Buddies

They were born only 2 minutes apart.

But now...there is at least 10 pounds between them...

...and quite possibly 4 inches.

Yet they have always played really nicely together.

This morning, while stopped at a red light, I turned around to see what all the giggling was about in the car seats behind me.

Pinewood Derby

When I was little, I would often help my Dad when he organized Christian Service Brigade's Pinewood Derby Meets. Even at the age of 7 (Mom...was I really that young?) I would work the registration table. Clearly, my love of charts started at a young age.

Ty had his first Derby last night. He was SO excited. The Royal Rangers have been working on their cars so dilegently for the past few weeks. He woke up yesterday morning and asked if he was going to get to keep the car when the race was done. I can see why:

He was VERY proud of his car.


The car made it past the first round but lost in the second round to the eventual winner.

When all was said and done, Ty went home with "The Coolest Car" trophy for the Ranger Kids (K-2nd).

Mad Hatters

All winter long, I'd put hats on the babies and beg for them to keep the hats on. No such luck. Within 2 minutes, the hats would be pulled off. I even tried the kind that tied or fastened...but they didn't survive any better. Without any hesitation, hats would be pulled off and thrown. Ava needed the hats the most (no hair for added warmth) but she was THE WORST offender of the hat shred!

Now that the temperatures have climbed and summer is clearly on it's way, my kids are whistling a different tune!

This is how I found "the gang" the other morning...READING with their hats on.

Apparently, Cole also likes to cuddle with his new duck from "Miss Carole".

Look at that smile! Ahh...too cute!

Don't be alarmed by the wetness down Ava's front. They have just discovered how to spit/drool water from their sippy cups. Oh the joy.

"Peek-a-boo"


"Cheeeeeeeeeeeese"

Ava's nice and toasty for Puzzle Time!

New Looks for the Summer

I think we may have started a new tradition in Higby-land today: Memorial Day Weekend Summer Haircuts for the Higby Boys. Okay, so it needs a better name, but still. Yes, even Shane got a shorter "do". Unfortunately, he didn't exactly volunteer for a "Before" & "After" photoshoot, so take my word for it, he looks cute! I'm hoping to get a shot of all 4 of them tomorrow. In the meantime, here are my mini-studs...

Ty - Before:

Ty - After:

Eli - Before:

Eli - After:

Cole - Before:

Cole - After:

I couldn't decide which picture I liked better...so you're stuck looking at both!

I've also decided that Cole has something in common with Sampson...power in his hair! Sampson's hair gave him power...but Cole's hair seems to have taken his power. See, after his bath, I put Cole down for the night in his crib. Then, I went back to help Shane finish Zoe and Ava's bath. A few minutes later, I heard Ty and someone else, giggling on my bed. COLE! Yup. Seriously. He climbed out of his crib and strutted straight into my room. Oh boy. It wasn't a one-time-thing, either. It took a few swats on the climbing leg and two more returns to the crib before he finally settled in and fell asleep. I guess I'll be researching crib tents tonight after I hit "Publish".

Patriotic Chapel

Wednesday, Zoe's class (as well as the other 1st grade class) were "in charge" of chapel: Patriotic Chapel (in honor of Memorial Day).

What a FANTASTIC job they did! We could tell how hard the kids practiced. They performed at least 5 songs (some with hand motions). Not all the kids had speaking parts (some had roles in their Thanksgiving play). But those that did, all did great.

Zoe carried a sign during the skit about Betsy Ross and the flag. She was so serious, I couldn't help but giggle.

Her other role was absolutely perfect for her: the salute to the Bible. She got to use her own Bible...the one she's madly in love with.

Okay, I need to say, I didn't go to Christian School when I was little. I'd never even heard of a Bible Salute until Zoe was in Kindergarten. But I gotta say, if I can salute to a flag representing a country that I love, I can certainly salute to a Bible that I fully believe in. Too bad this old brain doesn't work and I can't remember the words!

