, fun, exhausting day.

(I'm thinking I should replace our picture to the left with this one... naah!)

Thanks for including us!! It was great to be a part of your day.

We wish you nothing but the best as you start your lives together!

Big Fat Lip

2009-06-29T21:59:00.004-06:00

One Sunday evening in early March we were all enjoying a nice game of 'Ticket to Ride' when Afton suddenly slipped of a chair and fell to the ground causing her teeth to cut her lip. It was pretty bloody and there were quite a few tears... there was even a little talk about if it was big enough to go for stitches. We decide to just let it heal on its own. These pictures were taken a day or two later... pretty gross!

Annie Oakley

2009-06-29T21:54:00.004-06:00

Abby did a biography book report on Annie Oakley. As part of the report she had to bring in a little side project about her person and give an oral presentation. She decided to do a giant cookie and decorate it. I thought it turned out pretty cute and it was a big hit with her class. Abby does such a great job remembering what she learns about people from history and relating and applying it to her life. I hope she always has this love of history and the people who have shaped the world we live in today.

More Coleman

2009-06-29T21:30:00.004-06:00

Coleman learned how to roll over exactly on his 4 month birthday! We were shocked... and very scared for what this kid may have in store for us. I have no good pictures of him actually rolling, but this was taken immediately post roll:

He started crawling very soon after. He had the funniest crawl. Most babies I have seen seem to start with a "GI Joe" type of crawl... you know, where they stay on their bellies and use their arms to get around. Well, Cole's was more like an inchworm.

Here's how it went: up onto hands and knees...

straighten legs to push upper body forward...

Drop!! So funny... and quite effective!

Cole also discovered the piano. He loves to listen to Max practice and loves it even more when he lets him sit up on his lap to play along.

Favorite discovery at 5 months? Definitely the dog. He has always loved to look at her, but now he can try to chase her, pet her, climb on her... you name it. These 2 are becoming fast friends!

Max wrote a story for school about a little dog and the baby who loved her. He used Roxy and Cole for his phootgraphs. It turned out so cute and now we have it to treasure forever. Even now (4 months later) we look through the book with Cole and he loves it. Any way, while taking the pictures we got a few really cute ones with Cole and Roxy together... here are 2 of my favorites: Cole loves to let Roxy lick his hands.

And this little gem is definitely a keeper!

It was actually my screen saver for a while!!

Doesn't that just make you want to go brush your teeth?!?

More Singing...

2009-06-17T17:00:00.005-06:00

Look out 'American Idol'... this girl can't stop!! I couldn't pick just one... so I posted all three. Mostly for the grandparents to enjoy. There were just little things I loved about each one.

What I love about this one:

That she is trying to sign some of the words as she plays the piano. I didn't tell her to do this and we have never signed this song with her. I love that they are just there in the back of her mind and that even though she doesn't sign as much as she used to she can still pull them out some times.

What I love about this one:

It's the same song as the above video, but because she doesn't try to sign you can understand her cute lyrics a little better... like "I am a child of God and Jesus sent me here" (for those of you unfamiliar with the song it goes "I am a child of God and He has sent me here". I love the way toddlers make up lyrics based on what they think they hear.

What I love about this one:

I didn't film this, Max did. I love his comments to her, her runny nose, and the lyrics speak for themselves.

Good Morning, Sunshine

2009-06-17T11:58:00.004-06:00

How Lucky Am I?

This is what greets me every morning.

It's hard not to feel grateful and happy
when this starts your day.

(Cole, 5 1/2 months)

He likes it!!

2009-06-15T23:49:00.005-06:00

When Cole was 5 months old we decided to venture into the world of solid foods. We started with plain old basic rice cereal. He was very excited for this new step! He loved sitting in his big chair and all the attention everyone was putting on this new activity. We literally had the whole family sitting around with eyes on Cole to see how he would respond.

First bite... not so sure about the texture...

...or what to do with the strange substance in his mouth.

But he new this was a good thing and smiled for more. He really did like it and would smile as we were feeding him, but the minute it hit his mouth...

