Babysitting

We owed Richele and Greg a night of babysitting and so a couple of weeks ago they left their cute kids with us for a night. We took the kids to get pizza and play at a park before we brought them home, got them washed up and ready for a movie before bed.

Sweet Caleb face.

Samantha and Nicole snuggling on the couch.

The 4 kiddos together.

The next morning we had a yummy breakfast together before embarking on some yard work and hanging out together before the babes had to go back home. Richele and Greg were able to go to dinner, a play, have a night in a hotel (insert dirty music here), and then spend the morning playing at Boondocks. I think they had a nice time and their kids are RIDICULOUSLY easy to babysit, so it worked out well for all!!

Fall Break

For Fall Break this year Andy took Friday off of work and we joined the rest of the state of Utah at Gardner Village. We had never been there before but heard great things - especially about the happenings at Halloween time. We arrived and decided to have a bit of an early lunch to avoid the growing crowds. We ate there at Archibalds and it was quite tasty.

Alex grabbed my camera out of my purse and proceeded to take about 100 pictures. I saved 2. This one of Samantha drinking.....

And this very creepy one of Andy eating.

It was a super sunny, warm day. Quite lovely except for picture taking by a witch.

Ready to go home after wandering, eating, completing the "Where's the Witch" game and getting cookies for a quarter.
We plan on going back around Christmas time to see the place all decked out in holiday decorations!

Pumpkin pickin'

Every year Richele's terrific in-laws invite our family to go to their farm and pick pumpkins. We enjoy being together, roasting hot dogs by the fire, and swatting mosquitoes. This year it was incredibly warm which made it even more fun.

Alex with his chosen pumpkin.

Shell-bell helping Samantha pick one (or Samantha helping Richele, I'm not sure which!).

I just ADORE Caleb in his boots, hat, and pumpkin shirt walking around kicking the dirt. TO DIE FOR!

Beautiful sunset and a crowd of Cooks!

Samantha got a quick ride with Uncle Greg and Caleb before we headed home.

October 2010

We had the family over for big breakfast the Sunday of Conference weekend. Grammy and Grampy put together cute little packets for the kids to complete while the grown-ups attempted to listen. Here they are playing BINGO.

And the boys "watching" Conference.

Baby Abby was wearing a dress that Kami wore when she was a baby and so we had a little photo shoot in my bedroom. She is just too cute - if you ask me!!!

My cousin has hosted a little boutique at her home for the past couple of years and it worked out for us to join in this year.

Kami selling her adorable jewelry, cards, and other crafty-crap.

Richele selling her amazing temple photos.

And my table full of fatty, cookie delight!

I'm not sure if any of us really made any money, but it was a great day together and a good way to sharpen up on our selling techniques!

Bathroom Project Update

Here is the bathroom all stripped and spackled, ready for paint.

Bathroom all painted and the pedestal for the sink sitting. See that little piece of green molding on the floor? Yup, I'm painting my baseboards green to match the library to which the bathroom is connected!! I know you don't see colorful baseboards with white walls too often, but you do in the Higham house!

We discovered that the previous owners of the home left 2 large boxes of leftover flooring that we are going to use here and save some money! My sink arrived in perfect condition and my faucet should arrive next week. I can't wait!

8 years

Today, Andy and I have been married for 8 years.

What I remember about our wedding day:
- Bright, blue sky with absolutely NO clouds (which didn't help with pictures!)
- Lots of great family and friends.
- Being totally comfortable in my dress and shoes.
- Wishing I had done my hair and makeup differently, but not really caring at all!
- Being TOTALLY pumped that I made the decision not to have a reception (Best. Idea. Ever!)
- Thinking how stellar the food at The Lion House was.
- Wondering who those 2 uninvited people were at the luncheon?
- Being so excited for the luncheon to be over so I could go to the salon and get a haircut (while Andy got a massage).
- Sleeping on the airplane to California and being wicked excited to go to Brazil (which didn't end up happening, whoopsie!)
- Overall, I remember that it was a wonderful, relaxed, stress-free day that everyone enjoyed!

Here is what the past 8 years has offered us:
- 5 homes in 2 states: Orem (UT)(8 months), Jersey City (NJ)(2 years), Woodbridge (NJ)(1.5 years), Pleasant Grove (UT)(3 years) and Provo (UT)(7 months so far).

- 2 awesome kids

- COUNTLESS hairstyles for Kristi

- 2 hairstyles for Andy (zipper, and short)(that first one is for you, Kami)

- Lots of sickness (like Andy right now), and LOTS of health.

- 1 surgery

- Lots of great travels: Greece, Israel, Brazil, Hawaii, England, California, all up and down the east coast, and of course ATLANTIC CITY!!!! (that last one is a joke, AC blows)

- 2 pet birds that no one but me really cares about.

- A lot of tears, but more importantly, a lot of laughs!

Thanks for staying married to me, Andy. It's a tough job, I know! I love you tons and look forward to many more years full of good times!!
Happy Anniversary!
And thanks for the door knob!! ;-)

Day 1

I forgot to take a before BEFORE picture, so this one will have to do.
For Christmas this year my parents are buying me a new bathroom!!
I'm so excited! This is the 3/4 bathroom we have upstairs that serves as the guest bathroom.
Check out that vinyl!! It's hideous! The rest of the bathroom is just okay, but since it is the guest bathroom I want it to look fantastic.
And so the project begins!
My dad came over last night and we ripped out the sink, toilet, baseboards, etc. Alex and I just spent a little time spackling so that I can paint the room. I'm just painting it an off-white color that matches all the trim in the house. It's such a small room that I want it to look open.
The pedestal sink I want is on order and should be here soon. I'm hunting for new baseboards a new faucet, and new flooring.
I think it'll look so great and I'm excited to get my hands a bit dirty on the project!
And to have my dad's hands get dirty.
He's the master at remodeling!
So, thanks dad!

