THE HIGH FAM

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Kimball

2012-01-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

He's the big 32- and I'm not talking about Jimmer!

We love you so so so much Kimball! Happy Birthday to the greatest person I know!

Talmage 6 months old pictures

2011-12-31T23:01:00.000-08:00

My little doll boy.

We already knew that he is a smiley guy, but we learned how much he loves the camera.

Emily Loveland did an awesome job- and we had such a great time too. No stress!

Em had to snap this candid shot.

We were all done, but she picked up her camera and he SMILED for her.

I made this quilt for him a couple of months ago as a play quilt. It went significantly faster than I thought, and even though it was kind of a whim, we both really like it. It is a black and white cow print on the back that's made of minky.

Love him.

He's a dream.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T21:48:00.001-08:00

2011

is over.

It's been a wonderful year so we celebrated. It's always hard for me to fathom how far away my childhood or highschool graduation or mission or wedding day is getting, but I will embrace it- because I look forward to another year. We anticipate some big changes for everyone and hope it's as memorable. I plan on documenting it right here.

In Kimball's mind he couldn't think of a better way to start the new year

than with a glass of Martinelli's.

Sick ducks

2011-12-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

I have done...

MUCH

LAUNDRY!

The day after Christmas, we put the kids to bed. I awoke to some muffled kid sounds at 2:30 am. I got up to go to the boys room and on the way, saw Benson on the couch. I began talking to him, and he began barfing at me. I caught most of it with a blanket-luckily. It's not the first time that Kimball has been alarmingly awoken with a cry of help from me. Benson was ghost white. We bathed him for the second time that night, and went into his room to get him new clothes, only to discover that that had been the second time that he threw up. Hence the picture. He ended up throwing up through the night and into midday. Sleeping and resting. The next day he seemed much better. It was about one pm., I'm ready to head out, Talmage is in his carseat, diaper bag on my shoulder, and Andrew threw up all over the floor. What!! We had another long day and night of lots of 'episodes'. By Friday everyone seems pretty normal and we hope that mom, dad, and the baby are spared.

I took this picture on Thursday night when Andrew was still mopey. Kimball and I were talking and Andrew just climbed right up on the stool and put his arms around daddy. I literally had the camera sitting next to me and glad I could snap this little moment.

punked

2011-12-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

I got punked by my three year old last night. We were putting the boys to bed, I was on Andrew and was already putting him in bed while Kimball was brushing Benson's teeth. Andrew and I were laughing and tickling and wrestling on the bed. Kimball reminded me that I was supposed to be winding him down- not up. I told him that I'd 'turn him off' as soon as Benson came to bed. Kimball finished with Benson and brought him to the bed. I said to Andrew, "Okay, Andrew, where is your off button? Let me find it." I turned him over to pretend to push his pretend button on his back. I did it and Andrew laughed and said, "mom, push my button again." I TOTALLY FELL FOR IT! I did, and he immediately made the sound that boys do best- tooted. Kimball and I literally rolled over in laughter. Just so it's clear- he's never ever seen that trick before. He's been totally pre-programmed. Never a dull moment here.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

Santa came!

Talmage was the first one to the tree, I set him there so that I could video the boys coming from their room. They were so cute. There's nothing like children smiling and giggling.

Let the paper begin to fly. This year we actually were in a hurry. We had church at 10 am, and we had to be done, fed, and dressed by then. They boys didn't mind getting things handed to them, one right after another.

We heard things like, "thank you", and "I love it!!!" and "OHHH!"

That is a hug Andrew is giving to his movie "Cars 2."

After church we came home, changed, and then headed to Salt Lake for Christmas at the High's. Everyone has a stocking and we get neat little things in there, like chocolate, clementines, 2 $ bills, little toys, jewelry, flashlights, etc.

You can see the cute little horses on carousels hanging from the piano. Pops puts them up each year and they are right at the childrens' eye level. They love the music and watching the horses go up and down, up and down.

Wouldn't be Christmas without the homemade cinnamon rolls, queens mix, fruit and egg nog.

some new kicks.

Later that night, we went to my parents to have a simple dinner and exchange name gifts. This would be our last night with Laura and Dan's family- dread.

We let the kids exchange first so that they could go play, and then the adults could exchange gifts. This year we had Stephanie and her family on Skype. We'll definately do that again, then she could actually see what was going on instead of just hear the craziness.

I had Laura's name and I for sure knew that I was going to get her a cutting mat, ruler, and rotary cutter (sweater) so that she would be 'set' to sew when she was far away from home. She gave that gift to me two years ago, and I have used it like a million times, and wonder how I EVER tried to sew without those things.

The greatest gift of the day- a beautiful happy boy!

Transformers!

What great blessings we have! What a wonderful holiday!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas, so we did the traditional. Scramble to make sure that you've got everything ready; food, gifts, gas, etc. We went to the Joneses at about 5 for a Christmas Eve dinner- a delicious spread, and then for lots of family time, noise, chaos, singing, and a reading from Luke 2.

Gathered together. I don't think it ever got quiet, but we were all just so excited.

Clark's family and Evan

Anthony and Jamie. Jordan and Katherine.

Angela and Paul were there all the way from Philadelphia.

It's a tradition in the Jones family that we get to open one gift for Christmas Eve. Kimball doesn't love that tradition, so we comprimise and I make them pajamas as a gift and they get to open those and wear them on Christmas. Toy Story was the theme this year.

Laura and I made them together for all our boys.

Here they are modeling their new pj's, except we're missing the two cutest ones-

Talmage and Jake.

They played "football" in the basement for about an hour after getting into their jammies. I took some video, and cried because I knew that Laura would be leaving for So. Carolina within 36 hours. I didn't even want to stop them so that we could go home. They laughed and tackled and ran, and teased. Silly, silly boys. They are really entertaining to watch.

Finally we did make it home, and we made sure to leave Santa something to eat.

Two years ago we were given a special gift from Grandma Mary Jane Knights. She gave us the book, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" that had a recording of her reading it. Kimball turned the pages for the boys. Then we crossed our fingers that they would fall asleep quickly. They did.

This is Talmage's very first Christmas!!

Hope we've all been good this year. To all a good night.

Tomorrow

2011-12-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Andrew's LAST day of Nursery.

He is SO excited!!

He's wanted to go into Primary since last January when Benson left him for Sunbeams.

He had a great time in nursery (and had awesome teachers) but isn't looking back.

Santa

2011-12-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Dear Santa,

They would both like Transformers.

For the last several years my mom has been a volunteer at Festival of Trees. We always go the day she's there. The boys had a little too much freedom looking at the trees, but were so excited at all the decorations, lights, and TOYS! Grandma got Benson a scone, and Andrew a cinnamon roll, which he dropped on the floor in less than three seconds. Too bad we couldn't have stayed longer due to preschool, but we had a great time. Gets me in the Christmas spirit for sure.

1st Snowman

2011-11-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

Best day of winter so far was when Andrew saw it was all white outside and ran to us and said, "Mom mom, there's no on the ground. All over. There's no on everyone's house!" He has a hard time with "S" but he and Benson are excited for the snow. We went right out and made a snowman. The snow was perfect for packing and our snowman got rocks for eyes and nose, a lavender blossom for a mouth and sticks for arms.

After the snowman we packed everyone up and went down to Lehi to watch Erica's nephew Zach play in the pee-wee football 5th grade championship game. Erica's brother Clark coaches the team and they won! Congratulations to Zach and Clark. It was frigid outside and we had this fleece one piece (we call it the star suit) since Benson, and Talmage loved it because it's EXTREMELY warm.

Pocket Pals

2011-11-22T17:26:00.001-08:00

What do all these items have in common?

When I came home from church Erica said to me, "We've finally found the Lightning McQueen car Benson has been missing for so long." I replied that I didn't think it was our car since I saw Benson playing with Grant in their pew after Sacrament Meeting. The next day we got a call from Jamey, "I have an odd question to ask you... Grant is missing his Lightning McQueen car..." Our son lifted someone elses property while at church!

That day Erica took Benson over to Jamey's house to return the car. They returned the hot item and had a great time playing with Grant. That night I was cleaning up the boys room and found two cars in a corner of their room. Benson ran up to me and said, "Dad, I have a secret... those are Grants." At least we have an honest, clever thief. He traded one car for two! Sorry Jamey.

The next day Benson came home from pre-school and told Erica, "Mom, Mrs. Debbie gave me a car today, but if I go there again I'll give it back to her." This is speak for Benson temporarily borrowing it :(. Sorry Miss Debbie.

We've been to Aunt Carlie's house twice recently celebrating family dinner's and birthday's. After we came home I ran a load of laundry and heard a ruckus in the washing machine. I thought they were shoes, but found out immediately after opening the load to have a domino fall out of the washer. The other domino manifested itself in the dryer cycle! Sorry Carlie.

Today there was a Chinese coin sitting on our table. "Erica, where did this coin come from?" "I found it in the dryer," she replied, "it just showed up today." Thinking about our recent experiences the light bulb came on, Carlie spent 3 months teaching English in China. Sorry Carlie.

Jamey had a good laugh about this recent delinquent activity but it's really not funny. We don't think there's any maliciousness to Benson's misdemeanor (pun intended) but if we don't solve this problem soon we'll have two and then three derelicts in our house. Until then we suggest you do what mom does when Benson leaves ... check his pockets on the way out!

Andrew wanted a picture too. He didn't know what for.

6th Anniversary

2011-11-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

We got dressed in our formal attire and went to The Garden for dinner. This restaurant has a special place in our relationship. Plus the view isn't so bad ;). We thoroughly enjoyed the food and chance to have adult conversation.

We had our wedding luncheon in the Empire room. Unfortunately the video was destroyed by accident but I called her up on stage and sang to Erica on our wedding day. During our date the room was empty and I got the chance to look her in the eye again with an even better understanding of who she is and why I married her 6 years ago.

I married the best person on the Earth. Erica is an answer to my prayers every single day I am with her. I continually wonder how she does everything that she does so selflessly, and 98% of the time she does it with a smile and a glad heart. She is an incredible mother. I certainly couldn't raise 3 boys on my own and she makes sure our boys have attention, education and experiences that build their character and fulfill their passions. She notices the smallest details of change in our boys and points out what they are doing -that they've never done before.

She is tolerant (especially of me), and patient and kind. She is passionate and personable and always presentable and modest. She is a woman of virtue and honor. She has a desire to only be around wholesome and encourages me to stay away from anything that is not. I appreciate her demanding one-on-one time and how she tells me all the little details of her day, and carefully listens to mine. Erica is creative and I frequently find her teaching herself a new skill that results in a beautiful craft, decoration, clothing or gift. I love that she tries so hard to have a warm meal ready when I come home and believes in the foundation of communication that the event of family dinner truly is. She is diligent in supporting my ambition and encourages me to have more. She has a meaningful and personal relationship with God our Eternal Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. She is prayerful, spiritual and faithfully, and dutifully serves other people; when assigned or at random. She sees a need and fills it. She is a great ear, sometimes too good of an ear when I want my own time with her. She is compassionate, sympathetic and empathetic; she often cries for people she doesn't even know.

She is an advocate and doesn't settle. She knows my needs intimately and continually looks out for me. She understands me and makes considerable effort to make me happy, contribute to my happiness, and be the source of my happiness. Erica is beautiful inside and out, makes sure to keep me looking her way and I desire to only have her, to hold on to her, for this life and the next, for life, and through life. With ambition for a better life I fell to one knee, she is my love. I am the luckiest.

