Higgfarm

Nash Crash

2012-01-20T16:32:00.000-08:00

In accordance with being 4, Nash has had two major crashes this summer. The first being a dive off an electric scooter. Luckily his chin caught him.

His jaw swelled up and he couldn't eat anything but mush for almost 2 weeks.

Secondly, his foot came in contact with a window.

Naturally, this happened immediately after Gage ran into a car while riding his bike and we had to pay to replace a tail light. Boys.

Lucy Loves to be One

2012-01-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

Some things to consider doing on your first birthday:

Eat a little cake made of slices of watermelon and smashed bananas.

Make root beer with big Uncle Curtis.

Have fat knees.

Start being more responsible by helping around the house.

Get stung by a bee.

Leah is Indiana Jones

2011-11-21T07:46:00.000-08:00

Lucy versus Spaghetti

2011-11-19T11:31:00.001-08:00

Steve Jobs' Garage Tribute - Garage Greats

2011-11-12T10:09:00.002-08:00

Haunted record collection

2011-11-12T10:09:00.001-08:00

Foam sweet foam party

2011-10-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

Homemade guitars out of old buildings

2011-10-19T13:54:00.001-07:00

Baking bread at home

2011-10-19T13:53:00.001-07:00

Lucy eats watermelon...and you say "aaahhh"

2011-08-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Snow Mama Vacation

2011-07-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!

Homemade Fireworks - Great balls of fire

2011-07-01T14:30:00.004-07:00

Gandalf. Search your heart, search your soul.

2011-07-01T14:30:00.003-07:00

Redneck Fireworks Fail: In The Garage TV Episode 6

2011-07-01T14:30:00.001-07:00

Mushroom Pottery: In The Garage TV Episode 5

2011-07-01T14:29:00.001-07:00

Deleted Scenes: Easter Bunny

2011-07-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Easter Bunny makes Candy: In The Garage TV Episode 3

2011-07-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Dancing Girl

2011-06-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Liv got the lead in her ballet recital this year! She practiced so hard and we were all thrilled. Unfortunately, the church where we usually have recitals wouldn't let us in this year (booo!), so please ignore the lovely backdrop.

And when I tried to take some lovely pictures of her in her costume, I got stuff like this:

I seriously cannot figure out why my kids are such wackos. Please don't tell me your theories.

Easters

2011-06-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Some families do normal things for Easter. We do this.

Humiliating children is ALWAYS on my to-do list.

"Hey, whatsa matta you face?"

Egg Apocalypse

Lucy "Deadweight" Higginbotham helps Uncle Chris bulk up.

Sit down!

2011-06-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

Or you won't be able to handle this.

Is your favorite part:

A) Cute dress
B) One tooth!
C) Pigtails! Are you kidding me!?

D) All of the above and then some

E) I'm freaking out too much to vote

Goonies

2011-06-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the nerdier things we've been doing lately:

Dylan's lightning bolt mohawk.

I painted Gage's hair black so he could trick Granny G.

I gave each of the kids a black eye... with makeup this time. Dylan took Gage to two of the neighbors' houses and told them their nine year old sons punched Gage. One parent responded with a "WHAT!?" and called to the boy for an explanation. The others started laughing really hard.

They may have also sprayed their hair blue.

Deleted Scenes from Epic record collection

2011-05-24T09:16:00.001-07:00

Epic record collection & wire recorder: In The Garage TV Episode 4

2011-05-19T11:58:00.001-07:00

Mom's Day 2011

2011-05-09T19:02:00.001-07:00

Plants and Planets

2011-05-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

We learned two main bits of information in March: Earth is amazing, and Earth is amazing.

Earth is amazing #1: For the first bit, we planted seeds to start our garden. Gage was especially meticulous with the labeling, planting, and watering. And when we tore out the old nasty planter boxes, he became one with the Earth.

Attempting to get some of the dirt where it belongs.

Chunks enjoyed the sun, but not the wind.

Such a helper.

Nash killed his toe, and thought watching it heal was magical.

Earth is amazing #2: The BYU Planetarium gave us a splendid show on our solar system and some of the constellations. Again, Gage was enthralled, and came home and drew pictures of many of the cool star formations. I didn't tell him what I told my friend Joe a while ago: "Constellations are what people had to make up to keep themselves from dying of boredom before TV."

Notice Tasha's great "explaining" face in the background.

The show was really cool! You really ought to go. Call me and we'll go with you! The best part was how Maren and I tried to figure out one of the hands-on activities for several minutes before we realized it wasn't plugged in.

Caribbean Cruise: March 2009

2011-04-30T12:51:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

2011-04-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

How lucky we were to go film the Easter Bunny making all of our holiday treats. I hope you enjoy this video as much as you enjoy your chocolate eggs!

Leah is a lazy liar

2011-04-06T10:37:00.001-07:00

Dylan is a big fat liar

2011-04-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

In The Garage Episode 2

2011-04-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here's episode 2. In The Garage is a web series we started where we explore the cool things people do in their garages.

In The Garage Episode 1

2011-04-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the web series we started? If not, check out episode 1 below.

Ballet is NOT a Commentator Sport

2011-03-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

Lucy Loves to Laugh Part 2 (of many)

2011-02-12T08:53:00.001-08:00

The audio is off, but you get the adorable idea.

