Saturday, December 27, 2008

Because a few of you asked to see it....

I present to you...

Afton singing 
"Where are you Christmas"


Sunday, December 14, 2008

It was an amazing night...

Dad was glowing... so was Mom. Many were there to show there love and support and you know Dad was thrilled to be surrounded by the people he loves the most. He gave two speeches and both were wonderful. There were also very nice things said about him by many others that were in attendance. It was a great and well deserved honor for Dad. He did so much to help UVU and it's athletics program get to where they are today. His vision and continued support have played a huge part in it's history and it's future. I know I speak for many of you when I say that I am proud to count myself among his posterity and was honored to be able to be with him last night as he accepted this award. My favorite part was at half-time: Dad was out on the court with many other Hall of Famers and they announced him last. I'm sure the crowd cheered louder for him than any others... it was an awesome moment! It was a night I'm sure we will never forget and something we will share with our kids and grandkids for years to come as we walk the halls of UVU and show them Dad/Grandpa's plaque hanging on the wall.

I made a slideshow because there were so many pictures I wanted to include (this is only about 1/3 of them). I also included parts of the program for those of you who weren't able to be there or who didn't save one. You really should take a moment to read his biography... it's really neat. You can click on the image to enlarge it so it is easier to read. Remember that to leave a comment you need to be at the blog (not in the email version) and click on the "comments" thing below this post... then just follow the directions. 




Dancing with the Athletes

The high school did a fundraiser where the students voted for their favorite athletes to pair up with the ballroom team and then compete against each other. No surprise that Alyssa was chosen. She worked hard and did a really good job. We were all very impressed. She danced a waltz and a rhumba. It was a very entertaining night and so fun to be there watching and supporting Alyssa.
Performing her waltz. She did 2 difficult lifts and was awesome.

Performing her very steamy rhumba. 
The girls got moves... you should have seen those hips!

Judgement time...

And the winner is...
Not Alyssa... but it should've been.
She really did a wonderful job!

Her biggest fans!
(Jaremy, Afton, Dani, Grandma, Abby, 
Max, Christopher, Alyssa and Jolie)

Jolie, Alyssa and Jaremy

One very proud Grandma!!

Katie and Cassidy (because they weren't in the group shot).

Monday, December 8, 2008

Hall of Fame

Dad/grandpa is being honored this Saturday night at Utah Valley University. He is being officially inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame for his efforts in getting an athletics program started at their school as well as his support of the programs over the past few years. There will be a dinner and then a basketball game where he will be honored at half- time. I hear they will even be unveiling a statue of him. The whole family is invited to all the events and it should be a fabulous night and a lot of fun to be there and support Dad/grandpa. Try to make it if you can, and if you can't make it check back next week and I'll post a bunch of pictures from the festivities!

Drill Team

As most of you know, Katie is on the competition drill team at her High School and they had a "preview" night to show their pieces before they started competitions for the year. It was so fun to go watch her dance and she did such a great job. She is an excellent performer and gets so into it and has the absolute cutest facial expressions ever. It is fun to watch her because you can tell she really loves what she is doing and that she is having a great time. She even performed a solo and SHE ROCKED IT!!! And I am extremely critical. I was so impressed and it made me so happy to watch her doing so well. I loved it. 
During her solo... seriously, she was amazing. 
I wish I could post 100 pictures- believe me I have 'em-
I took exactly 245 pictures that night.
Keep up the good work, Katie!

Coleman's Blessing

Thanks to everyone who joined us on our special day. We loved having you there to support us and were happy to have you in our home to "eat, drink and be merry together". We love you all and the day wouldn't have been the same without you. You can see more pictures by going here.