Winning Pumpkin

2011-11-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

My work had a Halloween Party during lunch on Monday and had prizes for best chili, best costume and best pumpkin. I did a cool BYU pumpkin a few years ago and enjoyed it, so I thought... why not?!

I saw a cool design that made the orange pumkin look like a peeled off face with a skull underneath. We drove to 4 grocery stores before we found one with regular orange pumpkins and the special white pumpkins. The orange pumpkin was 19 cents a pound and the white 69 cents per pound. Thought I would share that ;).

I started out with 2 pumpkins.

Then I removed the guts to get ready for carving.

Then I carved out the skull face and Jack-O-Lantern face.

It took some trickery to mate the two together because I couldn't get my fingers inside the skull pumpkin. I made shelves inside for candles, and put those inside. I used toothpicks and scissors and with lots of care not to bust out the teeth and finally got the two pumpkins to match up how I wanted.

The end result is pretty cool. I took it to work and won 2nd place and $50 for 4 hours of pumpkin carving madness and less than 3 bucks in pumpkin! Yeah Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

...FROM: Talmage

Got him gigggggling so hard- he fell over like a snow angel. Had to video that too.

Benson on a two wheeler

2011-10-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

No more of these...

These training wheels were so hashed it was awful! However, Benson had become accustomed to them, but Andrew wasn't. We bought some new ones for Andrew and Thursday evening (Oct. 27th) Kimball was changing them out. He thought, lets let Benson have a go at the two wheeler while they are off. Benson had actually been asking this summer if he could take them off anyway. So, at 7 pm Kimball went out with Benson and Andrew to take on the task of teaching Benson how to balance. About fifteen minutes later, when I came out to video- the task had been accomplished, but not quite mastered. I have to say, and I think I speak for Kimball too, it was pretty awesome to watch him ride all by himself. Even some of our neighbors were excited and cheered him on. Of course it was getting too dark, so we came in, but re-visited the bike Saturday morning. It was like magic- within about twenty more minutes, he was turning and stopping, and then...starting ALL on his own. He is so thrilled. So, we may be putting the training wheels on after all- for Andrew, but shopping for Benson a bike. What a milestone in a kids' life. Kimball- you are one awesome DAD!

The learning wasn't without a few falls. He began crying the first few falls, but stopped quickly, and got back on. Then he had a few spills without any complaint- almost more with a giggle. He really did so so awesome.

Andrew always wants to keep up, but he's not quite there. I would not be surprised if he's riding a two wheeler this coming summer though.

And here's the magic...

Halloween is in the air

2011-10-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

Kimball and I went to a friends party as Super man and Wonder Woman. We had a great time and took Talmage with us (he had shots that day and wasn't feeling awesome, but was still awesome.) While we were gone, the boys did this...
How cute is this? We did not pose this. We just put on a movie at Grandma's house and they just snuggled up together. Then they went to bed while we played.

The next day was our Stake Fall Carnival. Andrew dressed up like a pirate, and Benson was a hybrid of Batman and Spiderman, he even had webbing to throw.

The boys played all of the games and earned tickets.

They had a lot of fun doing all the stuff that was planned just for little kids.

Their favorite, and my favorite to watch was the donut on a string. I laughed so hard and have video of them trying to eat it without the use of their arms, but eventually Andrew just rips his donut off and shoves it into his mouth. Hilarious.

Talmage was the MVP. Kimball asked me if I thought his cheeks hurt, I was confused and said, "No, I don't think so, why?" he said, "because he smiles so much."

That night we went to Gardner Village and did the Witch watch walk. It is so festive there, I suggest it. We all had a great time enjoying a fall evening together and seeing all of the creative witches.

Andrew's football party

2011-10-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

After we all watched Benson's last soccer game of the season, we headed over to Grandma Knights' home to Party! First things first, Andrew tries to convince us that he should get Benson's treat. Then on to the party! Andrew was walking around chanting,

"It's my birt-day, Oh yea, It's my birt-day, oh yea."

We didn't do anything over the top, but just invited family and some friends over for dinner and cake. The Sorensen family, and the Stillman's were able to come, and lots of family.

Three grandma's!! Amazing! Grandma Knights was so so awesome to so willingly open her home to us, and I have to say, her house is so awesome for entertaining.

Jennifer (Jen a ber) came all the way from Provo! She sure loves her little Rewski.

It's a football party!

Andrew was quick to note that the sign said, "Happy Birthday, and it's for me!"

oh, it's not just any football party it's a bi-yi-you football party.

Andrew is just soaking it all in.

Here he is demonstrating on his fingers that he is now THREE, that means just a little closer to pre-school, soccer, primary, pretty much all the stuff Benson does.

Presents! When Andrew opened these two little cars from Carter, I joked that he would sleep with them, and he did. He actually just handed the blue one to Benson and they've played with them so so much!

Thanks to everyone who came, Andrew felt really special and important!

What a celebration of Andrew!

This is a picture of Andrew at Discovery Gateway. In a way it sums him up. He rode this little car and picked all of these flowers and drove them over to me ( I was watching this all happen) and gave them to me with an "I love you mom" He is the sweetest boy ever, and has a good daddy for a role model.

Lukey Dukey and the Tigers

2011-10-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

We went to watch one of Luke's soccer games. He plays up an age from Benson, and I could tell a difference. He likes to be on defense and he did great.

Talmage is so content to sit and snuggle on Bompa's lap.

Andrew really loves his uncle Evan. When Evan is staining doors in the garage at my parents' home and we visit, that is where Andrew wants to be, right in Evan's shadow.

Luke's big fan. Benson figured out how to play defense from watching Luke play.

Way to go Tigers!

Baby Max

2011-10-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

We have a new nephew in our family! Little Maxwell Lincoln Barrus was born 4 weeks early at 2:36 am on September 30th. He had to spend 13 days in the NICU but is finally home with his ecstatic parents.

Carlie and Jeffrey are as happy and proud as can be. He is just precious and well worth the wait. We look forward to getting lots more pictures and time with this cute baby boy!

Here he is with Grandma. He weighed 6lbs. and 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. A great size for a month early. He really is so cute and it's fun to have such a new baby in the family.

Benson's first soccer season

2011-10-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

THE BLACK BEARS #6

Determination...get the ball....get it into the net....focus...run...he takes this pretty serious.

A huge fan club. Benson wanted to score a goal for each person that came to watch him. He scored 12 total goals, 5 in one game. After he scored, he'd turn to me, or Kimball, or Jenn, and say, "That one was for you mom!" Oh, and my mom started giving him a dollar for every goal.

Benson with his good friend Tate. I had attempted to sign him up for soccer according to Benson's persistent request, but leagues were full. Then, luckily Tate's mom called and told me about Holladay Lions, and I signed him up within the hour. It was so fun to be on a team with some of our friends too, makes for good sideline chat.

Great season Benson! He'd tell me what to cheer for him, "mom say, 'go number 6, get a goal, then do it again', okay, say that mom." The last two games he really focused on defense, he'd hang back and was catching on to how to defend. He picked up that skill after watching Luke at one of his games.

This is actually Andrew. It just so happened that for one of the games, the other team only had a few kids show, so they asked if some younger siblings wanted to play- YOU BET! Andrew only played for about three minutes before some more kids showed, but he was seriously loving it, and even got to dribble the ball. What a huge grin we got for that glory time.

There's Andrew again on the far left.

growing So big

2011-10-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

Talmage is officially out of his moses basket. He has reached end to end, so I had to put it away, but not without one last picture.

There's just something so innocent and precious about seeing him in the basket and every time I'd look at him in there, it was as if someone had just left the cutest, cutest little baby in a basket as a gift for me. There is some truth to that.

So now on to a bed.... just kidding. He doesn't really sleep in my bed, but he hangs out there with me in the morning when he wakes up to nurse. Then he stays there while I get ready. The boys know where to find him in the morning.

Andrew's 3rd Birthday!

2011-10-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Andrew turned THREE YEARS OLD today. I just can't wrap my head around how big he is. Maybe it's because he tries so hard to keep up with Benson, but he is simply a little boy now. We had such a great day together celebrating his birthday. We started out with a pancake breakfast- I'll be honest, he cried. I tried to make him happy by putting candles in his stack of pancakes, but he was being particular and we comprimised- he didn't have to smile for the picture, but he had to eat. Then we went to Waterford. Andrew is now full-fledged and does a half hour on the "big" computer. Then, we went to Discovery Gateway and were really lucky that Kimball could meet up with us there. We had naps before dinner, then went to Wendy's -Andrew's choice, and went to the movie theatre to see Cars 2- also Andrew's choice. Then it was home for cake, candles, singing, and presents!

Andrew has been asking for a "By Yi You go go ball tootball birtay pardy." Translation; BYU football party. That's what he got! While Benson was in pre-school I took Andrew to Orson Gygi and he picked out this little cake dec. set with 8 football players and goal posts. He's played with them non-stop since. What a great toy.

Happy 3rd birthday Andrew!

Make a wish Rew! He told me he wished for more candles.

Kimball decorated the cake all by himself! I was busy doing other stuff and came back into the kitchen when it was nearly done. He did awesome and little Andrew sat up on the counter and helped him do the whole thing. I think that it was EXACTLY what Andrew wanted.

On to the presents. He only had two to open, one was a Roary race track from Gma and Bompa and the other was a bin of play food with a grocery scanner from Benson. He's really into role playing right now and pretending and has always loved to play with his pots and pans (even though he's usually cooking race cars in them.) He has such a playful and vast imagination. He truly surprises me at what he comes up with to play.
Kimball loves this picture because it shows how crazy Andrew opens presents. He tears the paper wildly and doesn't look at the present until all of the paper is gone. Such focus!

Benson is glad to be the present opening helper.
Andrew- you are seriously a GEM in our lives. We all love you so so much. We love your little cawk-eyed smile, your giggle and your own little language. You are so Ta-ute (cute)!! I love that I find you and Benson playing baby tiger and daddy tiger in your bed at night, and how you ask "What? What did you say?" When we ask what you want for breakfast, or give you any option you always reply, "Um, what did Benson choose?" You are so sensitive and you turn me into putty when you ask, "mom, (dad) can you not be mad at me?" and "I sawee, I sawee, I so sawee, I borgive you (forgive)." You know nearly every word to the Cougar fight song and you sing around the house, 'that's my dog, that's my dog" (Brett Dennen) and "Twinkle twinkle little star, how much I lu-loo, Bi- yi- you."

You are just a ball of silly, and you talk really loud. You pretend to be Jimma Bedette (Jimmer Fredette) and you probably ask me to "Yook!" (look) at least 100 times a day. Your favorite word is poo- and we're trying to replace that. Your "mena" is your prized posession, then your cars and footballs. You're seriously awesome at charades- you totally act out exactly what happened - with Benson, or whatever, and you complete your acting with sound effects and "dat what happened- like dat."

Passionate should have been your middle name. You are so passionate and determined. You say, "I do do , no Andrew do it, all by myself." You LOVE golf, and football, and soccer, and baseball, and all things sports, and I have to say you're pretty stinkin' good for your age.

I beg you daily not to grow up, and you beg daily to go to primary and preschool. You are doing awesome at Waterford, love story-time at the library, and are my best buddy when Benson goes to school. Did I mention how much you love sugar (ta-weet) and 'daddy's juice' *OJ or Gatorade.)