WARNING: EXTREME CUTENESS

2011-01-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

Do They Know It's Christmas Time At All?

2011-01-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

Since we went to Boise for Thanksgiving, we didn't get to do the annual Hunt. Why, yes. It did break my heart, thanks for asking. We went to a... a... sit down for this... tree lot. Gasp! I wondered if my kids would even know it was Christmas time without encountering a perilous situation. Much to my relief, they did just fine.

I realized I didn't even get a good picture of our picture perfect tree.

You can see it here behind a tightly pajama'd Hendrix.

Nash really got in the Christmas spirit at Granny G's by playing in the flour bin with the sifter for several hours.

Naturally, everyone got spoiled. "That's why they call it GRANDma!" she tells me. I see Gage carrying around a wooden bow - one of his all time favorite objects. Then I see Granny outside in 2 feet of snow, cutting straight sticks from the lilac bush with a steak knife. She and Liv made them into arrows. Clearly, Gage was in heaven.

There was so much snow in Richfield! Thor the dog would bound out of the snow, sink back in, bound out, sink back. He got especially confused when you'd throw a snowball for him to fetch, but he couldn't find it anywhere. Haha! Dogs are dumb.

Dylan worked so hard on this cool baseball gear holder. I'm so proud of his skillzzzz **Ultimate Amazingness!** Gage carried it around with him for at least 3 straight days.

Thanks pt. 2

2010-12-20T22:01:00.001-08:00

From "hillbilly" La Verkin to fancy Boise. We went to our friends "Chamber" to do a

couple of main things: eat, laugh, eat, laugh.

This picture is not actually taken in Boise. This is the Caribbean, a much better winter destination.

For some stupid reason, Amber had surgery the day we got there, so she couldn't laugh. I think the most I've laughed on a ratio basis is with Chamber. I mean, it's me and Dylan and two people frighteningly similar. How can you not laugh!?! Instead, she let out a long, low sort of moan that sent the rest of us reeling with laughter, making her groan more, making us laugh more. It was a vicious cycle.

Anyway, while Amber was cooped up in recovery, I had free reign with 7 kids ages 8, 6, 5, 3, 3, 4 months, and 3 months. Oh, it got wild.

Are there two better best friend names than Lucy and Ruby? Seriously. They are the cutest little cute things in all of cute-dom.

The roads got shut down because of blizzardy-ness, so we were stuck in La Boise for an extra day. Naturally, we spent it eating and laughing. I'm pretty sure I ate 90% of two pies. Don't do the math. Thanks, Chamber! It's always a treat.

Thanks! Give it up!

2010-12-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

15 kids in sleeping bags in the attic room. Getting my bangs ratted. Swimming. Gorging. Wood carving. Arm wrestling.

Those are the Thanksgiving memories of my youth. A hundred people packed into my Uncle Robert's house, staying up all night laughing and eating til we'd burst. As we all go older, we went our separate ways, and I genuinely missed it. This year, Robert said, "C'mon down", so we made the trek down to La Verkin, Utah. (No, I didn't make that name up).

Most of my Grandma's approx. 120 descendants were there, and it was a wild and crazy 4 days.

Dylan and 2 of my brothers schooled the young boys at basketball.

But when the young'ns were out of earshot, those old men were complaining about their knees and looking to take a nap.

The cousins ran amok in the hotel, jumping on beds, swimming, singing songs, giggling, using super powers.

I baked 9 pies, but that was merely an appetizer for the mass amounts of candy.

Curtis displays the traditional Mormon Jell-O Salad. I have a special place in my funny bone for things labeled "salad". Ask my sis-in-law Cindy for her Cookie Salad recipe.

What a great weekend! And a special thanks goes out to Katie for coming up with super heroes like "Night Magic Man".

Spooky, Scary

2010-12-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

Every year I'm sad that I can't dress us in a family theme and start our amazing costumes in July. Luckily, Lucy is still under my power and I can dress her as anything I want. Like a newt.

Every witch needs a newt, after all.

Dylan's team at work did a Mario Brothers theme and it was amazing! They won first place. Naturally, he had a great time ramming in to people as Bullet Bill.

The boys changed what they wanted to be every 10 minutes, so this year they were on their own. Gage originally wore a "Benny 'The Jet' Rodriguez" costume to Dylan's work pary, but it's basically the same baseball outfit he wears every single day, and nobody knew who he was. I talked him into this for Hallow's Eve.

And Nash wanted to be Batman for the 2nd year. Naturally, he wore his cool costume all week and then lost it on Halloween day. He ended up wearing his pajamas with some old ski goggles, no cape. Sheesh. Here he is getting a Bat Squeeze from cousin Riley.

Liv was set on being a movie star from the get-go. Here's her very "Aunt Hana" pose.

We entered some pumpkins in a contest, and Liv's won $25!

This monster was enormous! I had to haul it out of the pumpkin patch and it nearly killed me. (thanks Hana AND Nic).

Don't feel bad for that little fella. He turned out just fine in the end.