... he would gag. He just wasn't sure what to do with it!

While he liked the food, he did NOT like the gagging. Hard to feel sorry for someone with eyelashes like that!!

In the end it was a very successful first attempt at feeding and he hasn't slowed down. He is now (4 months later) eating fruits and vegetables, finger foods and pretty much anything we're eating that we feel save sharing with him. This kids does love to eat!!

This video was taken of his first couple bites... I love that the minute it goes in it comes right back out. Took him a while to get the whole swallowing thing mastered.

Patriotic Program

2009-06-10T20:40:00.005-06:00

The kids participated in the schools annual patriotic program again this year. It is my favorite program each year and this year definitely didn't disappoint. Abby was in the 1st-3rd grade choir and Max was in the 4th-6th grade choir. They both sang beautifully. These aren't the greatest pictures... but I wanted to include them anyway for the grandparents.

Look Mom!!

2009-06-10T20:28:00.005-06:00

Remember this?

Well, she finally mastered the 2-wheeler

with no training wheels!!

Almost...

There's no stopping her now!

Poser

2009-06-10T20:22:00.005-06:00

Lately Afton has been all about posing for pictures. Rarely can I get her to just let me take a normal picture. She is also very fond of jumping in when I am taking someone else's pictures and asking me to take picture of certain things... yeah maybe I take too many pictures... I've created a monster. The last one is my favorite... look out America's Next Top Model!!

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

2009-06-10T20:04:00.004-06:00

Coleman LOVES to play. He is always on the go... doing something... into something. He definitely keeps us on our toes. He usually plays until he crashes and has been known to fall asleep pretty much anywhere. He's like the Energizer Bunny... he goes and goes, full force, until he just suddenly stops and falls fast asleep. He even follows this routine at night when I nurse him... he'll flip this way and that, he's up he's down... and then suddenly he's out! Poor kids just doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun, I guess.
Cole loves to sit in his mega saucer and bounce... and bounce... and bounce. Good thing, too... it's the only way I can keep him contained in one spot (he doesn't like his swing anymore) so I can get anything done.
This picture is here only to show you those crazy eyelashes again... can you believe them?!?
Just how I like them... sound asleep =)

Syd Riggs Scholarship Showcase

2009-06-10T19:22:00.007-06:00

Back in February Chris and I had the opportunity to participate in the Syd Riggs Scholarship Showcase in honor of a dear friend of ours who passed away a few years ago. She was a true lover of the arts and a mentor to many many performers... including Chris and I. We both new her before we new each other and she was always a huge part of our lives. It was great to be a part of this event. Basically, we had a few rehearsals the week leading up to the performance and then an all day Saturday marathon rehearsal followed by 2 sold out show that raised over $7,000 for a scholarship in her name. I took over 200 pictures that day and don't want to leave any out because we were able to see so many old friends, students, cast members, voice teachers, etc... that was the best part of the day... it was one giant reunion. It was a thrill for me to see and hear Chris singing the part of Jean Valjean in the 'Les Miserables' section of the show as well as well as a few other big solos. He was great and I've missed seeing him perform. Some other highlights:

This beautiful lady was the host and headline performer. We love her! She is a great friend and it was awesome to spend the day catching up with her. She also has the most amazing voice and is super funny... she rocked the show!
Performing with these two punks!! They are our nephews and also former students of ours... they are also both CRAZY talented. Even though we have all worked on a ton of projects together we have never actually all been on stage together. It was an honor and so much fun to be on stage with them. (Edit: I just remembered that we were both in 'The Gift of Christmas' in SLC with Zack back in 1995 and I was in 'Tommy' with Zack in 1996... no wonder I forgot. But it was the first time with Jaremy)

All of these wonderful people that we love! It was wonderful to spend the day together and be onstage with you again. We can't wait to do it again next year!
By the end of the day we were exhausted... it took us a full week to recover (we are definitely not as young as we used to be). Thanks to all of you who came to support us and this great cause and to those of you who helped out with our kidlets for the day... we had a blast!