You ask us to "nuggle me, nuggle me!" every night for "3 minutes, no bive minutes, no ten minutes" and you show us how many minutes with your little fingers and eyes fixed on your fingers moving. Then after fifteen minutes of snuggling and as we're getting out of the bed you say, "you not nuggle me!" You wake up an hour before Benson and toddle half asleep into our room and climb in the bed on Dad's side. Most of the time you wiggle around until we are all up, but every once in a while you fall asleep, sneaking more 'nuggle time.

When dad gets ready for work you always ask him if he's 'going working' and pump your little fist like a hammer. On Sunday's dad tells you he's going working for Jesus so now whenever dad wears a white shirt (even a polo shirt) you ask if he's 'workin bo Jesus?'

While dad gets ready you demand to feed the belt through the loops and when dad get his shoes down from the rack you hurry and put them on your feet so dad can't leave. While dad ties his shoelaces you try to take off the other shoe, and it makes dad frustrated, but you are laughing the whole time.

When dad leaves the house you and Benson beg to open the door, or close the door. While the door is open and dad is standing on the porch you give him a pep talk... 'an don't crach, be sabe, be nice to uder peeple, shee you wlader, luh-loo (don't crash, be safe, be nice to other people, see you later, love you). I know that Kimball loves this routine every morning.

I can't get enough of those sparkly blue eyes, your dimples, and your little legs running around all day long. You are just a ball of silly. Your little prayers are precious, and you are one of the most sincere people I know, and you tell the truth amazingly for a 3 yr. old. You have a very bright future, one that I am so so blessed to witness. WE LOVE YOU thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much :)

precious

2011-10-04T16:13:00.001-07:00

What a little snuggler. Still the sweetest AND greatest baby in the world!!

Family reunion at Spud Days

2011-09-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

On the same day I was supposed to deliver the wedding cake and leave for a family reunion in Idaho, I got a friendly text from my neighbor saying, you have a flat tire. It was 8 am, I was thinking I have enough time, I'll just go get some more air in it and then get it checked out. Instead, I was immobilized! My tire was FLAT. Thank heavens my wonderful father-in-law came to my rescue. He was able to get it to a tire center for them to discover a six inch rod in my tire. I was very lucky I hadn't blown it out driving the night before. I had taken the van to the dealership the day before, for the very purpose of being prepared to leave to Idaho. So, after having to buy ALL new tires and waiting til 1 pm, I delivered a wedding cake, and headed directly north to Shelley, ID.

I will need to add more pictures, but I made it to Shelley in time for the family dinner and traditional talent program. I saw lots of cousins, their kids, and aunts and uncles. As a total bonus, Stephanie, Audrey, and Jackson had flown up from Tucson!

After spending the night in Idaho Falls, we went to Shelley Spud Days! It started with a parade where they throw out lots of candy. We then went to a large park with booths and ate our baked potato with chocolate milk and listened to my Uncle Wayne's orchestra performance. Following that entertainment, Stephanie, Jennifer and Jodi decided to try to be hypnotized. Jenn was off the stage after about 20 minutes, but Steph and Jodi stayed on. Stephanie was bizarre. She said later that she was herself, but with no inhibitions. She also said that when the guy told them to relax, she was out. Kind of funny. We enjoyed funnel cakes, jump houses, and running around. That afternoon, all the men left to make it to Provo to get to the BYU vs. UofU game. That night, mom, Steph, me, Laura, Jenn, and 10 little ones, enjoyed pizza in the hotel suite as we watched the cougars get romped on. I wondered the next morning if it had been a nightmare-truly.

If you look closely, Andrew looks like he's almost having fun!

Benson is trying to use the side as security.

The next day, we went and saw the Idaho falls and the temple grounds. We celebrated my birthday (a day early) at Applebees and then had to take Steph and her kids to the airport. It took exactly 3 hours to get back to Salt Lake for the High family dinner at Grandma Knights to celebrate her 85th birthday. We also learned super duper great news- Andrea and Nate are expecting #2 in May, and we are thrilled!

Wedding Cake

2011-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

About a month ago Kimball's cousin called and asked me if I'd be willing to make her wedding cake. I confirmed that she was aware that I'd never ever done that before, or anything like it. She said that was fine. I like to not pass up an opportunity to try something new, to learn something new, so I agreed. I mean... how hard could it be?

Luckily, very luckily, while I was at a catering job cutting up the wedding cake at someone's reception, the very nice lady that made the cake came over and talked to me. I told her that I'd just been asked to make a wedding cake and that it would be my first time. After she gasped- I took that as a bad sign- she proceeded to share all of her tips to help me succeed. I was so grateful for her insight. Not everyone would have shared, but she did.

First we made a trip to Orson Gygi and got all the goods. I started baking two days before the wedding. It took four hours to bake all the cakes, thankfully using my mom's double ovens. I'd really love a pair of those someday. So far, so good.

Top layer is six inches in diameter and about 5 inches tall.

middle layer is 10 inches, and the bottom layer is 14.

Beginning to decorate the top layer. The secret is a 1M tip.

Lots and lots of rosettes. By the way, I got this idea from this blog. Very chic. http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2011/02/rose-cake-tutorial.html

I used 16 cubes of butter, just for frosting. That was 8 double batches of frosting and 48 cups of powdered sugar.

Finished and stacked. I drove 25 miles the whole way to Noah's. I pulled over once since there was someone behind me in a 40 mph section. I was so relieved to make it there with no serious cake issues. However, Benson almost tripped me in the kitchen while I was carrying one of the cake layers to stack it. Whoa, close call.

I wasn't able to go to the wedding that night due to a family reunion in Idaho, but they put flowers on it, and many from Kimball's family told me that it was moist and delicious. It wasn't as easy as I thought, but it was a good experience and over all it was fun. I learned that I'd do a few things differently/better and that's the point- to learn. Congratulations Rachel and Dave!!

1st day of pre-school

2011-09-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition in my family of taking a picture of us on the first day of school by our lamp post in the front yard. I decided to take one of Benson in front of our door. I also hope that I remember to take a picture of him on the last day to compare.

From one door to the next.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

This is his preschool in Murray. It's Creatabilities and this is Miss Debbie. Benson already has two other friends in his class. Dropping him off was exciting and felt like a milestone in his life. I'll be honest- I miss him. Sure, it's nice to have one less kid to get errands done, but I'd rather have him around. However, I know this is what he needs, and wants. He is SO excited to grow up in any way possible. He's really been looking forward to this. He did give me a hug and a kiss and tell me "I love you" before walking up to his pre-school door. I really am happy for him. On a very bright side, it gives me 2 hours, 3 times a week to have good buddy time with Andrew.

I know this is not a flattering picture, but I had to post the whole event. Andrew just SOBBED and SOBBED. It made me want to cry too ( I teared up a bit) to watch Andrew miss his brother and want to go to pee-cool too. He is adjusting, but even three weeks in, he's still telling Benson at breakfast that he wants him to stay home today and not go to pee-cool.

That night we had our family dinner conversation centered around new beginnings. Benson told us all about his day. I have to add that when I picked him up he told me this exactly...

mom: Was Mylie in your class?

Benson: Yes, she was fabulous. She was wearing a pink and black skirt, a pink shirt with a pink necklace. She was beautiful.

I had to call Mylie's mom right away and we laughed. Three weeks in to pre-school, I was asking Benson about his different friends. He told me that he always sits by Mylie. I simply asked why. He simply replied, "Because I love her." Oh my- I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidding. No smirks or giggles.

Speaking of new beginnings, Kimball also started his new job on the same day that Benson started school. He has officially said goodbye to The Apple Program, who changed their name to Orriant two weeks before Kimball left. It's been a good 5 years and Kimball and I are grateful for the business foundation he's developed there. There are people he'll miss, but he is anxiously looking forward to his new venture at Myriad Genetics located in Research Park. He's not loving the commute, but he has his very own office with huge windows looking at the mountains. Everyone has been super welcoming and are showing excitement for him to be on board. He has had a long three weeks of training, lots and lots of studying into the night, and tests. He passed them all- he's a smarty pants- and will take on his new responsibilities on Monday, Sept. 26th.

Here's Benson showing off some of his projects. I was impressed that he didn't eat his necklace, and he told me that he's going to work on "not scribbling" as well.

I'm really proud of his little projects. He has a lot of improvement in the coloring area, but is fantastic at cutting. He can cut very detailed items as good as I can. He finger painted for the first time (how did I miss the boat on introducing him to those?) and he really enjoyed that. He told me, "my teacher says that moms say, 'don't make a mess', but at pre-school we make a mess!"

Labor Day

2011-09-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

We finally decided to visit the Murray outdoor pool- on the last day of their season. We're glad we did! The boys loved the zero entry and played their hearts out.

We figured since Talmage loves baths, that he'd love the water. So we decided to let him try the pool for the first time.

Talmage liked the water and splashed with his arms and hands a bit. He made the cutest faces of shock when the water splashed back at him.

Andrew in mid jump to dad.

Benson mid jump to dad.

To be honest, I think we were the last ones out of the pool, and even then it took some coaxing to get the boys out.

There was a really fun slippery slide to ride. Both boys went down at least 6 times and the best part was that there was hardly any wait each time.

So much fun to spend some time together.

Benson loved the slide, but said that it was "not splash mountain."

We got these little noodle plunge guns at Target this summer and Benson and Andrew played with them nearly the whole time- except for when Kimball and I were playing with them.Then we met some friends for dinner at Chick-fil-a, and then to the High's for homemade ice cream and good talk.

The night ended with baths and a father's blessing for Benson since he was starting pre-school the next day. Afterward, Andrew wanted one too, so he got one. It was a sweet moment and when I looked up there was a picture of Benson when he was just six months old hanging on the wall just above where he was sitting. Man, time really flies. It is such a privilege to watch him grow, but it definately pulls at my heart to see it happen so fast. I KNOW that he is going to love pre-school tomorrow!

Then the night really ended with giggles!

2011-08-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

We left SL at 8:30 am and drove a long 11 hours to Anaheim, CA. We stopped in Mesquite for a run around a park and to eat lunch. Good thing, because we got stuck in traffic leaving Vegas. It took us 2 hours to go 15 miles. It was painful. The boys were sleeping through it, but we felt like we had totally wasted their naps sitting in stop and go traffic. We cannot believe how awesome Talmage was!! He hardly made a peep, except for his cute little cooing sounds. We also stopped at an Inn & Out in Barstow for dinner and arrived at the lovely Marriot - literally across the street from Disneyland. Our room was on the 6th floor and Andrew ran down the hall to our room yelling "hooray! hooray! hooray!" - just beyond him was an above view of Disneyland. It was priceless. We were SO excited to be there and couldn't wait for the next day!!

We got the boys down as soon as possible, and I just KNOW that they are dreaming about what Disneyland might be like.

A few days earlier I had a funny experience with Andrew. After Andrew is asleep, I go in and check on him and cover him. Sometimes I ask him questions while he's sleeping. He almost always nods his head yes when I ask him if he loves his mommy. Well, on this particular night, I asked him and there was no movement. I said, "wow, Andrew you must really be out, or are you just dreaming about Disneyland?" He did a big nod right after that, and I laughed out loud!

And then they woke up! And it was real, we were at Disneyland!!

Welcome to the magic kingdom of Disneyland! We got a lot to do today!

can you guess where we're going?

2011-08-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

We're going to Disneyland!!!