Oh, Blessed GHAG

2010-11-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

The Great Higginbotham Annual Gathering had 2 twists this year:

1. Gammy and Grampa were set to head on their mission a week later. We needed to Ultimate Party.
2. Lucy Love needed a name and a blessing.

In other news, I have a cool hat.

Olivia sewed the little red heart on the front of Lucy's blessing dress. It was hearwarming to see her sitting on a chair in the sunshine, working diligently, sewing with a smile.

Thanks to all of our family and friends for traveling all the way up to Heber to share our special day. Wasn't it grand!?

Reason I Love Dylan #3,348

2010-11-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

For Lucy's blessing luncheon we made the most amazing stew, involving garden fresh ingredients like potatoes, carrots, onions, zucchini, rosemary, some local beef, and fresh local peaches. What? Peaches in stew? Darn tootin'! It's delectable. Crap, I just drooled on my keyboard.

Anyway, the reason I love Dylan is because prior to the stew cooking event, he sorted the peaches. He doesn't just sort peaches like any old doofus. No, this is a process.

Step one: line the peaches up carefully (aligning any of my haphazardly placed peaches)
Step two: feel, smell, and visually inspect each and every peach
Step three: sort peaches into 4 places - ripe now, ripe in 3-5 days, compost pile, and "so good it must be eaten this minute".

We ate a lot of peaches this night.

Fish Stinkery

2010-11-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

It was time for the Salmon Run (which should be called a "Salmon Swim", don't you think?). Everyone headed up to the lovely Strawberry Reservoir to take in the sights and sounds and smells of the great event.

General Tom Foolery

Cousins DO NOT like to hold still for group photos, FYI.

Then it was off to the other side of the Res so Dylan could impress everyone with his mad rock skipping skillz (you know it's serious when it endz with a Z).

Nash was also impressive. That rock didn't land on his head. It landed directly behind him.

Ah, that hair!

Luckily, Gage found a good number of special treasures to bring home.

Madder Than A Wet Higg

2010-11-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

Since Gammy and Grampa would not be around for Christmas, they decided to celebrate a little early. My spazwads...er...kids.... clearly thought this was a good idea.

Dylan and Cabe even found a Christmas tree in the basement to bring up! It left that icky white "snow" EVERYWHERE. After they took it back downstairs, I heard one of the children confide to the others, "That snow didn't even taste like anything."

And what were our Christmas gifts, you ask!?! Gigantic water guns! Never say die!

Carrie had a penchant for getting sprayed in the face.

Thanks for taking the pics, Nicole. I love my sisters in law!

Lucy Loves to Laugh

2010-10-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

The River Wild Alternate Ending

2010-10-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

Go check out my alternate ending for the River Wild.

Attention All Humans!

2010-10-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that I love to bike. I am posting this link in hopes of winning a Madsen Bucket Bike, which would make my life 27.65% more radical AT MINIMUM!

Get It?

2010-09-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

Fall For It

2010-09-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

My favorite season is starting with a bang! Dylan's parents are going on a mission, so we spent the weekend with them for their farewell/putting dibs on things we get while they're gone. I scored a wheat grinder! Nash got stuck between the doors. Probably on purpose - for comedy's sake.

Somewhere in the valley the forests were ablaze. It made for some awful breathing, but amazing sunsets.

When we returned, it was off to the canyon for the glorious Parade of Colors. We were in awe as the beautiful trees whizzed past the windows.

Dylan decided to park in an empty campground to walk around for a bit. After a couple of minutes, the campground host drove over and informed us that there is a fee. We told him we weren't staying, just stretching our legs a bit.

He said (rather threateningly, in my opinion), "If you're here more'n 30 minutes, you gotta pay. And you're in a double space, so you'll pay double." I thought it was funny because there was not another human in the entire campsite. Completely vacant! It's not like we were imposing. So we just kept on walking around, and after 20 more minutes he came back, and started "casually" cleaning out the fire pit. "I think that's a hint," said Dylan, so off we went.

Goosey

2010-09-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more pictures at the request (read: violent demand) of the grandmas.

I love looking at the back of her fuzzy head. This is after her hair as been rubbed for a couple of days, but when she first gets out of the tub, it's like feathers. Feathers that stand straight up. Everyone that walks by her has to rub her fluffy head for good luck.

Everybody Footloose

2010-09-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

I recently watched the River Wild and decided to look up info on Kevin Bacon's film "Footloose". When I went to wikipedia, they had a few listings for the term Footloose.

Is anyone else mystified how the third entry is possible (read the description next to each entry)?

The Tricks of Six

2010-09-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Gage turned six, but had to have his birthday postponed a week since his sister decided to be two weeks late. Gage declared it was because she wanted to be his birthday present, and he's okay with that.

There was not question that this would be a baseball party. I invited 6 friends, but only 3 came. At first I was disappointed, but after trying to keep track of just the 4 of them, I wasglad it was just the 4 of them. We started off having every kind of ball park junk food: hot dogs, chips, ice cream cones, cake, and candy. Good thing we ate at home, because we would be broke if we bought it all at the park!

As soon as they saw Hootz, they ran after him in a frenzy. As soon as the giant mascot turned around, Nash cowered behind my legs and refused to give him a high five. Olivia got a fly ball and had him sign it, and it has been her treasured possession of the week.

