Higgfarm

For some reason ever since I got my prescription filled by my local pharmacy team, I've been twitching and barking like a dog.

"Let's go somewhere warm," Dylan says. A couple of weeks later and we're in sunny San Diego. 75 degrees of beautiful sandy bliss.

Torrey Pines is a fun, easy hike. We met a few Docents (weird word for volunteer) who had seen rattlesnakes recently. A group of 4 or 5 young boys came walking by us and Dylan asked if they had seen any rattlesnakes. "No, have you?" they asked while inspecting a fallen log. "Yeah, right under that log," Dylan teased, and all the boys jumped back several feet, eyes wide.


There were kids getting Senior pictures all over the place, so Dylan and I decided to take a few of our own.
That picture makes me want to sing something like "Hot Blooded", "School's Out", or "Takin' Care of Business". Basically anything you can listen to in a Camaro. Rock on, my mulleted man.


Many afternoons were spent walking, sitting, watching the sunset, or sleeping on the beach. The great thing about vacationing without kids is that you can do a whole lotta nothin' and be completely satisfied.
This is the face of complete satisfaction:

There was a large boulder a little ways off in the tide. Dylan said, "When the water goes out, let's run to it." The water went out. I ran. A huge wave came and got me soaked. Dylan laughed.



A tour of the USS Midway, which we thought we could pound out in an hour, left us exhausted after 3 1/2 hours. My favorite was the recipe book for the 4,000 or so men on board. The beef stew called for 20 lbs. of lard!



Mullets are against the grooming standards on the ship, so Dylan was thrown in the brig. My favorite part ever was all of the amazing food! I love food. I love it. I do. At Kafe Yen, Dylan chose his meal based solely on the name: Tear of the Tiger. It melted our faces!

Thank you, Gammy and Grandpa for taking care of the young'uns, cleaning up puke in the car, and not letting Olivia buy a dog with the money she won playing Operation.

My little sister and her family, my mom, and baby brother all came for a weekend visit. It was full of the usual:

Throwing kids on the couch

Kids trying to throw Uncle Curtis on the couch

Tying one's self to the bunk bed and not being able to get out, then telling your little brother to "Quick! Get a grown up!" to free you.

Awkward hugs from naked Nash.


You know, the usual.

Little Liv's tooth was hanging by a thread. I told her to eat an apple and it would come right out (she didn't want the old door knob trick again). She cut the apple into little slices and ate them with her side molars. It didn't work.

A little late, she snuck some chocolate chips, which I keep in the freezer. She hurriedly popped some in her mouth and one of them popped her tooth right out!

Later, her Gammy and Grampa took her to the Blue and Gold Banquet.Before they left home, Olivia, thinking about the cute boys that might be there, said, "I hope one of them loves me."  Then, embarrassed, she added, "I can't believe I just said that out loud."

Since I haven't posted for a long time, this spectacular will make up for it.

If you haven't checked these out yet, do yourself a favor.

www.akwardfamilyphotos.com

www.manbabies.com

People often wonder why on earth I home school. While there are dozens of reasons, here's a good affirmation of one:

Washington Post Article

An average of 45% higher scores in all areas over public schooled kids!? Holy Stromboli. And, unlike public school, parent's race, income, age, or college education had no affect!

This has given me a boost.

I thought I had posted about this, when in fact, it was my sis-in-law's blog I was remembering and I actually did a fat lot of nothing. Sounds normal.

The Great Higginbotham Annual Gathering (GHAG) took place in Park City at a crazy butt-kick house. Let me just tell you a few things that happened that week: ping pong, foosball, air hockey, and pool tables, workout room, huge movie theater, hiking, bbq, food, family... I could go on and on.


View of Olympic Park, about 5 minutes walk from the house.

Cousins collecting all kinds of treasures on our hike.
Best picture we got. I can only run back and forth to set the camera timer so many times.
Hana and I sharking it up at pool.
Julian is a hoot. Just look at that outfit!
When a basketball game consists of 5 people going for comic relief and one person who doesn't really care for basketball, you are bound to have a good time.

Gage and Liam, coolest vests in Park City.

Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that the tub lit up? Because it did. Seven colors. There were also 7 shower heads in the master bathroom. Just thought I'd mention it.


Now I know where Gage gets his cool modeling looks.

Hiking trail right next to the house. I love fall! Boooo to winter.

Spider-ghetti recipe: cut up hot dogs and make the kids stick tons of spaghetti through them. Boil, mix in some frozen peas, add some butter and Italian seasoning, and voila!

Uncle Cabe trying to get a peaceful game of World of Warcraft going. This little guild loved the dragons and castles and characters.

The whole good lookin' bunch. Way to multiply and replenish!

Poor Miss Liv has been in a brown room with a RoboTank on the wall for quite some time now. Whilst she was at her Gammy's for a week, I did this:


First quilt ever! Look at me go!

No seven year old girl's room is complete without something Hannah Montana. I think it's actually a law now.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something tells me there's a hungry little two year old at my house.

Check out my contribution to a major blog:

http://www.inomommy.com/index.php/2009/11/16/thanksgiving-craft-for-the-kiddies/

Remember Edie in "The Incredibles" and how she was adamantly against capes? Here's a good example of why.

When I finally dismantled the rear wheel, the cape looked like it had been shot with a machine gun. Holes riddled throughout.

We were raking the neighbor's leaves, and Gage ran home to get a drink of water. It's faster to ride back to next door on your bike. I heard a scream and saw his nearly choked to death little face, eyes popping, leaning way back on his bike. I freed him and carried the bike home. Adventures.

Also, please forgive the crummy photos. Our camera is dead, so I have to take pictures with my laptop. Adventures.

Two reasons for Dylan to be a little miffed this Halloween:
#1 Nobody really got what he was and he had to keep explaining
#2 My costume got more attention and laughs

He was a Ski Bum, but people kept saying "Ski Hobo".Liv's Hannah Montana wig kept bugging her eyes, so she wore it way up on her head, giving her a comical "mulletesque" look. And Gage had a kick butt apparatus that shot silly string, but he took it to his buddy's house. His buddy then hid it because he wanted to keep it, and returned it guiltily with his big sister a couple of days after Halloween.

I'm a little bummed that I can't make my kids wear ridiculous costumes anymore. Even Nash insisted on wearing his "Matman" outfit, though he refused the mask and cape. What kind of Batman has no mask and cape? He figured out early on that he could get candy without it.



My costume won first place at a Chamber of Commerce party. I got a gift basket from Great Harvest and a gift certificate to a spa. Cha-Ching!

There is more wire in this costume than any one human should be wearing.

Granny G is the new camp ground host at Minersville Reservoir in Southern Utah. Sweet hookup!

It was a wild weekend of:

fishing,

hiking,

rock throwing,

water skeeters (Gage exclaimed "Aebleskivers!" upon their discovery),
general tom-foolery,
and games. Granny G's charade words: True Grit, Shawshank Redemption, and Die Hard. What the?

My brother Chris brought his kayaks. Dylan tipped his purely for comedy purposes, (yeah, right).

Chris kept paddling by the dock and splashing everyone, so the next time he came by, his hefty 16 year old did a cannonball next to him. Take that!