Jerusalem to California

2011-08-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

One time I played a trick on my dad. Here's the deal. He told me that I could go to Jerusalem on a study abroad through BYU OR a mission, but not both. When I was 20 I wasn't absolutely sure that I wanted to go on a mission yet, but I was sure that I wanted to visit the Holy Land. I applied for a summer session and was luckily accepted for their 8 week program to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. I had an amazing experience and feel so fortunate to have been able to travel and study there. I have a well used journal of my travels, I wrote every day. This experience was somewhat of a catalyst for my next decision to serve a mission. When I returned from Jerusalem, I lived at home for one semester to date a guy in Salt Lake. I was still going to BYU at the SL extension, but after fall semester I decided that I needed to go back to Provo. That time was super important because I then knew that my almost 4 yr. relationship with that wonderful young man should end. It was a hard decision, but I knew that it was the right one. Of course we've both married the "right person" for us since then. I returned back to Provo for another great semester and the thought of serving a mission was hugely on my mind- like all of the time. After a LOT of thought, and prayer, I decided that I should submit papers to serve an 18 month mission. I submitted my papers on May 31, 2000 and received my call 10 days later to report to the MTC on July 26th, 2000 to prepare to serve in the Santa Rosa, California English speaking mission. This was the best decision I had made up to that point in my life. This is where the trick came in- since I'd already taken my trip to Jerusalem, but now felt like it was right to go on a mission, my amazing parents paid for my entire mission- every month for me to be there. I often thought about how I didn't want to waste even ONE day of my mission while I was there because of this and because of my commitment to the Lord. What a life changing and motivating experience this was for me. Truly I was so blessed to experience this. I cherish my time in CA and recognize the great blessings that have come from serving a mission and teaching the gospel. These are the shoes that walked the streets of the old city, the garden tomb, the pyramids, the beaches of the red sea and dead sea, Gethsemane, the Jerusalem Center, Bethlehem, & many other places in the Holy Land.

These are the shoes that walked the streets of Santa Rosa, Eureka, St. Helena, Napa, Sebastopol, and Benecia, and entered many homes and churches. These shoes went with me through it all.

The picture doesn't show that well the worn and tired shoes. However, I thought they held up fantastically.

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God Reighneth!

This was one of the little knapsacks that I carried throughout Jerusalem and my mission on the light days. That thermometer broke while I was on the beach of the sea of Galilee, it only went to 120 degrees, and it must have been hotter than that!

Summer Sunset

2011-08-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

ahhhhh

2011-08-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

While Steph was here, we helped her re-design Audrey's room. She's been wanting to do something different for awhile, but hesitated to see all of her "little girl" stuff fade away. However, she and Audrey found the perfect colors and duvet cover, so I hauled my sewing machine over to my mom's and Steph, Laura, and I sewed away. It took us several days to complete two roman shades, pillows, and pillow case. I think it turned out pretty stinkin cute and I'm still waiting for a 'finished' picture from Steph. Audrey really lucked out this birthday.

While the girls sewed, Kimball took Blake, Jackson, Benson and Andrew to a Bee's baseball game. They ran around and had a great time and allowed us girls to be productive.

Blue and White

2011-08-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (8/13) was the BYU Blue and White game where the team scrimage's for the public. It was a little crazy to fit the game in, but we figured, when else can we ALL go to the game together for free and have it last only about an hour. So we took off and the boys loved it. They've been playing "tackle football" at home every day since. We stopped by Jdawgs- per Kimball's craving- on the south east corner of campus for some really awesome dogs. Football season is just around the bend!

I have to mention that Benson is really begging for us to sign him up for football. That's a dillema.

Have some veggies...

2011-08-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

...with your RANCH Hey at least he likes salads and vegetables- right?

Talmage-3 months

2011-08-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

Talmage is THREE months old! He hit a major growth spurt just after two months and started drinking 5oz. per feeding (about 6-7 times a day). He is STILL sleeping through the night and wakes up pretty regularly at 6:30 am. for me to nurse him. This is by far my favorite feeding of the day! It's so quiet, and he is completely undistracted. When he's done, he falls back asleep and sleeps til about 8 or 8:30. When he wakes up, he doesn't really cry, he snorts and grunts, and it's so much less startling than a roar.

He is such a cuddler. He lets me hold him to sleep, or I can just lay him down when it's "time" and he sleeps on his own. By my standards, he is an exceptional baby. He is easy to console, and easy to read. Thus, making it easier for us to make him happy.

Baby Tage still likes his binky, but has really started to gnaw and suck on his little chubby fists and knuckles. This is his main method of self-soothing, especially in the car. We all love to hear the lip smacking sounds he can make by doing this.

He's really starting to pour on the charm. He has (of course) the cutest little coo's and smiles, and tries so hard to giggle, but always gets interrupted by the hiccoughs. He still manages a few giggles though. We love love love to just look at Tagers and make him smile and talk, in fact, Benson is already starting to "teach him how to say words."

He's getting long, and everyone is commenting on how "big" he's getting. He finally has the rolls, and lines on the thigh's. So loveable!!! He has still NEVER cried during a bath, and that is probably his favorite thing to do. I have to mention that everytime I place him in the bath, he pee's like clockwork! He's also liking to see new things. He's especially fascinated by my wedding ring (I am too) and likes to watch it as I move my hand for it to sparkle- Kimball is still getting bonus points for his choice!

Yep, he still spits up, but quite a bit less. We were giving him Zantec every am and pm, but have started to give it to him only once a day.

...and it's already time for the Bumbo! He really enjoys it for precisely 15 minutes, and then he fusses until I take him out. It is helping him with his neck control and of course he likes to be sitting up and able to see what's happening.
crazy clown hair
Those chubby little cheeks just make my life! He is so perfect for our family and blesses us every day.

Welcome Jake William

2011-08-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

Introducing our newest cousin, Jake William Sorensen. He was born on Monday, August 8th, 2011 to Laura and Dan. He weighed 7 lbs. and 6oz. and was 19 inches long. We got to see him within 2o minutes of being born. Laura was amazing (again) and delivered him naturally at 7:44 pm at the University Hospital. This has been a long and laborious pregnancy and we are so glad that he has arrived healthy and safe. I think he looks nearly identical to his oldest brother Luke, but more time will tell.

Laura and Dan opted to be 'surprised' by not finding out the gender until birth. We however, meaning the rest of the family, were not surprised at all that it was a BOY! Jake is the 13th grandson on the Jones side, still leaving little Audrey a lonely only. I'm personally thrilled because now Talmage has his buddy cousin. Luke & Benson, Andrew & Connor, and now Talmage & Jake. He is a little sweetheart.

Talmage, although just 3 1/2 months old looks like a giant compared to little Jake. This picture is a repeat of one we took of Luke and Benson 4 1/2 years ago. Those two are also three and a half months apart, but Benson being a preemie was even smaller.
Don't worry Jake- Talmage looks like he might eat you, or could eat you, but he only wants his fists.

Laura, another mom of 3 boys!

Benson washed his hands and wanted to hold his new cousin. I think he was surprised at how light he is.

Father's and Son's Campout

2011-08-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Benson and Andrew went on their very first father's and son's campout last week. They LOVED it to say the least. Grandpa Pops joined them which was an added bonus. The boys loved spending some one on one time with dad. I, was pathetic and although I got to hold Talmage all evening and morning, I missed the boys so much.

Andrew fell asleep on the way home and after Kimball carried him inside, he went straight to the couch and laid down- um, he never does that, but he was exhausted.

Gotta have boots when camping.

I had to laugh at how cute their two little faces were, covered in dirt. Their shirts were much worse and were sure evidence that they actually did go camping. The boys said they loved the fire, got "freezing" in their tent, (they made that well known to Kimball several times throughout the night.) went on a boat, and had so much fun that they are asking when the next Father's and Son's campout is scheduled. Thanks Kimball and Grandpa for being awesome and taking the boys on an adventure. Oh, and Grandpa at age 63 ate his very, very, first corndog!!

Talmage's Blessing

2011-08-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

Isn't he an angel?! He was perfect for his blessing day. Talmage wore a blessing outfit that was hand knit by his great grandmother Mary Jane Knights, and it happened to have been worn 31 years ago by his father, Kimball. I crocheted some little booties for his feet, and he was the little vintage baby.

Talmage Jones High was blessed on June 26th, 2011 by his father in the Lee ward of the Granite Stake, Salt Lake City, UT.

Our little family of 5! We are so blessed.

This is what Talmage actually looked like during his blessing. We thought this was the best way to ensure he was not fussy during his blessing. It worked like a charm.

Kimball is such a giant of an example to his boys. I love how dedicated he is to loving them, providing for them, and teaching them righteousness. He wants the best life possible for them and even though Talmage is so new in our family, his love is profound for him.

Grandma Weezer and baby Tage

The whole entire High clan! Talmage is the 8th grandchild on this side of the family. We are very lucky to have this picture with the Ellingsons included.

FOUR GENERATIONS

Andrea, Nate and Carter

Jenn was such a big help- carrying loads of stuff back and forth from the condo to the clubhouse and doing lots of dishes!

Sam and Marshall Clark

Jeffrey and Carlie (carrying Talmage's soon to be buddy cousin)

Connor, Luke, and Benson

Sam, Aaron, and Kimball- all right in the thick of raising families, and so happy about it!

Liam and Jess Sorensen. Liam was born just days apart from Talmage.

Sam, James, and Allison Clark

The Lovelands- so glad they could come.

Tiffany, Taylor, and Brian Fedderson came to help us celebrate. Also, my good friend Dagny joined us for the blessing.

Owen, mom, Jodi, Jenn, Laura, Katherine

We all got the chance to write down what stood out to us about Talmage's blessing and write a note to him to welcome him into our family.

Mark, Donna, Pollux, Katherine, Branic, Connor and Laura

Sweet Emily was my extra pair of hands. Any peep from Talmage and she was on it. We were so lucky that they were able to join us.

Louise, Lorraine, and Mary Jane. Lorraine has moved here for the next year to be with us.

Cute little Lexie

Me and Clark

Jodi, Jenn and Laura. Laura, even at 33 weeks pregnant was an all star and helped me so much. Kimball had to leave soon after to get back to church and Laura stuck it out with me with all the clean up.

He can't believe his eyes- there are so many people- all for him. It was a beautiful and memorable day filled with lots of friends and family.

A Widow's lullaby at Winter's Quarters, 1846 & Lee Ward Trek

2011-07-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

By Edna S. Browne

Sleep, my little one-
Sleep while mother dreams
of your comely smile
And your small hands cupping my heart;
The happy burden of your trust;
My pride in your unfolding;
The wonders wished for you
Since our first touch.
Even here-
Here in this wind-whipped place,
This savage wilderness,
You have been my courage
And my star,
Sleep, my little one-
Sleep in your narrow bed
Under your coverlet of prairie sod
And stones gently piled...
Asleep, while mother dreams
And weeps-
Walking the long, lonely miles ahead

Kimball found this poem in preparing for a 3rd hour lesson he was teaching last Sunday. He was touched and made me read it. I have sympathy for this woman and I can understand having a newborn and being in a far off land without comforts. I can't imagine having to bury my newborn and walking away. What incredible sacrifice the pioneers had to make.

In honor of Pioneer Day the Lee Ward did "Trek" last Saturday and walked 6 miles from our chapel to the Salt Lake Temple. Kimball walked the whole thing and I met them along the way. We heard stories of Pioneers along the way and toured the Conference Center after we arrived at the Temple. It was a great experience and we got to know members of our ward a lot better as we had time to walk and talk. It helped us reflect on the process of coming closer to Christ through approaching the Temple and also made us think about Kimball's and my pioneer ancestors who joined the church in Wales and came 4,775 miles across an ocean and a continent to be with the saints.

Two month old Talmage

2011-06-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

We are so so in love with this baby! We can't get enough of him. He is such a joy to have in our home and family, and we feel like we are the luckiest ever.