Oh, yeah, he's getting even more super lashes. Someone call Guiness!

And here are a few of the funny things Gage has said recently:

February 2010

Gage has been trying, rather unsuccessfully, to jump rope. He finally did a good jump, and probably could've done another if he hadn't stopped in excitement to say, "I did one in a row!"

Thursday, March 25th 2010

Today Gage asked me if he used to write notes to me when he was in my belly. What?

Tuesday, April 6 2010

Gage was wearing Liv's short, black, velvet bolero jacket with nothing underneath. I asked him why. "I know it's kinda like a girl, but it still shows off my muscles." Perfect explanation.

Wednesday, April 14 2010
Gammy was showing Gage her porcelain dolls and said, "This one is Little Miss Muffett. Do you know that poem?" Gage replied, "Yeah. Little Miss Muffett walked by a buffet."

That night, while he was sleeping, he mumbled, "Ugh, a water balloon fight. uuhhhhh."

Sunday Afternoon: 4/25/10

Gage is playing with a motorcycle and a small stuffed chicken. Here's the dialog:

Chicken: "Shut your mouth."

Gage: "Shut your beak."

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Liv got baptized and got a big party. Gage has been having major "younger sibling-itis". He wants a party and he wants presents and he wants baptized and he wants all the attention, too. In frustration he said, "How old do I have to be before I can turn eight!?!"

Friday, July 9th, 2010

I walked into the kitchen, when suddenly Gage burst out from behind the counter, with props, and sang, "Would you like to have a cookie? Would you like a pair of shoes?" Then Olivia popped out from the dining room with her props and sang, "Would you like a walkie talkie? You can hear the newsie news!"

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

Gage wrote me a note in church. It said, "When I grow up, I will be a grown up."

Nashcar

2010-08-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Start your engines! Nash and his 3 little friends went nuts for the car race around the back yard, and we had only a few minor injuries.

Only one popsicle met its fate.

And the favorite activity was spreading chocolate cake all over the patio.

Nash is our photogenic, "I know I'm adorable, so just give me what I want" little buddy. He's a tease and a tender heart.

Here are some of the funny things he's said this year:

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

While looking at a picture of himself, I asked Nash, “Who’s that?” to which he replied, “Pete”.

Monday, October 26th 2009

Nash got into my makeup and came to show me. With obvious delight he said, “Mom! Eyes!” I gave him a look a disappointment (he knows my makeup is off limits). He shrank back and very quietly said, “Ta da.”

Nash’s Pronunciations: Ma’man/Matman (Batman), boggage (garbage), Ikench (kitchen), Gwain-gwee (blankie), Gwunkwa (grandpa)

Sunday, November 1

Nash: Dad, whas dat?
Dad: That’s my belly button.
Nash: Oh, belly’s Batman.

Saturday, January 16th 2010 - Instead of F’s, Nash places S’s. So instead of fun he says sun, etc. Tonight in the prayer he said, “Sank you sor a sood.” Thank you for the food. And he always wants to "seed the sish" - feed the fish.

Nash constantly interchanges the words “chicken” and “kitchen”. I’ll say “Go throw this away in the kitchen,” and he’ll repeat “Fwow away in da chicken. Okay.”

Wednesday, Jan 27th 2010 - From Olivia: “Mom, I think I know why God sent Nash to us. So that in case we ever have a sad moment, Nash could cheer us up and make us laugh or smile.”

He calls Uncle Cabe "Nuckle Cabe"

Tuesday, April 6 2010 - Nash has been naked all day. I finally wrangled some undies on him tonight. As I was making dinner, I sang, "1,2,3,4, Nash is knocking on the door. 5,6,7,8, Let him in so he's not late. 9,10,11,12...." I paused to think of a rhyme for 12, when Nash sang, "And I not naked!"

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 - Today Nash was lovingly brushing my hair with a Barbie brush. He occasionally gave me little kisses and was being so tender. Upon finishing, he stepped back and said, "There. You look like a rooster."

Sunday, June 20, 2010 - The bishop announced that we would be singing the National Anthem for the closing song in Sacrament meeting. Nash looked up with wide eyes, and throughout the whole song declared, "He said Nash! We singing to Nash!"

Friday, July 26, 2010 - Nash just barged into my bedroom and declared, "E'scuse me! That dinner is yucky!"

Tuesday, August 24 2010 - Nash came into my bedroom while I was laying on the bed with Lucy and asked "Who's that?" to which he quickly added, "Oh yeah, baby Woosey."

Up Close and Personal

2010-08-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

"Ugh. I do not like long labors," I said to my midwife, and she laughed right at my face! Apparently an hour and thirty five minutes isn't long. Well, it is for me, and I didn't like it.

Dylan woke up the kids and brought them in at about 1:30 am. Gage sleeps like the dead, and waking him is a special challenge. When he was going to bed he reminded us to "shake me really hard" if Lucy came. So he staggered in, rubbed his half closed eyes, gave a little smile and nod, turned around, and headed right back to bed.

Liv and Nash stayed up until four, holding her, giggling, having a party time. Nash held my hand and stroked my hair and gave me lots of kisses. He sat next to my head and very quietly sang "I Am A Child of God" and whispered a story about a dog named Thor and a chicken named Chickadee. The room was completely silent except for his tiny singing, and it was absolutely beautiful.