October

I've been a little behind on blogging the last couple months so I've decided to just do a quick recap of family events and other things that I have pictures of. Remember that you can all post things as well (PLEASE do). I know I would love to see what is going on with all of you and I'm sure others would as well. So, here goes:
Happy Birthday
Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate Afton's, Max's and Chris' birtdays. They had a great time and felt very loved by all of you.
Homecoming Princess
Alyssa was voted Homecoming Princess at school. She was able to be in a parade and wear a sash and everything. And she looked absolutely adorable in her dress! Congratulations Alyssa. 
Gardner Village
Many of us made the annual trip to Gardner Village to enjoy the wonderful Halloween decorations. Mom and Dad, Chris' family and Leisa family all went for Family Night and had a great time and enjoyed a wonderful meal together.
High School Musical 3
Everyone who could went together to see Zack and Jaremy in their big screen debut in HSM3. We had a blast and it was fun to see it with them. I know a lot of you went and saw it as well and had fun looking for them. 
I'm sure you've all done some great things. Please post your activities so we can see what you're up to. I won't bore you with all my personal family stuff, but visit my blog when you have a minute (the link is on the left). 

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Happy 54th Anniversary!!

To the people started it all and made us a family.
Thanks for all you do for all of us!! 
We all hope you have a truly wonderful anniversary.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Monday, November 3, 2008

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Please join us for Coleman's Blessing!

 Sunday, November 2nd @ 9:00 am (that's NEXT Sunday) @ the Church in our neighborhood (turn in to our subdivision and look for the steeple)

Immediately following Sacrament Meeting we will take a few pictures outside and have a brunch at our house. Please let us know if you will be there so we can plan enough food.

**Please note: There is the potential for 4-5 baby blessings in our ward next Sunday so please be early enough to get seats. **

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Birthday Celebration

Thanks to all who attended the Big Birthday Bash last night in honor of Tericia, Leisa and Greg. We all had a great time visiting and sharing news about each others lives! (I thought about posting some of that "news" here, but decided to let people post their own news instead) Special thanks to Mom and Dad for hosting every one at their home and for the yummy treats. Mom even made special books for Tericia and Leisa with pictures from their childhoods and many of you wrote letters to Leisa in honor of the big 5-0!! I know she enjoyed reading them. We missed those of you who were not able to be there, especially those who live far away and we don't get to see as much. It was a great night and the only thing that would have made it better would be you!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Practice Post

Hey everyone,

I'm new at this and learning how to post because I'm so impressed with what Katie is doing...and you can too (that was from Katie). Anyway - I think this is a great way to stay connected. Thanks Katie!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Game Winning Point!!

This is a MUST READ! Alyssa scored the GAME WINNING POINT against Timpanogos High School last Tuesday. There is a great article you can read here! Way to go, Alyssa!! We're so proud of you!!
Photo by Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Another Party!

Please join us to celebrate Afton's, Max's and Chris' birthdays! Sunday, October 5th (Conference Sunday), at 6:00 pm at Chris and Katie's house.

Blog Refresher...

Just a reminder to check the family blogs and how they work...

*If you receive this as an email you are the only one getting it for your family. It is your job to forward it to your spouse and grown children so they can have the updates as well. For example: Tericia gets this email and should forward it to Corey and all their children... I need to forward it to Cassidy. The blog only allows me to send it to a few people so this seemed like the best system. It is very important that you do this, especially with the beach house information, so that everyone is aware of what is going on. We've had some people frustrated that they were not getting info and don't want anyone to be in the dark.

*Remember that any of you can post to the family blog. Those of us who are using it are really having fun and we hope you'll all start posting the exciting things happening in your families. Let me know if you would like help learning how to do this.

*To comment on any posts you cannot just reply to this email... that just send it to me. You have to actually go the the blog itself and leave your comment there. Doing this allows everyone to read your comment and even reply to your comments.

*Remember there are 2 blogs... one for the Higbee family in general and one that is strictly Beach House related. The family blog is www.jmhigbeefamily,blogspot.com and you can follow the link on the left to get to the Beach House 2009 Blog or follow these links.

Let me know if you have any questions... happy blogging! (And remember to forward this email to the rest of your family... do it now... before you forget!)

Monday, September 15, 2008

Look who's in the news!