I'll post more pictures as the bathroom gets it's new look!

Alex's 5th Birthday

This is the dinosaur cake Alex wanted for his birthday. I thought he turned out really cute!! AND, he was super easy!

How cute is that?? That is Alex making his wish with his eyes closed and hands clasped and everything. Cutest. Kid. EVER!

I hope his wish came true!

Face paint

Samantha's school fund-raiser was a carnival this year and we had a great time! Andy was out of town so my mom came along to help out with all the festivities. Grammy was kind enough to wait in the LONG line for the kids to get their faces painted and it was no surprise that Alex chose the Batman mask and Samantha chose the Princess mask.

Happy 5th Birthday Alexander!!!

DUDE! You're 5!!
We've never really had a good nickname for you besides DUDE. But honestly, it fits you quite well!
Here are the top 5 things I love about you, Alex:

1. You are extremely determined! You never give up!
2. You are absolutely hilarious.
3. You are a momma's boy and I KNOW that I am your favorite person in the world!
4. You are sweet and kind to everyone.
5. You are very spiritual and say better prayers than most adults I know.

Overall Alex, you ROCK! I am so grateful that you came into our family. We feel like a complete family with you. Thank you for being such a sweet boy and being my best friend!!
Happy Birthday!
I love you!!

Family Portraits 2010

A great big THANK YOU to Richele for coming to our house to take our pictures!! You rock!!
www.room302creations.com

We Got Samantha on the Boat!!!!!

Samantha, a lot like her mommy, can feel the movement of every vehicle she is in. Boats are no exception and the movement of the boat scares her quite badly. She hasn't been on the boat for a couple of years now but with the help of Uncle Greg she decided to give it a go!! Then she regretted it and screamed for 10 minutes. I'm sure the whole of Utah Lake heard her. Once she calmed down and allowed herself to relax she started to enjoy the ride and even got some fun tube rides.
Like Nicole kept saying, "It's just a boat, Samantha!".

She even gave the "go faster" sign!

Nicole's face CRACKS ME UP in this picture!

A very full tube.

You just know that Greg is reaching to keep Alex from jumping/falling in.

Love Samantha's face......probably going a bit faster than she liked.

Uh-oh

One of Samantha's new best friends is a boy. His name is Malcolm. He lives near us and is in our ward. She eats lunch with him.
And so it begins!!!!

Alex's first day of 2nd year Preschool

This is Alex all ready for his first day of his last year of Preschool. The kid is a head taller than half of the kids in there!!! He looks SOOOO old compared to everyone else! He was also so well behaved and I'm hoping he'll be a good example to the other kids. Man, I wish this kid were in Kindergarten this year........sigh.

Love you Alex buddy!! You will do great this year!! I'm so proud of you.

Samantha's first day of 1st Grade!!!!

Leaving the house....looking adorable and a bit nervous.

Waiting outside the school for a bit.....looking even more nervous.

Outside her classroom door.....looking more confident and happy (her cute teacher is in the background. The woman looks in her 40's but she has 10 kids and 13 grandkids!!).

Alex is not too happy about the whole situation. He about broke down in tears.

So I let him go into the classroom to give her one last hug. They are such good friends!

Do you see how that boy is looking at her????? We are in SOOOOO much trouble!!

Have a great first day Mantha-Moo!!! We are proud of you and will miss you so much! (But we'll see you at 1.30! ;-))

Summer 2010

It's been a fairly uneventful summer for us this year. Our main priority (okay, MY main priority) has been the yard and the house. When we moved in the yard was SOOOOOO overgrown and I just couldn't handle it! The yard was definitely not my style, so I have been working very hard on ripping things out, chopping trees, and just trying to make it my own. It's been a lot of hard work but I am learning a lot. And loosing weight. Pulling out greenery with roots stretching to China is a ROUGH workout!! I wish I would have taken more before and after pictures, but I'm just not that smart sometimes. Here are a couple though from my ripping-down-the-ivy adventure.

Before
After

The month of July included the following:
Samantha's sleep study in which we paid a bunch of money to find out that her sleep is close to normal (I guess she doesn't get the right amount of REM sleep, but there is no explanation for it or anything to do about it.)
A Saturday afternoon trip to Bridal Veil Falls.

And of course, Samantha's 6th birthday.

August included more yard work and a quick weekend to Vernal to visit Dinosaurland.


They are working on updating The Quarry in the dinosaur park and so most all of it is closed - which is why entrance to the park was free. So, seeing real bones in the ground was kind of a bust, but we saw a few and then enjoyed some time at the new Dino museum. It was a great museum. We all had an enjoyable time. Except I got sick. Blast you KFC!!!!

This week marks the end of our summer and I am okay to see it go!!! The kids are ready and excited for school and I am ready and excited to see them off! Kristi-time is going to increase dramatically which makes me hope that family-time will be that much more enjoyable!!!