The very first thing Gage said the next morning was, "I want to see her feet." That's the very first thing he said when Nash was born, too! Why do we love such funny little alligator feet so much?

Get Your Lucy On

2010-08-20T02:34:00.000-07:00

Lucy

Nash looks good at 2:30 am.

Olivia LOVES her new sister and was the second person to hold Lucy.

An Inconvenient Belly

2010-08-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

I installed a closet organizer! It was so hard, but I now have shelves and drawers with baby stuff in them.

So I got in the closet and started putting up the clothes rod, then screwed in the wall securing bracket thing, then tried to get out. Uh... I was totally stuck. I had built myself in to the closet. Naively, I tried sucking in my belly to squeeze out, but no sucking in was to be done. It was so hot and I was so tired that I just wedged my pudgy little body onto the floor and sat... and sat.... for several minutes until I got up the motivation to unscrew myself from my organized prison.

And I did think, for just a moment, "If I had the baby in here, I could get right out...."

The Lost Lost Tooth

2010-07-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

Gage's first tooth losing was much less eventful (read: horrifying) than Olivia's. He went to the neighbor's to play, and when he returned announced that Naomi had pulled his tooth. A few days later, he parked himself in front of the hallway mirror and wiggled and pulled until his other loose tooth finally gave way. He rinsed the little bugger and his bloody mouth and triumphantly entered the kitchen to show me the fruits of his labor.

That night, he kept fiddling with it under his pillow and lost it. We wrote the tooth fairy a note, and she left a magical velvet bag to put the tooth in when we found it. It was under the bed, and he got his cash money, which also got lost pretty quickly.

It never ceases to amaze me how opposite my two oldest can be. Liv has had a loose tooth for literally months, and does all she can to protect it from falling out. The new one growing in is nearly as big! She lets them stay in there until they are barely hanging on and fall out gently on their own. Gage wastes no time and gets right down to a good old fashioned yanking.

Self Timer

2010-07-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

Gage has learned how to use the self timer on the camera, which makes for sweet little surprises like this:

Llamas and Trains: The Magical Land of Rigby

2010-07-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

Rigby, Idaho might not be on the top of your list of travel destinations, but they do have this stuff:

Llama kisses

Handmade trains

Technically Idaho Falls, but still....

Thanks Aunt Miranda, Uncle Trevor, Allie O'Mally, and Spikey Mikey for the killer weekend.

Doddy Dadder Camp Out

2010-07-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I can't call it the "Annual Day of Pants" any more, because Liv has actually worn pants in real life this year. *Stunned gasp* She even has - and you might want to sit down for this - a favorite pair of shorts. What!?!

Gage and Nash and I hiked part way up with them because it was an absolutely perfect evening. I admit, at 7 months pregnant and wearing a dress and flip flops, I was not well equipped for major hiking. Luckily we took it nice and easy. There were some apprehensive boy scouts at the trail head, and I heard one of them say, "If that lady can do it, you can do it." Uh...thanks?

The traditional breakfast for this event is brown sugar Pop Tarts. I send 6 of them with the campers, and Gage and I each eat one at 10 pm while we wait for the flashing. All of the campers go to a look out point and turn on their flashlights. We can see them from our house! I'm sure the passers-by were wondering what I was doing in my front lawn with a big camping lantern, flashing it on and off and on and off.

Seriously, someone get this kid a prize.

Check!

2010-05-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

Every time something mommy-ish happens to me, I make an imaginary checkmark in my mental mommy book.

Kid pooping on neighbor's porch: check!

Thanks, Nash, for yet another mommy moment.

Crazy 8 Part 2

2010-05-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

We totally surprised Liv! You would've thought it was Gage's surprise party by the way

he flipped out. The Blue Aces played a sweet set that kept everyone rockin'.

So many people! Including Crazy Aunt Hana and Background Clint.

Liv did not stop dancing! She slept SO good. I told her the tooth fairy must've been dancing at her party,too, and that's why she overslept and accidentally forgot to stop by for that front tooth.

The party was so hott that some people had to take to dancing lying down.

Crazy 8

2010-05-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. Liv cannot possibly be 8 already. Something is going on with the universe's time/space continuum.

Well, I guess she is looking pretty grown up these days. And she did do a lot of praying, studying, and discussing in preparation for her big day. There may be a slight possibility that I'm old enough to have an 8 year old after all.

Everyone was all smiles (some toothless) as her daddy baptized her in the Fayette Springs. So beautiful, and nice to have our closest family and friends around us for such a special occasion.

I had unfortunately misinformed Dylan that it was a "hot spring", when in fact it was a pretty cool spring. Poor Miss Liv usually runs the body temperature of a reptile anyway, and was all shivers as she got out.

I cried through pretty much the entire thing, which is nothing new because I cry through pretty much everything lately.

Nuncle Cabe gave a nervous Dylan a much needed "Hey, Brother" shoulder rub.

We're so proud of our Little Miss and the example she is to us. A primary leader told me that she recently gave the closing prayer, and "you would've thought it was a 95 year old woman up there! That girl gets it." She's mature beyond her years, with some spurts of spazziness mixed in there just for fun. Liv is unique and unafraid. She's my best helper and best friend. She is a gift from God and I treasure her every day. Oh, dang it, there I go again. Where's my kleenex?