...so in love

Potty-Trained! Seriously

2011-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

This post should have hit the blog in March, but life happens. Andrew is a mega super star!!! It's a done deal- He's potty-trained! He potty-trained one month earlier than Benson did and gave me a lot less stress. Benson did amazing, but Andrew never give me reason to want to put a diaper back on and call it quits.

He had been expressing a lot of interest for the previous three or four months, but it was ME that didn't feel ready to deal with it. Plus, I thought it wouldn't be very good timing with a new baby on the way. What will I do if he needs help every time I sit down to nurse, or while I'm bathing or changing the baby. When they're learning you gotta be fast. I decided that we had about six weeks before the baby was due and that we could give him a chance. Once again, Andrew taught me that sometimes it's ME that holds the kids back from accomplishing, or growing in the way that they are capable of.

Andrew absolutely proved me wrong. He had his share of accidents, but overall he left Kimball and I nodding our heads and saying to each other, "wow Andrew, way to go- he did it." After each potty trip Andrew would clap and say "yeah!! a tweet, a tweet now?"

I also have to mention how particular he is about which underwear he wears and how much he LOVES the go go ball (football) underwear as well as the ones that Benson wears. Benson shares his and tells Andrew he can choose one. I have to say I am really grateful how well Andrew did and how nice it was to have a few weeks of NO diapers.

Dad's note: Once he piddled in a pair of white underpants and we put on the go-go underwear. That was the trick because he knew if he piddled in those he wouldn't get to wear them for a whole day while they got washed. He would run up quickly and say "Dada P! P! Dada. No diddle go-go."

A few months later we were walking the toy isle at Target. Andrew yelled, "go back mom, go back mom." I went back to see what Andrew had already beheld... a red motorcycle (mowacycle). He really wanted it, and I realized that I hadn't really given him a "reward" for potty-training so well. I explained why he was going to get his mowacycle. We went home and during his nap Benson and I put it together for him. I wish Kimball would've been home to see Andrew come out of his room after his nap to see his motorcycle just waiting for him to ride.

Doesn't that face just show the pure joy of a child? I would have to say

that Andrew was so happy.

joy in motion

So it turns out that Andrew is in love with his mowacycle. One night after the boys had gone to bed, Kimball and I went in to check on them and cover them. This is what we found. So sweet.

Happy Father's Day Kimball

2011-06-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

You're looking at the best dad ever!You can see on his face how much he LOVES his boys!

...and just look at Talmage admire his daddy.

This is typical of Andrew- literally hanging on his dad's leg. Andrew has an especially hard time when dad is not here when he wakes up, or when dad isn't here for bedtime. He cries for him, asks for him, and prays for him EVERY SINGLE PRAYER. If we forget to pray for dad at work, then we have to say another prayer, because Andrew won't drop it til I do. Andrew, as well as Benson can't get enough of daddy time.

Kimball is busy with his church calling, his work, service and community stuff, and life in general. However, I still think he keeps his priorities straight and does the very best he can.

These boys are meant to be Kimball's because they love the snow almost as much as he does. We both imagine lots of quality time on the ski lift, and on the golf course chatting with our boys through their teenage years. It is AWESOME to see the love between a father and their children, and I am blessed to witness that daily and be a part of that love and growing relationship. We love you Kimball- thank you so much for all that you do for our family-day in and day out!

Bees Game

2011-06-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

We gave mom a night off and went to the Bees game. We really only watched 3 innings, rode the train and played in the jungle gym. It was more about being together than watching baseball, but we had a great time anyway.

We took batting practice

Derks Field --> Franklin Covey Field --> Spring Mobile Ballpark is one beautiful place to watch baseball. Look at the sunset on the mountains!

We hit up the mascot -bumbles.

Race Car

2011-06-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

We went to a fun event the other day and they had a real Jeff Gordon race car from Hendrick Motorsports. Of course Benson and Andrew loved this thing. Whenever we lost sight of Benson I would look over to the race car to see him looking at it.

Andrew tried to climb in the car... oops!

They had another one that was just a chassis and body with a built in NASCAR video game. You sat in the drivers seat and used the steering wheel and gas/brake pedals. It was actually really hard to play.

One of these things...

2011-06-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

Is not like the other! Andrew rearranged the milk compartment to find space for this. I guess you can say he thinks Lightning is one cool customer; Lightning is real refreshing; Lightning is milky smooth! etc...

My wax child

2011-06-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

The 'are you mad at me?' face.
The 'I'm sorry -so sorry' face.

The 'I can't cope' face.

The 'I'm so sad it hurts' face.

...and let the tears roll.

A phone call to daddy makes it all better. Andrew cries for his dad during the day, and it makes me feel sad for him. Kimball is really patient with him, and lets him cry on the phone for a bit, and then calms him down. He has even told me, "daddy stay home, and mommy go to work." Wow-easy- that hurt. However, when Kimball is home with the kids and he has a meltdown, he cries for me and the phone call to mom solves the problem.

We know that Andrew is a very sensitive child. It only takes a look for him to know that he's in trouble or something's up. He immediately says, "sawee mama, sawee mama, sawee mama."
He says that over and over until I am hugging him and telling him that I forgive him. It's the way he rolls. He has a way of taking me from frustration, to totally melting my heart! Kimball would say the same. Andrew really takes things to heart and wants to please us. We want him to be happy and learn the lessons of life.

Andrew's art

2011-06-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

2011 Teach the Children 5K

2011-06-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

Our regular blog stalkers may remember that we participated in the 2010 Teach the Children 5K. Then one year ago in June I joined the board of the foundation. We take books locally and ship them to Uganda where they can be placed in schools with no books. On May 7th we sorted and boxed up 2,000 pounds of books to be shipped. We have partnered with another foundation down there for our latest school, Liahona School, where they have an empty mud walled classroom for these books. 200 students live on site and are waiting for these classics to arrive.

Problem is... we can't yet afford to ship the books down there! And that's where you come in my awesome social network.

Come and run in our 3rd Annual Teach the Children 5K Fun Run!

Download a registration form by clicking HERE and join us on July 9th at 7:45 AM to run your arse off for charity.

You can also volunteer to help make the event a success. Please contact me for volunteer opportunities. We need timers, photog's, check-in, and food people.

You or your partner organization can sponsor the event. If you are interested in sponsoring please contact me for information.

PLEASE PLEASE pass this info on to anyone you know that has the runs... er... I mean... runs or walks. We do need your support and would love to see you at the fun event.

One month old

2011-05-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

We can hardly believe one month has passed by. I just have to make it PERFECTLY CLEAR how much we love having Talmage in our family.

W E L O V E H I M

I get so excited just looking at him. He is an amazing blessing to us, and as his mother, I couldn't ask for a better baby. I was nervous before he arrived about any obstacles that we would face with not only a new baby, but also the adjustment of now having three kids. Of course there is a lot of juggling, and we're all learning a higher level of patience, but it's working. I do however feel rushed most of the time, and like I'm always in a hurry to get something done so that I can move on to the next task before anyone starts screaming. I have to bring out my A game everyday. The good news is that my body is so much more cooperative now that he's on the outside.

Kimball bought letters for Talmage, even though I was thinking, let's wait on that. Now, I'm glad that he did. After Andrew and Benson painted the sides of the letters, Jenn came over and helped me/kept me company finish the letters off by modge podging paper on them.
He loves to sleep in the early evening and then wake up around ten pm to midnight. He used to stay up til one am, but we've slowly been working him to going to bed a bit earlier. He sleeps until 6:30 or 7:30am. He still has not woken up for a middle of the night feeding since we left the hospital! Awesome! I think that the miracle blanket swaddler has something to do with it. 6 or 7 hours is still not enough sleep for me, but it's keeping me afloat.

He likes to be in his swing.

Tiny hands, long fingers

Pretty sure he has the longest toes of any of my babies too.

I may have mentioned that when Andrew first met Talmage at the hospital he called him "baby poo head" for some reason. We don't know where that came from- maybe his big brother instincts kicked in upon meeting a little brother. Kimball and I didn't react much to it, and figured more attention to it would be worse than less attention to it. However, when we brought Talmage home, Andrew gave him the sweetest nickname. He called him "Baby Tage" and has continued to do so. That nickname has stuck. Now we all call him baby Tage, as well as Talmage. He still totally loves bathtime. He never cries during his bath.

He's still pretty small. At his 2 week check-up, he still weighed 6 lbs. and 6 oz. but he'd grown an inch to 20 1/2. (10% for head cir., 5% for weight 25% length) Dr. Lou was concerned about his weight. We got a metabolic blood test, and he had great levels of all the nutrients he needs. The other problem is that the boy did not poo for 10 days straight! We also had an x-ray done for that and there was no sign of constipation or problems with his digestive/intestinal systems. All the while we took him to primary's five different times to get his bili ruben checked. We did avoid the lights this time, but it was close. After staying at the same weight for a whole week, Dr. Lou said that we had to supplement him with a high calorie formula. We think he was getting enough food, but not enough calories. We were giving him about 6 oz. a day of formula (on top of what he was getting from me) and within 4 days he grew to 6lbs. and 12oz. We are still giving him a little bit of formula each day, but now it's down to 2-4oz. a day. I'm really really trying to conquer breastfeeding.

He gets a lot of attention from his big brothers. He lets them snuggle him, and hold him (even when it's awkward).

We love hearing his little sounds and watch him pull his legs up to his body when we pick him up. He has pretty good neck control and can roll over, which I'm sure will end when he puts on some more weight.

We are so grateful for this little baby boy- much more than words can express!!!

Three X Seven = Talmage

2011-05-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

As we were thinking of potential names for Talmage we realized that he is the third born of two third born's. Erica's streak ends with her but the more I thought about this I could go three generations of thirds on my side. As a consequence of this we threw around the idea (briefly) of naming him Trey or some other name related to the number three.

I turned the thought over to my wonderful Grandma Mary Jane who is an amazing genealogist and she came back with this tree that makes Talmage the SEVENTH consecutive third born!

Talmage 3rd child of Kimball High

Kimball 3rd child of Louise High (Hansen)

Louise 3rd child of Mary Jane Hansen Knights (Miner)

Mary Jane 3rd child of Melvin Miner

Melvin 3rd child of Evelyn Miner (Brown)

Evelyn 3rd child of Desdemona Brown

Desdemona 3rd child of George Sellman Fox & Mary Elizabeth Jones

This is a four generation picture of Talmage, Kimball, Louise and Mary Jane. All third born children. Priceless.

Grandma MJ gave me pictures of the other members of the tree:

Melvin Edwin Miner

Evelyn Brown Miner

Desdemona Fox Brown

Desdemona walked across the plains when she was 8 years old! She married Edwin Brown -who has a statue in Murray City Park as a founder of Murray, UT. Mary Jane told me a story of meeting Desdemona when she was 88 years old. She spent the summer in Long Beach, California with Mary Jane and Melvin arranged for Desdemona to take her first airplane ride. In her lifetime Mary Jane knew her Great Grandmother, and her Great Grandson. Amazing.

Incidentally when I saw that Talmage's 7th generation Grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Jones I started looking 7 generations back into Erica's tree and found out that both families lived in Wales about 126 miles apart. You should play around with your family tree at FamilySearch.org. This post took an hour longer than expected because it's addicting. But Malachi already knew that.