It's Alyssa... she's #7 in the front. It was a HUGE upset! 
Click here to watch video and read the article.
Photo by: David Archibald/Daily Herald

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Miss Utah USA 2008: Cassidy is a Contestant

09pageant.jpg

It is Official. I will be competing in the Miss Utah USA 2008 Pagent. Something that I have been looking forward to all summer. It is being held in Ogden, Utah at the Egypitian Theater November 13-15, 2008. Family and Friends are all invited. I will let you know when tickets go on sale. I am looking for sponsors to help me in acheiving my dreams and goals. If anyone has any suggestions on sponsors or are interested in sponsoring me let me know. I would love the help and support. Thanks! Wish me luck in these next couple of months preparing for Miss Utah! 

If you are planning to come, Important Dates to Remeber: 
Charity Dinner (open to the Public) November 13th
Preliminaries November 14th 
Finals November 15th 

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Introducing...

Coleman Somers Higbee
9/10/2008 @ 4:47 pm
6 lbs. 4 oz. and 18 inches



Just a few minutes old.

One very happy mother... he's so sweet and tiny! I'm so grateful that he's here!

The whole family! I can't believe we have 4 children (and a bonus kid)... CRAZY!

About 30 minutes old. He is so alert and aware.

A couple hours old. We are madly in love with the little guy.

Everything went great! We arrived at the hospital about 10 am but didn't start the induction until around noon. The delivery went smoothly and I feel great (well, as great as can be expected). All the kids were there and they were so cute. Max is just thrilled to have a brother, Abby kept patting my hand and telling me how brave I was and that she was so proud of me, and Afton was extremely protective... she didn't want anyone to hold him but her and she would get very upset when he cried. I think she is going to be a great big sister. We are grateful to Cassidy for being with Afton all day and getting the kids at school and bringing them to the hospital just in time. It was a great day and we are so grateful for our beautiful baby boy. We feel extremely blessed to have this little guy join our family.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Showered with Love

Karen threw a baby shower for me yesterday at her home. We decide to keep it small, family only, and we had a great time celebrating the upcoming arrival of our fourth and final bundle of joy. I am extremely grateful to everyone who came and for all the lovely gifts (the group gift was a much needed double stroller that I lOVE and I'm sure will get a lot of use!). We also tied a quilt together that Coleman is sure to love and I'll think of all of you when I use it. Everyone was so thoughtful and it meant a lot to me that you all took time out of your busy Saturday to be with me! It was so fun to just visit and be together... I have the greatest family on earth!
"The Quilters": Karen,  Abby, mom, my Grandma Jackie Farnsworth, Kathy Luke, and Suzanne.
Abby learning how to tie a quilt with Grandma Higbee. Abby was so proud of herself. When I said this would be a great blanket to put on the floor and have Coleman play on she looked shocked and told me this was a "special quilt". I wonder if I'll ever get to use it!
Karen and I holding up the (almost) finished product.
"The non-quilters": Melody (my sis-in law), baby Sarah (my niece), Aubrey (my sister), Wendy (my bonus mom), Saundra (my sis-in-law) and my mom, Bevan.
 Aubrie and shy little Emma.

Unfortunately a lot of the pictures didn't turn out (my fault... I had my camera on a manual setting... people who took pictures for me should not feel bad) so a lot of you aren't in here! Sorry and thanks for coming Jolie, Katie, Alyssa and Cassidy! You all made my day. We really missed all of you "out-of-towners" and wish you could have been here... parties aren't the same without all of you! Thanks again, Karen (and everyone who helped her)! It was so nice of you to do this for me and I am soooo grateful. (Be sure to check back late Wednesday for pictures of baby Coleman!!)

Congrats Grad!

As most of you know, Jaremy graduated from BYU on August 15th. We are all so proud of his accomplishment and are excited to see what comes next for him (he's planning on med school... go Jay!... and is currenty doing EMT training). Jolie and Greg had a party for him that night and asked me to take a few "graduation pictures". We were going for the official look, but it just didn't fit his personality and the wind was really bad so we changed our plan and had a lot more fun with a lot better results! I think they turned out really cool and different (and it was good practice for me... thanks for being my guinea pig). A whole crowd came to celebrate with Jaremy. It started out as mostly family and we had a delicious BBQ. As it got later his friends started to arrive and party late into the night. We even watched a few treasured home movies... you've come a long way Jaremy!