Google Chrome Blog: Potato gun, lightning, and sonic magic: Unconventional speed tests for the browser

2010-05-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

Google Chrome Blog: Potato gun, lightning, and sonic magic: Unconventional speed tests for the browser

Leah Has Such A Dirty Mouth

2010-05-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Throughout our marriage Leah has only cussed a few times whereas I'll drop a bomb if I sneeze! Today Leah had the dirtiest mouth of all time.

The whole family was laying around telling riddles and jokes. Nash was eating some cereal. After a few moments Nash came up to Leah and said, "Here Mom. Eat."

Leah opened her mouth and Nash popped in a yummy treat. After a second Leah said, "Oooh, what is this?"

She pulled chicken poop out of her mouth! She immediately sent Nash to the corner. I asked her what her punishment was for eating without looking and she just gave me a dirty look.

Leah, you should really clean up your mouth.

Dylan is Prepared

2010-04-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I send Dylan to the grocery store. These adventures have brought cookie dough, 4 lb. bags of chocolate chips, Nutella, and other fun and frivolous items.

This time he had a coupon, and decided he's stock up on a good deal to be super helpful. I love my husband!

More Easter!

2010-04-08T16:04:00.001-07:00

You thought I was done with chicks!? No way! We went to Temple Square on Monday with our friends the Woolners. It was windy and freezing and we were all exhausted and, I dare say, a little grumpy. But we still had a good time and we were sad to see them go.

Most of Temple Square was the kids running from water fountain to water fountain and asking for pennies. They know better than asking for more.

Ears + freckles = ultimate adorableness

This is why I've always called Amber "The Human Tripod". DO NOT challenge her to a game of Twister.

Nash being a tiger. A blue eyed, curly haired tiger. Right after this photo he pried the bars open with his bare hands and jumped to the landing 12 feet below.

I made the mistake of setting this sour cream chocolate cake with raspberry filling in the midst of 5 children. Good thing I got a "before" shot. And, yes, it was yummier than it looks.

Hot Chicks

2010-04-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

I finally talked Dylan into getting chicks. Well, semi-talked, and then I just went ahead and got 'em. We love them! Seriously, can baby animals get any cuter? The kids went nuts on Easter morn and haven't stopped harassing the poor little things.

Liv's chicken has gone through several name changes: Alexa, Priscilla, Sienna, and since I told her it was a Rhode Island Red, she has been calling it "Red". My bet is that it will end up being called Anne, after Anne of Green Gables, or a name from the book.

Gage and little Chickadee Doo Da, or Chickadee for short.

Nash and Batman. Gage suggested Batgirl, since it's a girl, but Nash is sticking with Batman.

A Father's Influence

2010-03-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad Dylan is such an amazing Dad, passing on wisdom and knowledge and bad impressions to his young son.

Time to Die

2010-03-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

I (Dylan) got this very unreassuring verification code on Facebook the other day:

School-homed

2010-03-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

I found this article rather amusing, particularly the last sentence:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/increasing-number-of-parents-opting-to-have-childr,17159/

San Diego 2010, Part 2

2010-03-29T08:02:00.001-07:00

Here are more pics from our San Diego trip. There is a map to the right of the album that shows where in SD we went.

Enjoy!

http://bit.ly/9XSmoN

Obama is Wrong

2010-03-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

Obama is Wrong. If you want to find out why the current health care reform will be bad, read this: Imprimis.

Stister

2010-03-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

There was much rejoicing when the ultrasound technician declared, "It's a girl!" Miss Liv looked like she would faint. She had presented us with a list of baby girl names that morning:

Anne
Diana
Priscilla
Emily
Charlotte
Joe

There were 24 in all.

Nash lifted his shirt during the ultrasound and said, "My baby, too!" while patting his tummy. They all laughed when the profile popped up and she was sucking her thumb. Oh, no! My girls are suckers! We're all very relieved and thrilled for our new baby "sti-ster" to arrive.

NYC 2010

2010-03-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Granny G took Natalie and me to NYC. When people asked what I was going to do, I replied simply, "Eat." And boy did I! Korean, Austrian, Italian, and the soups.... I'm a sucker for soup.

The view from our hotel.

Natalie's and expert with chopsticks. Me, not so much.
For some lame reason you're not allowed to take pictures inside the DaVinci museum at the Discovery Center. So I got this dorky one instead. And it's too bad because it was my favorite part of the trip. We loved the harpsichord viola, which was what its name implies, only attached to leather underwear so you can walk around and play. Pure genius!

Times Square used enough electricity in 1 minute to power my house for 2 years. It was like daytime at 10 pm. But it was a good thing all those signs were there because I almost forgot about Coca Cola and Target.

Central park was beautiful, even in the rain. I'd like to go back some time when things are not so shlumpy.

The streets and sidewalks were covered with these umbrella remains, like the fossils of a pterodactyl being uncovered in the rain.

I found a lot of things that just tickled me a bit:

Free Hot Dog, Pool, Darts, Bikini
Hmmmm.