Also I should say that there is a book (then play & ballet) about Mary Elizabeth Jones called "Pioneer Legacy" written by Lynne Thompson. An amazing story of how she became ill from milk fever and late one night she wandered off from the wagon train and was found almost three weeks later by strangers. Health restored, she was ultimately returned to her husband in Utah. To find stuff like that you'll need an awesome genealogist like Mary Jane because it won't be on FamilySearch. Get your own, she's one great grandma.

End of the t-ball season

2011-05-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

Benson had his own little fan club- Bompa and Grandma, Laura, Luke and Connor- all lined up in their lawn chairs. I'm predicting that in weeks to come, Benson will say, "mom, remember when ... came to my t-ball game."

Giving High 5's after the game
Here's the trophy. Benson got the greatest coach- he was super patient, had tons of energy, and did so awesome with the boys being their first exposure to being coached. Benson is really proud of his trophy. In addition to a trophy, the coach had each player sign 7 baseballs, and then everyone got a baseball with every one's name on it- awesome. I got some footage of Benson hitting the ball and running the bases. At the very end of the game, Benson ran from third into home and tripped over home plate- it was funny and cute, and he just got up and laughed.
What a great season!

mom and dad's birthday

2011-05-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it- but my mom turned 60 this year on May 5th. A friend put balloons on her front yard, she got a pedicure, and went to lunch with a group of friends. That evening we went as a family to the Cheesecake Factory- is that place ever not popping?? It was totally worth it. We all ate more than we planned and didn't even have room for dessert! The boys were really good (we threatened them in the parking lot that we'd leave.) Talmage was especially good and was wearing a little onesie that said, "grandma's little guy." Happy Birthday mom! She's not always the easiest person to please, and in this way she helps us all rise to a higher, better level. She is our biggest fan (and worry wart), but also keeps us from getting a big head. I am truly greatful that we live close by and that she is such a big part of my life and the lives of my boys. They are in love with her too- and the candy dish that she keeps stocked.

We love you mom!
Waiting for the waiter to bring it on
Just a few weeks later, on May 20th, my dad turned 63. I still think they are so young even though they try to convince me that they're 'getting so old' I have to mention that my mom said, "60 is the hardest birthday- it's just a countdown to the obituary." In my mind I was thinking, so does that just mean that you're halfway and going to live to 120? I hope so. We had a family dinner at my parents to celebrate their birthdays and strawberry pie instead of cake. As long as my parents can still run around with and after the kiddos, I don't care how old they get, but we are trying to make all the time together count. Happy birthday dad!

Andrew's Turn To Go Skiing

2011-05-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

The rule around these parts is that -if you can run -you can ski. Andrew has been running after Benson for quite a while now and we've been wanting to take him on a day with good weather.

Well... as you can see from this table it's been snowing non-stop. In April only the 4th, 11th, & 15th didn't have snowfall. What an amazing season. We didn't even let a new baby stop us- at just 5 days old, we bundled up the whole family and headed to ALTA. Erica sat in the car with Andrew and Talmage and watched a movie, while I took Benson on a run. Then, I came back and meant to trade, but after Benson gave up the skis, he just ran around with us in his shoes. We all got to witness Andrew's first tracks in the snow! Talmage was awesome for us so that the boys could get their last ski day in of the season.

Benson's turn first but we only had time for one run today. He is doing great and will continue to dominate next year.

Benson did a good job of psyching Andrew up for the skiing experience. What a good brother.

Boys all ready to go!

I really can't deterimine which one is happier.

sound asleep

2011-05-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Mutual Feelings

2011-05-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

The look on Kimball's face is one of total admiration and joy. He is LOVING his newest son and soaking up time with him.

Talking baby talk

A kiss from dad

A kiss from Talmage- or a search for food.

bright-eyed at midnight- however, once he goes to sleep, he's sleeping five to seven hours at night. I hope it's not a fluke and it lasts.

Mom loves him too!

Little Guy

2011-05-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

Talmage weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. at his 4 day check-up. He's wearing Benson's preemie outfits, and probably will for another week, but he's a good little eater so we anticipate him growing fast. He's SO SO little and we love how fun it is to have a little baby around.

We gave him a binky when he was 5 days old. We are trying not to use it much. We're not opposed to it, just wanting to make sure he'll eat for me really well first- which so far he is doing AWESOME! I'm pleasantly surprised by how great he is feeding.

No doubt about it- he has Kimball's chin. Kimball guessed that he would.

Benson used to do the same things with his hands as Talmage does.

Does this count as a smile? I was holding him, and Kimball was taking pictures. He did this cute little smile twice.

He has such a little mouth and makes the cutest motions with his lips.

A big yawn

WE ARE SERIOUSLY SO IN LOVE WITH HIM!!!

First Bath

2011-05-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Lots of helpers. It was a bit challenging for Kimball and I to actually bathe Talmage with two stools at our feet and four extra hands, but we want to include Benson and Andrew in ANY way that they want to be included with the care of our new baby. They really love to help out.
I got this little foam tub just for Talmage. I love to bathe my babies in the sink at first, but don't like having to do it one-handed and still risking them slipping around. I LOVE this tub, it's soft, it drains so that I can keep the water running (cleaner and warmer), and I can use both hands since it supports the baby. Just passing on a good thing when I find it- it's called the Puj Tub (target online, amazon)

He's looking a bit 'yellow' or jaundiced to us so we're taking him in for a quick look from Dr. Lou. Both Benson and Andrew had to spend a lot of time in the 'lights' and we're hoping to avoid that this time.

He really likes bath time, and he especially loves the sound of running water.

Gotta love the cross-eyes!

All clean. I like to use a hair dryer to get him warm again and get him really dry in all of his little creases that are hard to get to with a towel. Side note* use a hairdryer to dry the bum to prevent/treat diaper rash- works so awesome.
Kimball said, "Good thing he was covered!" He SOAKED the towel. I know it's silly, but I felt so proud that he's getting enough food, and also relieved that he was covered (:

If you give him a cookie. . .

2011-05-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

If you give Benson a cookie, he'll want a glass of milk, ( I'm a bad influence and taught him to dip his cookie) AND ANOTHER COOKIE!!
Benson and Andrew love to make chocolate chip cookies. We have it down to a science- under 5 minutes! I love Kimball's smile when he comes home to discover it was a cookie day.

brothers

2011-05-01T17:58:00.000-07:00

Talmage and Andrew share the same dimples, one in the chin, one in the right cheek. He also has Andrew's face shape.

Kimball and I are thinking that he looks a lot like Benson did as a newborn. We have little flashbacks, especially when Talmage places his hands under his chin- just like Bens did.

The boys LOVE LOVE LOVE to hold him and look at him and kiss his head.

Now that we're home

2011-04-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

It is actually so awesome to have Talmage in our home. The boys are totally loving him, and every once in awhile we hear a squeak and we all smile at the newness of having another family member.

Bath time and bed time like normal, grandma getting to come over and help out is a bonus!

Kimball brought me the most beautiful Hydrangeas (my fav) in the hospital, and for some reason, they died in less than six hours!! So, he traded them out for these amazing hot pink roses. I love them and Kimball made me feel special by insisting that he bring me flowers. He has reminded me how grateful he is for me and thanked me so many times for Talmage. He has to know the feeling is mutual-

I c o u l d n o t d o t h i s w i t h o u t HIM!!

Making the trade
Waa laa!

Talmage likes to find his index finger and suck on it. So far, I have resisted the urge to give him a binky. That is mostly due to his ability to quickly calm and be soothed. Just waiting to save the binky until we're pretty comfortable feeding him.

Good night!! Love you!! I shouldn't admit this, but he slept for seven hours his first night home. I could not believe it. I was worried at first, but he's been nursing pretty good today

Grandma MJ Knights came over today on her way back home from working at the downtown family history center.

Grandma Knights knitted this beautiful blue and white blanket. It was a real treat to have her here and get this picture of him wrapped in her labor of love. It is SO soft and beautiful. Just the perfect size for Talmage.

Going Home!

2011-04-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

I can't say enough about the wonderful staff at The U of U Hospital!! I got amazing service and had an outstanding experience there. However, it was nearly impossible to rest. As soon as they gave me the 'okay'- I gave them the 'thank you, see you later.' I was feeling really good, and wanted to get back to my boys and be at home. We left on Tuesday at 6 pm. Talmage being just 27 hours old!!First, you need a going home outfit.

So cute. Now we just need to get the clamp taken off of his umbilical cord and the security tag off of his ankle.

Carseat. He looks SO tiny in there. This seat has been waiting a long time to carry you home.

Mom had to get dressed too.

Gotta love the wheelchair ride. I guess we still had too much to carry to the car, so since Kimball's hands were full, I got to take the baby and the joyride.

I got to take a closer look at the beautiful hydrangeas Kimball brought me on Tuesday morning!! I loved them- he's the best.

As we drove away I mentioned to Kimball how it will be weird to not be making my weekly, bi-weekly and monthly treks up here anymore. So happy to be going home with a healthy baby boy, and feeling pretty good myself.

Talmage Jones High

2011-04-27T10:23:00.001-07:00

We're sleeping around here because there isn't much rest happening in the hospital.

BUT...come back soon to see pictures and the birth story of our new little one.

Talmage Birth Story -by Kimball

2011-04-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

We are so glad to welcome Talmage to our family. He was born on April 25, 2011 at 3:01pm. He was born on the same gestational day as Andrew, 39 weeks 3 days, and is the same weight as Andrew: 7 pounds 2 ounces, and Talmage is 19.5 inches long. We almost named him Isaac, Beckham, Truman, William and Boy #3. We know you just want to see pictures, so here you go!

As Erica explained earlier she got to schedule an induction which meant she got to shower, do makeup and blow dry her hair. Erica was a little scared to be induced but as we were on our way the UofU Hospital called and said, "Erica we have your room ready." She looked at me and said, "Are we checking into a 5 star hotel?" Normally you start this process in a 5 star hotel, not end it there...

We arrived and in the corner of room 2203 was this baby warmer with blankets, suction, a diaper, and a hat.

The monitors were all set up and ready to go, before long they were showing the contractions, Erica's and baby's heart beat.

This is Erica all settled in and looking super hot in a hospital gown. She didn't like this view at first so we got out of bed and went on a half hour walk after the IV & Pitosin got started. The only bad part of the delivery room process was that our nurse missed her IV twice (once on each hand) and had to have another nurse put the IV in. You know the delivery went well when that was the worst Erica had to experience.

She knew she would be spending plenty of time in bed over the next few days so the walk was a chance for us to have an uninterrupted few moments together. As soon as we got back from the walk the Anesthesiologist walked in and administered the Epidural. We specifically asked for this before they broke her water. This was a lesson learned from Andrew. We didn't want to risk going natural again.

During the epidural we got talking about the tatoo'd tough guys who faint... I got a few good looks at the epidural process and felt woozy (specifically looking at a tube sticking out of my wife's back). I fought it off by taking off my sweater, and then decided I should sit down. Erica says I was ghost white and they got another nurse to bring me orange juice. I felt terrible that they turned their attention to me while Erica is getting stuck with a huge needle, and having contractions at the same time.

I can blame this a small part on low blood sugar as I ate breakfast at 7am and this was 12:30. Erica told me to go get lunch so I called ahead and picked up a B&D Burger, fries and Dr Pepper for lunch. Yes I did leave the hospital while my wife was in labor BUT I was only gone 12 minutes... seriously. My only regret is that I ate it in front of her and made her jealous. I did make up for this by taking her there on our way home from our stay. She was ready for real food.