Remember this little guy?

2009-06-08T23:33:00.007-06:00

I don't think I have posted about Cole since those pictures I took of him when he was about 2 1/2 weeks old... other than things where he was part of a family post. So, here are some random pictures along with some random facts to help you get to know him a little better. The facts may or may not go along with the picture. Adding Cole to our family has felt a little like having twins. I have never had 2 babies this close together and it's a whole new ball game!! 2 in diapers, 2 binkies, 2 different nap schedules, 2 babies waking up at night (yes, Afton still wakes up at least once each night). It is a lot of fun and has made this a fun adventure... even though it is exhausting at times. Don't they look so cute swinging next to each other? Afton loves to be right there with me all the time and doing what Cole is doing... she even tries to cry like him. (about 2 mos. old in picture)
Cole has the longest, most beautiful eyelashes ever!! We are constantly getting comments on them. They really are unusually long and thick. This picture doesn't quite do it justice. (3 mos.)
This is his first smile ever caught on camera! Seriously. It was taken Dec. 5th when he was almost 3 months old. So cute!
Cole LOVES his Dad!! He could sit with him for hours. (4 months old)
Cole is an absolute flirt. Just look at the way he is looking at me. He does that with everyone... How could you not fall in love with this little guy! (4 1/2 mos.)Just a cute pic I like... no particular reason.
I love this picture. This is what Cole looks like most of the time. He is really a happy and pleasant little guy... so much fun to be around. (4 1/2 mos.)
Look at those big blue eyes. He has the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen. Sometimes I would sit and nurse him and just stare into his big deep blue eyes in amazement at how clear they are. They haven't changed much at all so I think they might be here to stay *fingers crossed*. (almost 5 months)
Cole is very pretty. People are always telling us how pretty he is and he is often mistaken for a girl. One morning I was in a hurry to get everyone ready and put Afton's headband on Cole, locked him in his swing until I had everyone else ready, and didn't notice my error for about 10 minutes. I must admit, I finally saw what everyone was saying... he really is a very pretty little guy!

Here are a couple of videos of Cole: this first one is of him laughing at the kids. They made up this funny song that made him laugh every time they sang it. Unfortunately the kids are so loud it's hard to hear him... but it's still cute:

This is another laughing video. Pay attention to what happens mid-laugh. He does that a lot... and I mean A LOT!

He finally grew out of the constant spitting up stage a couple months ago... I was soooo happy.

So that's it. He is an absolute joy... the perfect addition to our family. We have loved having him here and getting to know him. I updated the thing about him in the right hand column a couple months ago so be sure to read it to learn even more about him. (The picture is new...I just took it last week.)

Christmas Flashback

2009-06-08T23:20:00.005-06:00

Our Christmas Card Photoshoot was pretty much a bust!! You've seen the one we chose for our Christmas card here and another favorite is currently in our blog header. Why was it so painful, you ask? Well... the sun was right in every ones eyes, Max and Abby were totally uncooperative for the first 20 minutes and by the time we threatened them enough into cooperating Afton was worn out and done (so we have a bunch of pictures of Afton looking adorable and Max and Abby being grumpy and or posing weird and then a bunch with Max and Abby looking great and Afton crying... of course, Cass looks great in all of them and we were lucky if we could just get Cole to sit up straight and look in the general direction of the camera... if I weren't so behind I'd post my favorite out takes). It was also much chillier than we anticipated it would be. I did try to catch a couple shots of each kid alone and here are a few of my favorites (Afton was REALLY done by this time).

Did I ever show you this one?

2009-06-07T23:38:00.005-06:00

No, I don't think you've had the pleasure of seeing this gem:

This is what happens when the family is busy preparing Thanksgiving dinner and the 2 year old is left unsupervised while they think she is taking a nap. The slimy stuff? Kids toothpaste. (Click on the picture to enlarge it and get the full slime effect). I am so glad it isn't what I thought it was when I first found her!! (PS the lovely evening gown is actually Abby's shirt layered over a multi-fuctional onesie)