Then we spent a couple of days in State College, Pennsylvania where Nat is currently living. This is her back yard:

Sweet! Pennsylvania has dense forestation and endless hills. I felt like we were a prime target for attack. Any moment those Red Coats could come charging over that hill!

Pharmacists: Glorified Drug Pushers

2010-03-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

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

Winter is for Suckers!

2010-02-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

"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.

A typical Warner weekend

2010-02-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

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.

Mith Olivia'th tooth

2010-02-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

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."

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

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

Favor

2009-12-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

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

www.akwardfamilyphotos.com

www.manbabies.com

Wohoo!

2009-12-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

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.

GHAG

2009-11-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

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!

New Room!

2009-11-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

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.

Something

2009-11-19T21:41:00.001-08:00

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

Up in the World

2009-11-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

Check out my contribution to a major blog:

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

NO CAPES!!!

2009-11-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

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.

Halloweeeeeeeen!

2009-11-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

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!

Note the earrings.

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

Labor Daybor

2009-09-15T12:39:00.001-07:00

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!

Ward Camp Out

2009-09-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Our ward camps in the most amazing spot: Granite Flats of American Fork Canyon. Beeeeeautiful! I wish we could've stayed more than just one night. It feels a little ridiculous to have to pack up so much stuff for one night.

Gage and Liv prepped by building a fire in the back yard. They dug the pit, circled the rocks, found the kindling and sticks, and came and got me to start it. The fire blazed right up and they roasted mint leaves. Note that Liv wore pants for fire building AND camping.

Nash is definitely my kid.

Gage and Liv were off exploring in the mountains most of the time, so the only pictures we have are of Nash. But that's okay because he's gorgeous.

Told you so.

Number 5 is Alive!

2009-09-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

"Olivia, I don't feel like I feel like I'm five," said Gage the day after his pirate party. But he should! Check out this dive:

This year Gage has learned to ride a 2 wheeler bike and loves to go to the skate park, has gone off sweet ramps on his Razor scooter, practiced his headstands (he can do a head slide, one handed, no handed, and 180 and 360 degree spins), and begun cursive writing. He's also said these hilarious things:

"I'm moving to You Nork City!"

"Mom, Nash just said Reservation Spatula."

"No, Olivia, it's MY turn to chooses a story....what story do you want me to choose?"

"Hi Mom, I’m just going to watch a movie at the movie theater. It’s called “Chipmunk, Chipmunk, why won’t you learn your ABC’s under the water.”"

We drove by a yard sale. Checking it out through his window, Gage commented, “Oh, man. Those people are having a boring party.”

Gage is tough, but shy. Energetic, but my best cuddler. Independant, but a momma's boy. Hilarious and insightful. We love him and his 2 inch eyelashes! Happy Birthday, little buddy.

Nifty

2009-08-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

Granny G turned 50 and I threw her a surprise party. Scope out this list and then rate the party on a scale of 1-10:

1. Slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches
2. Pinata
3. Balloon animals, swords, and hats
3. Bounce house
4. 800 ft. of streamers
5. 100 balloons
6. Three kinds of cake
7. "This Is Your Life" with embarrassing moments told by friends and family.

Dylan wearing pinata remains, and Riley Mac in a pretty hat.

It was a priceless event. Granny G is the best Granny G you could ask for, and we all love her dearly. Ask her about her lemon meringue pie, why there's water "way up here!?", and the time there were a whole bunch of spiders in her bath water.

Falls

2009-08-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

Don't get startled! I mean water falls! Although I could easily do a post on the endless number of spills taken by my three hooligans. But back to the matter at hand. We're very fortunate to live but a short drive from this:

Accompanied by Aunt Hana, Uncle Nic, Baby Belly Hendrix, and Hana's sweet waddle.

Before you can even say "waterfall" Gage is immediately in the water, catching bugs, throwing rocks, floating sticks.

Liv and Gage learned to ride bikes this spring, and there's no stopping them.
If you know Liv at all, you know her footwear of choice. This picture shall be a treasure.

Nash is still #1 All Time Winner Cute Baby Face

Family Re:

2009-07-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

"You don't have very many cousins, do you?" I asked Dylan this morning. So we counted them all up, and he actually has more than me. Those Higginbothams are just a much quieter group than my side of the family. That reunion was a spaz a second, I tell you. But just because they're calmer, doesn't mean we didn't have a great time. The little cousins still did some good spazzing. Nice back bend, Liv!

Hana insisted on playing Bocci Ball, but only made it through 2 throws before she pooped out!

The kids found a huge nest of horned beetles. Eeeeek!

Gage named this one Ringo.

Nash was walking around on the grass when I heard a blood curdling scream. I rushed to save his life, and he pointed to his foot. There was a beetle crawling on his shoe.

Ute Stampede

2009-07-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's become a bit of a tradition for our U of U student housing friends to get together around the 4th of July. 11 hungry kids ages 1-7 in a hotel room after long car rides. What fun!

Becca Salisbury and Nash were best friends, even through some mis-communications. The first day, she was positive Nash was a girl. That diaper change sure set her straight. The next day, she woke up and first thing asked her mom if she could go see "that talking baby". The rest of the day she referred to him as "Jojo that talking baby".