When I got back they "ruptured her membranes" which is the technical medical terminology for breaking her water. The contractions escalated from there and Erica continued to feel them but be managing due to the epidural. After 2 hours they came in once to check her and she was dilated to a 7cm. Another 15 minutes of heavy contractions went by and I told Erica she needed to call in the nurse. She refused so I pushed the button for her. She came in and told us that Erica was complete! Erica was very surprised. She thought she had at least another half hour to go.

She was even more surprised to hear that the nurse wanted to get the Dr. and push! We had a nice 10 minute chat about what to expect, remembering how to push, and talked about our preference to allow the chord blood to drain into our baby before we cut the chord. This is called pulsating. The only negative is that mom is delayed holding the baby for 30 seconds while the rich chord blood flows into baby.

There walked in 7 women to oversee the delivery. Erica's OB Dr. Branch was in Seattle unexpectedly so we got his partner Dr. Manueck to deliver Talmage. Besides her there was a resident Dr., the attending Dr., two nurses, a nurses aide, and a medical assistant. After she counted all the women in the room Erica looked at me and asked if I felt out numbered. Yes.

Erica did AMAZING people. We coached her up but she did it all. She pushed a set of three 10 count pushes, then rested for the next contraction. The attending decided why wait and asked Erica to push again. Four more pushes of ten counts and Talmage was born to us at 3:01PM after 3 minutes of pushing. Did I mention she did amazing?

Another one of the most beautiful and inspiring moments of my life. Where the pregnancy was nine months of constant contractions, nausea, heartburn and severe discomfort -the delivery made up for in what the nurse called a "picture perfect delivery." Labor is not easy for Erica. With every contraction we're in constant fear of a repeat of Benson. So to have this delivery be so beautiful and simple really makes the whole experience worthwhile.

I'll always be indebted to Erica for brining three amazing children into our family. She sets aside her own personal comforts and sacrifices her body to deliver these bundles of joy. The scriptures speak of joy in your posterity and there is much joy in our home at this time. She continues to show me why she is such an amazing woman and proves again and again that I made the right choice to ask her to be my wife.

We welcomed Talmage by giving him a bath and dressing him in his first outfit.

Welcome to the High Family

2011-04-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

Andrew sat up on the bed with Erica and as she passed the new baby over to him he said, "Lu-loo baby" and gave him a kiss on the cheek. We're going to bottle up that memory forever. Melt your heart.

Long Overdue

2011-04-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is in relation to the pregnancy. I'm not long overdue, but a pregnancy picture is. I am 39 weeks and 2 days and feeling every minute! My Dr. politely invited me to be induced on Friday when I hit my 39 week mark. I got nervous about forcing nature and declined. Then, at my next appt. when I was 38 1/2 weeks (3 cm. and 80% effac.) I thought that maybe I should go for it. A baby on the weekend would be better for Kimball and schedules and we could 'count' on it. However, the day was booked by then. He then said, Monday the 25th is open....so, I'm scheduled to be induced on Monday, but still feeling SO nervous about pushing nature AND choosing my son's birthday. I had Andrew -on my own- at exactly the same time I'm scheduled to have this one, so I'm sure the baby is well-done by now, but I worry about how the labor will go.

On the flip side, it does sound nice to take a shower, kiss my kids goodbye, drive calmly to the hospital, and get an epidural before I'm in miserable amounts of pain. I still have the option to cancel at any time, but I'm keeping my appt. until I'm absolutely sure.

As for now, I feel quite uncomfortable, contracting a lot, and pretty much like a ticking time bomb. People are surprised to see me still pregnant, but I'm grateful to be full-term. We will flood the blog with pics as soon as he's here- Kimball's on that for sure.

More eggs

2011-04-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Benson has been wanting to dye eggs for awhile. It really is such a fun thing for kids to watch the eggs take on colors, and do some color mixing. Kimball and I only gave them four color choices and by the end they looked like different colors. Both of the boys really loved it. It was pretty difficult for Kimball to watch a mess being made and dye get spilled, but he then decided to embrace it.

My boys look naked here, they aren't really, but within minutes of starting the fun, we decided to strip them down. This is a typical face from Andrew when we say 'smile' because he thinks that he's supposed to make us laugh. He makes funny sounds with his tongue at the same time, and it works- we smile and laugh.

"The damage"- not too bad I say! However we did have several mid-activity wipe-ups. What a fun tradition. Good thing we like hard boiled eggs and egg salad sandwiches.

Easter Egg Hunting

2011-04-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here we are...at the So. Jordan Rec. Center for their Easter Egg Hunt. There was a crazy amount of people there and even though we were actually there ON TIME it didn't help much.

I pictured a LARGE space of grass, like a field with eggs and such spread out for the kids to run and 'find'. Instead, there was a 20 x 20 foot area with candy and eggs on the ground for the kids to pick up. Within seconds of taking this picture, there were so many kids in this section, Benson didn't have enough space to bend over and pick anything up! Oh well. He returned to me with a tootsie roll, a piece of double bubble, and one other piece. At first he seemed discouraged, but when I cheered he felt like maybe that was good enough. Two of my nephews that were there didn't get a single piece- not a complaint, just a fact. However, Andrew made it out of the masses with about 12 dum dums. He's closer to the ground right. (:

We saw Laura with Luke and Connor there and chatted for awhile. Andrew shared some of his suckers with Connor.
Benson wanted a picture with Luke and "that thing with the huge beak."

Nate and Andi brought Carter and someone shared their candy with him. We were all enjoying being together outside and watching the kids. We're lucky we didn't lose any of them.

After the local festivities, we planned a brunch at Carlie and Jeffrey's home. We headed back there and while we got breakfast ready, we filled some plastic eggs for the kids to hunt in the backyard. That was a total bonus from Carlie and Jeffrey. Brunch was awesome and the kids LOVED being in their huge backyard.

The backyard was perfect for little kids because there were thick areas of greenery for the eggs to hide in, but it wasn't too difficult for them to find. They really had a great time.

Benson, Andrew, Carter, and Noah.

What a great Saturday morning!!

So Handsome

2011-04-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Just the other day we were getting ready to go somewhere and Kimball had put Andrew's shirt on. He ran into my room, where I was getting ready and I said, "Oh Andrew, you look so handsome!" I'm not exaggerating...he put his hand on his waist, popped his hip out and posed for me. Kimball happened to see the same thing, and we burst out laughing. Just for the record- he totally gets that from Kimball...the handsome part and the pose!

See for yourself...

T-Ball

2011-04-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

We signed Benson up for T-Ball this spring. He is beyond excited about it!! Our good friends Jamey and Dave in our ward signed their son, Grant up and told us about the team. So far, he's only had one game, and a few practices, but Benson is having a really great time.

A few months ago, I took Benson into the Dentist. He was cavity-free so he got to enter his name in the "no cavity kids club" drawing. Several weeks later, we got a phone call that his name had been drawn and he had an option of prizes. Benson chose the gift card to Target (all on his own.) The day after we got it in the mail, I took Benson to Target and strolled him through the toys and games. He looked and analyzed and decided he wanted a baseball mitt- fantastic. He picked one out that came with a baseball and still had some money leftover for a little gun that shot pinwheel thingy's. Ever since then, he has wanted to play catch and "practice" with us. So far, he can throw really well and bat, but we've got a lot of work to do on catching and fielding the ball. He has a great coach and a team full of cute, energetic boys!

Gotta love the youth size small- even though it drowns him, he wears it with pride! We can't wait to watch him progress.

Benson Skiing 2011

2011-04-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

Benson is in his 3rd year skiing and doing quite well. He's able to ski completely by himself on more mellow terrain and knows the rules.

Rule #1: Have Fun

Rule #2: No saying, "I can't do it."

Only 2 rules so far but we're working up to Rule #10: Try and Keep Up w/Dad.

One more year of Erica being pregnant during ski season and he'll break Rule #8: Keep up with Mom.

We have a blast together. I love the time alone on the chairlift talking about stuff. I have a feeling that will save our relationship when he's 14-18.

Check out the footie of Benson killin' it!

Nesting

2011-04-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Erica has been in major nesting mode since 30 weeks... in case you haven't noticed from recent blog posts, but you can explain the following posts due to nesting:

The Car Seat

The Baby Quilt

Dresser for Baby

Andrew's Potty Trained

I've decided that guys have a "Honey-Do" list but gals have a nesting list. Here's a few of the things crossed off of Erica's list:

Get out, wash & organize baby clothes, baby Moses basket; do taxes prep, oil change, freezer meals, make baby gifts for 4 newborn babies; fix vacuum; sew car seat canopy, binky clips, 8 burpies, accent pillow, quilt binding, 2 in-car garbage bags, Amy's sling & nursing cover; buy puj tub on KSL, AA batteries, camcorder tapes, diapers, formula, Gain, chicken, meatballs & turkey; pack hospital & overnight bags; clean fan, hang pictures clean/organize baby bottle cabinet; happy baby music on ipod, 5 trips to DI, prepare and teach gospel doctrine every other Sunday, and finally but not least importantly -pick a name.

Did you ever think so much had to be done before the oven popped and #3 arrived? What is amazing about Erica is she doesn't only prepare for her own kids arrival, she is constantly thinking about who else is having kids and what she can do to help them. She went on a mad sewing spree one week and nothing she made she kept. She is amazing. I wish I could take some credit for assisting on many of those items but with Bishopric I only get to fill in when I can on items she can't reach, can't carry, can't mail, doesn't know how to do or doesn't want to haul the kids to. She really is a busy mom and we're not done yet, but we're close thanks to her incredible efforts. I am amazed at what she does every day. I love you Erica!

Desk Makeover

2011-04-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Our desk was cluttered and messy. See...

Again Erica watched and watched and watched KSL for a new to us desk. She almost convinced me to go all the way to Heber for one, but eventually we ditched the Ikea setup and picked up this desk. We customized it by removing the back panel adding bead board from the Home Depot remnants bin for $1 and painting it the same "Sea Salt" paint as our accent wall.

We cleaned and arranged all our stuff and Erica liked it but said we were not quite done.

Now that's a makeover. We gained all kinds of storage space over the previous setup and I was able to hide the chords underneath so you can't see them. We use the keyboard tray to charge our phones, ipod, bluetooth and other devices. It fits the space perfectly and looks clean and crisp. Now all I need to do is keep the piles of paper off the workspace.

Master Bedroom Makeover

2011-04-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Our bedroom used to look like the pictures above. Erica painted the accent wall a neutral shade of green, "Oat Straw" and our headboard matched nicely. One day I returned home from work to find the boys playing a game on the "Island" while Erica had the bed and chair pulled out from the wall. She had 3/4 of the wall painted already.

I greeted her with my mouth wide open in amazement and she greeted me with polite instructions. "Can you please move this dresser?"

No more monkey's jumping on the bed!

As you can see Erica gets the job done. The boys even help (a little) but she's teaching them how to work too. The new color is called "Salt Water" from Kwal Paint. It is a beautiful change to our Master Bedroom.

As I already said, the old wall color matched our headboard SO I decided to surprise Erica with a project of my own. Here's a couple pictures of the old headboard. The fabric was surplus from a huge order the LDS Church made at a local fabric distributor. Incidentally, the underside of our couch has this fabric in brown (headboard is green tone).

Boys watching TV like champs. Andrew still in the binky & pans stage while Benson has bed hair.

NEW HEADBOARD!

Step 1: Tear off old fabric

Step 2: Take headboard over to dad's shop and add sides for new 'modern' design

Step 3: Rearrange foam to make sure proper coverage. Spread batting over headboard so color of foam doesn't seep through.

Step 4: Lay down new fabric and get a helper... time to staple!

Step 5: Admire your handiwork.

Step 6: Keep your helper... time for tufting the buttons. We had two options here. Do the tufting before stapling the fabric on, or after -which is what we did. The before method gives deeper 'diamond' shaped tufts. We were going for a modern look and got what we wanted here I think.

All done! It's a white vinyl that looks and feels like leather. We are both really impressed with how it turned out. The vinyl was $50 and new board was $8, and new foam was $15. Starting from scratch I estimate it could be done for around $100-120 or so.

Hopefully this completes the Master renovation, New paint, Pottery Barn pick stitch quilt and shams (thanks Mary Lynne for the Christmas gift), Erica's designer pillows, and Kimball's designer headboard. It is such a blessing to have a comfortable bed. We sleep like kings.

BIG FANS

2011-04-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Kimball and Bompa took Benson, Andrew and Luke down to Provo to see the BYU spring football practice- even though it was snowing. Luckily, Bompa had the hook-up and they got to watch the game from inside the stadium tower on the Loge (below the press box). The boys (all of them, young and old) had a really great time and came back totally enthused about the upcoming football season.

Afterward, they stopped by the BYU bookstore. Kimball bought two of these rather large BYU t-shirts for 2.00 bucks each. The intention is for me to make two capes for the boys. When I pulled them out of the bag, I started laughing and Laura said, "We could probably both fit in that- pregnant." So, we tried and got a lot of fun looks. I'm 37 weeks pregnant and Laura is 22 weeks.

Another Treasure

2011-04-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

For each new grandchild, Louise crochets a special blanket for them. She finished one for the baby and gave it to us this week. It is so beautiful, perfect, soft and just the right size. Needless to say, we can't wait to wrap our little bundle in this heirloom.

Car Clean

2011-04-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

The van was over due for a cleansing. The place to do it right is at the Joneses where we have access to garage space, a steam cleaner, a shop-vac and other essential supplies.

The van floor with all the seats removed is one huge mess. There were suckers stuck to carpet, fish crackers, bottle lids and other kid disposed items. I thought I said no food in the van!

One of the few recent pictures of Erica not pregnant... thanks to the jacket ;).

Exciting Announcements

2011-04-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Recently, Carlie and Jeffrey announced that they'll be expecting their first child the end of October!!! We are so excited and have been praying for them to be able to have children soon. Then, only two weeks later, Emily and Derek shared their great news that they are expecting their fifth child only one week earlier than Carlie. This means that we'll be adding THREE new members to the High Family this year making the grandchildren count a whopping TEN. We are all thrilled and anxious to meet these new babes. In addition, Laura is expecting a "surprise" in August making our babies in the same grade. I am so excited that our son will have some cousins so close in age.

We are really excited and grateful for our growing families!

Sunday morning

2011-04-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning has taken on a new routine. Since Kimball usually goes to church at 6:30 am, I'm left to get myself and the kids dressed and fed and in the car to church on time. I can't imagine how I'm going to pull this off with a newborn that will also need to be fed, but I hope I can manage. Kimball was made the 1st counselor in our ward bishopric on February 5th. He really loves his calling and works hard to give his very best. It has taken a bit of adjusting on our part at home. The boys struggled for a few weeks since they were seeing him much less, and wanted to go up on the stand during church to sit on his lap, but they are now pretty adjusted. Today, Andrew kept saying, "Daddy, I see you! Daddy, I see you!" as he'd poke his head out of the pew and then back in again. We're not that great at getting our kids to bed early on Saturday evening, so then they want to sleep later on Sunday. This was one of those rare Sunday mornings where we got them to bed early, and Benson was bright-eyed and eating his breakfast with enough time to spare. So handsome Little Rew is handsome too! He's doing much better in nursery lately. He went through a rough patch after Benson left him in January to go to primary. Andrew had never had an issue with nursery until Benson moved on and left him. He's finally going in without a curled lower lip and tears in his eyes. Now when we get him he tells us that "I was happy! I not cry bawl. A treat? A treat?"

bunnies and chicks

2011-04-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

One day grandpa Pops had a great idea to meet at the IFA store for the boys to see the bunnies and chicks. Pops is wanting to get some chickens in the future and he wanted to scope them out. The boys loved it. The best part is that they stick their little heads and necks out to reach their feeders, making them super visible to us.

Andrew was tempted to touch the chicks at first, but then I think one of them touched his finger and he kept telling me "ouchie" and then he didn't stick his fingers in the cage any more.

Outside there was a chicken coop on display, and the boys figured since it was just their size they were ready to make it their home. We struggled a bit to get them to say goodbye to it.

Seattle is Too Far

2011-04-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

Heather, Jada, Zoie, Dickson, Benson, and Andrew (demonstrating how to get people to smile for a photo)

About a month ago our neighbors (next door, one floor up) announced that they were moving to Seattle. We were SO sad, but then it got worse- they were moving fast, like in a week and a half. It seemed like such a whirlwind. We tried to talk them out of it, and although they told us that we were persuasive, they felt like it was the right move for them. As soon as Heather expressed that they felt like they were supposed to go, we gave them as much support as we could do (and cried behind their backs.)

We've been neighbors for four years and it is a HUGE understatement to say that we miss them. We knew that we would- but there is even more of a void than we thought. On the positive note, Kimball gets to park in their spot now... Not a good trade- at all. We have loved spending time with them and having friends that we can play games with, count on, and share our lives with. We hope for the very very very best for them in their new home, and know that we'll stay friends for life.

I was still in shock to see the moving truck and kept saying, "with all this help we could unpack everything and take it back upstairs so easily." Luckily, they made the drive safely and are feeling pretty settled in their new home and job. We can't wait to see them this summer.

Little Builders

2011-04-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

In February Erica posted about Home Depot's Kid Workshops where your kids get to build stuff from their pre-made kits. The projects are different every month. We took the Liljenquist kids last month and made wooden nascar cars which was cool. This morning we got in the car to go and Benson said, "Is Grandpa coming?" So I called Pops and he said he would love to join us.

Today's activity was the best ever because it involved 18 nails and Andrew LOVES to hammer. When he sees me get dressed for the day he does the sign for hammer and now says, "da-da workin." Interesting to point out that Andrew was a better hammerererer than Benson. He is less cautious -as was evidenced by the one time he whacked his finger. Grandpa kept his fingers out of rage.

Benson on the other hand was SO cute with the apron. Last month he wouldn't put on an apron, but this month he was seeing the wisdom... He got glue on his fingers and Erica offered to wipe it off for him. He said, "Oh, that's ok!" as he smeared the glue on his apron. You can see the blob of glue in the bottom picture.

Thanks for coming Grandpa Pops! We sure had fun... just hope these boys don't discover what a fun shop you have like your boys did. If they do you'll know where to find your tools.

Baby Quilt- check

2011-03-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

Getting more excited each day to meet baby boy #3!

I finished this simple little baby quilt. I was really happy to find some boy fabric that I liked (Michael Miller - Retro Groovy guitar )- we all know it's about 4 to 1 when it comes to cute girl stuff compared to cute boy stuff. I originally planned for it to be 4 squares by 5 squares, but when I got to the point of 4 squares by 4 squares, Kimball said, "Stop, I like it like that." and so did I. The back side is plain white, but you can see the square pattern of quilting better on the back.

Since I had 4 extra squares, I made a minin quilt for him when we don't want to haul the big one around. I quilted this one myself so that I would have an example of the pattern I wanted when I took the big one in to be quilted by a prof.

Kimball had the great idea to put some minky on the back. I didn't have a piece quite big enough to cover the whole back and didn't want to make another trip to the store, so I put a border around it. This size is actually perfect to cover them in their carseat when the are little without any fabric hanging over the edge.

carseat canopy

2011-03-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

This is not the first carseat canopy that I've made, but it is the first one I've kept for myself. I wonder if it will bother me, or if I'll love it. I made it white on the inside since my guy will be a summer baby and I don't want him to cook in there, but I love the idea of him being shaded. I'm really loving the GREEN

I added this little pocket on the back for miscellaneous stuff. It has a bit of elastic on the edge so it doesn't just gape open. Wonder if that will come in handy too??

"Opportunity Makes the Thief" -Proverbs

2011-03-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Crimes of passion occurred this March... I always ask for a ski pass for Christmas/Birthday from family each year. The one thing I know I'll love for sure. Erica teases me that she's not going to suggest this anymore because I'm really picky about going on the right days. I'll often arise at 6am to check NOAA.gov, UDOT, Alta.com, Skisolitude.com, Snowbird snow cam etc... to find out how much, what time did it start, roads open and more. Because I don't have a season pass anymore if there is one strike against going, I'll roll over and dream of when it will be deep. It's true, I'm a snow snob because I can be. I live in Utah. If there are doldrums in January I can always get it in February. There will be an epic day around the bend. There always is.

March 7, 2011
Had a great time getting to know Powder Mountain courtesy of Funk's birthday. I should take the time to publicly thank James in the Powder Keg bar for the tip on how to access this stash. I could see it from the road but could not get at it. Turned out to be one of the best ski runs of my life.

I may be over stating because most of my ski runs lately have been on green's teaching Erica and the boys. Not that seeing them progress and enjoy skiing isn't personally fulfilling but there is nothing like this feeling... behold:

March 22, 2011

There is a lot to be grateful for... a boss who skis and understands the lust for powder. A friend with skillz, passion, a memory of "the good ol' days" and desire to reproduce them. A ski resort that is relatively ignored by the general public, and their dutiful Ski Patrol who opens up terrain quickly, efficiently and predictably.

That being said, it dumped 9" overnight and had 15" the 24 hrs before with wind closing access to good terrain. AND we got off the chairlift as the ski patrol opened up Honeycomb Canyon. (Hence the opportunity quote). What ensued was EPIC. Enjoy... I did.

We just sessioned this stash like a dishwasher... rinse and repeat. This was the 4th time through...

The last two were taken with my Droid X smart phone... I think it's time for a GoPro don't you?

He's Got Game!

2011-03-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

I try not to watch TV when the boys are awake because everything is in reach, they're so busy and always getting into things you never know what is going to be used for it's unintended purpose. Notice my extreme joy when Andrew figured out tonight that a golf club is not a sword, extension pole, reaching tool, cane, or hammer.

His focus is so admirable. He gets his eye right over the ball... i'm going to have to remember this tip this summer.

Skiing Family

2011-03-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

We just passed the 500" mark for accumulated snowfall at the Wasatch ski resorts and I've had a couple REALLY good ski days lately. Consequently the "gear" has been hanging around for the boys to try on... I love this ;)

BENSON

Dad's Gear, Benson's Gear...

ANDREW

Dad's Gear, Andrew's Gear...

Well Protected...

Sleeping Giants

2011-03-23T20:23:00.001-07:00

I have caught a few candid's of Benson and Andrew sleeping. I want to squeeze them so tight that I wake them up. I compensate by taking pictures of them and hope the flash doesn't wake them up.

A before and after...

2011-03-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

We have an awkward space in the boys room when you walk in the door that we have been looking to fill with a dresser. With the growing family and adding another boy we are needing more drawer space.

Erica searched, and searched, and searched (I think you should sing the pioneer children song when reading that) until FINALLY she found the ideal dresser for $40 on KSL. She is mad-crazy in love with her husband ... and the KSL classifieds.

The dresser was natural oak in color but her dad has this cool gel-stain that requires no sanding. So nice I should say it twice. Erica and Wil applied the stain and before you knew it we had a completely new dresser. I went to Home Depot and picked out some new hardware that would fit the original holes. Turned out beautifully.