Meals were the only quiet time.

Then the pinata broke, and so did the sound barrier.
Thanks Lewis, Salisbury, and Faux families for the outstanding time. I have a surprising lack of pictures, so please send me some.

Hard Knock Life

2009-07-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

The annual Tuacahn pilgrimage took us to "Annie" this year. It was okay. In the words of Gage, "I'm getting bored of this. I'm getting bored of not seeing that dog." Sandy was only on stage for about 2 minutes. It was a hard knock.The show was postponed for rain for 20 minutes. We thought, "Oh, good. Rain will cool St. George down a bit." Wrong. Now instead of being hot, we were hot and wet. Good thing it's beautiful enough down there to make up for it.

We got to stay the night at Dylan's cousin's house. They have a gecko.

And this is their back yard. Not too shabby.

Really? In Nephi?

2009-07-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

My Grandma Jake's 80th birthday was held in Nephi. If any of my relatives have pictures of my kids going down the giant blow-up slide, or of me doing flips off it, please email them to me. Granny G is awesome for renting it, and I looked waaaay better going down than the dude in this stock photo:

Who knew that Nephi had a cool old mill and a memorial rose garden? What a perfectly perfect spot for a Sunday stroll.

If you've never driven the Nebo Loop behind Mt. Nebo, you are missing out. We saw deer, an eagle, all kinds of scurrying things, and two wild turkeys with 7 turklets. Every turn brought new, amazing scenery. It's an hour detour well worth your time.

Carnie-verous

2009-07-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

You know you are truly a grown up when the carnival no longer brings butterflies of excitement, but worms of disgust.

Nightmares.

But the kids had a grand time, and so did all the people fortunate enough to witness the overjoyed waves and giggles from Nash as he rode boats, motorcycles, cars, and trains in unending circles. There was, without exaggeration, a 55 minute wait for the ferris wheel. Sheesh. And my favorite -the swings- was broken. Sad. The money for those rides went towards a bag of cotton candy, which shouldn't be as satisfying as it is, knowing you've just paid $3 for about 4 tablespoons of colored sugar. But it's so magically melty!

Liv rode the carousel side saddle, with legs crossed, as a proper lady should.

Gage broke out every death defying stunt he could muster.

Nash was insistent upon riding the chicken.

"Love Being a Mom" Moments

2009-06-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

Gage comes running toward me with the MagnaDoodle, which he drops. “Oh, man, it un-raced,” he says. I correct him. “Don’t you mean erased.” He looks at me quizzically. “No. Because I drawed a horse race.”

He was wearing 9 shirts one day, and when I asked him why, he told me it was his coat of any colors.

Tough Enough

2009-06-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

Gage is tough enough for ballet. It takes a real man to wear a pink leotard and do tendu's til you're ready to fall over.

I found a BYU student willing to come to my house and teach a few kids ballet once a week for super cheap. Clearly, Liv was thrilled.
She worked hard and took it very seriously. After the lesson, she hugged me, thanked me, and said, "I felt me being a true ballerina," while patting her heart.

Revenge is Sweet

2009-05-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Unless you are the one getting revenged.

And not because I need to get Chad for anything, but simply because this is a great photo.

FINE!

2009-05-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

Since Dylan thinks he can humiliate me in front of my billions of fans, I'll just go ahead and post some about our cruise. There are two things you need to know:

#1. It was absolutely awesome.

Okay, so there's only that one thing.

Thar she be, the beautiful Navigator of the Seas, on which we did the following:

Watched Chad annihilate buffalo and other big game. Dylan thought it was hilarious.
I'm even sad about virtual hunting. Those poor digital animals.
Found that I excel at rock climbing.
Choreographed dances for the drunks.

Had a golf-off after Chad and I tied. Who won that, again?

Dylan was too busy falling over with laughter from Amber's mini golf "technique", which was chasing the ball around and whacking at it like a hunk of Chad's trophy buffalo.Ice capade. Dylan is wearing the safety gear for comedy purposes. He's actually quite skilled on the ice. I am wearing the protective gear in order to not die.
Trickery. Our table mate, Dwight, called for a celebration of our new-found friendship. He hailed the waitress, who brought us each a shot glass of some "wicked strong" rum. After thanking him for the gesture, and telling him we didn't drink, he decided he had better drink them all himself. After three shots, I was worried about him. "Should he be drinking this much?" I asked his fiance. She whispered to me that it was only water. Naturally, I picked up my glass, declared "You're only in Jamaica once!" and downed my shot glass.
Dylan's mouth dropped. Amber's eyes grew wide. Chad gasped. I laughed so hard I almost fell into my plate. Dylan grabbed my head and stuttered, "We should get her back to the room!" Amber calculated: "Okay, Leah has never had alcohol, she's 100 lbs. and some change, she's going to get alcohol poisoning and die." They were pretty panicked and it was hilarious.

Off the ship we explored a little of Jamaica, climbing Dunn's Falls, which keeps going and going and going. It was amazing. We rafted the white river, stopping to do flips into the shallow water every now and then. On Grand Cayman Island, we swam with sting rays (which suck on you like you're made of Jell-o), walked the beaches, almost died from INSANE driving, and got nicely burnt.