As a bonus, my mom was in town, so Zoe's cheering section was increased 50%. (The picture didn't turn out that great, so I'm sparing the inevitable email from my mom saying she can't believe I posted it!)

Thank you, Mrs. Slootmaker, for all your hard work putting chapel together.

Cole's Comfort

Ava has her "cozy"...

Eli has his thumb...

Cole's much more advanced. He gets his comfort from elsewhere...

Seriously, he's carried this book around for the past 24 hours. He doesn't share it with Ava OR Eli. He's even taken it to bed...last night and today at nap time. Shane pointed out that Cole better learn to talk soon because his "jolly smile will only win so many converts".

Benefits of Becca

It's a bummer that I can't have Becca more hours a week, since she's in school. But you know what the plus side of that schooling is?

Free haircuts!

(Shhhhh...don't tell Zoe I posted this picture. She'll kill me!)

Mother's Day

What a great Mother's Day! I can't say that it started off exactly as I'd hoped, but by the end of the day, I did feel loved and blessed.

After a morning at church, Shane's family came over and we ordered the traditional Mother's Day dinner: Chinese Takeout!

The weather cooperated and the kids all got to run around the yard and climb around the (almost complete...hold out a little longer for pictures...) treehouse. Ty played about 30 "games" of baseball. Zoe eavesdropped on about 1000 adult conversations. The triplets napped wonderfully. It was a wonderful day!

I thought I'd share my favorite Mother's Day card with you. It came from my mom anonymously and had me ROLLING on the ground in laughter.

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. May your children rise up and call you blessed...Proverbs 31:28

Ty-isms

(Yes, he's sitting in the oh-so-clean "outdoor toy bin")

Do you SEE that face? How can you NOT smile when you see him? Shane asks him, nightly, if he's a cartoon character. Sometimes, based on what comes out of his mouth...I wonder if he is!

Tuesday, I was watching Dancing with the Stars a very intellectual show during my lunch (DVR'd) and Ty came down from his "quiet time" to ask a question. He saw the judges put up their scores and asked, "what were the numbers?" When I told them it was 9, 9 and 9, he quickly replied, "hmmm...a 27...okay!" and turned to walk out of the room. What? Did my pre-school, 5-year old just add 3 numbers together? I asked him how he knew that, and he just said, "I just did!" Go figure.

Yesterday afternoon, Ty was playing baseball out in the backyard (by himself...don't ask). Apparently, he was practicing throwing the ball up in the air and catching it. In his words, "...the last time I did it, I threw the ball up and it came down and hit me right in the lung!" Oooooooooooor...the ball bounced off his chest.

Last night, Shane took the big kids to church for clubs. When it was time to leave, he noticed that Ty was missing his jacket. So, he asked Ty where he left it..."on the curve". You know the thing that connects the sidewalk to the parking lot!?!?!

Seriously...you can't MAKE this stuff up!

13.1

Shock. Awe. Pride. Exhaustion. Excitement.

I did it!

I ran...yes...ran...the whole way...13.1 miles on Sunday. I finished the Long Branch Half Marathon! And I did it in 2:07:01 (officially).

All week, I'd been down on myself. After Easter, my committment to training really went downhill. Actually, it wasn't so much my committment as much as it was my follow-through that petered out! Last week, I ran Tuesday. 5 miles. On a treadmill. That's it. I figured that running the Half Marathon on Sunday would be a joke. It'd end up walking half of it and doing my best just to beat the sweeper van. Boy, did I surprise myself!

Sorry, but there aren't any pictures. At least not yet. Maybe the "pro" got one or two shots and eventually, I'll post them. But I went with Cool Shannon and her husband and all three of us were running. There were no fans there taking pictures of us. We actually didn't even see each other finish. But we did start together and Shannon and I did run together the majority of the way.

Oh...and did I mention that it was 50+ degrees and raining? Not exactly what I had in mind for the day, when I signed up for a race down at the shore!

It was such a great experience, though. The whole town of Long Branch was taken over by this race.  There were crazy runners dressed in wild outfits: Superwoman, Irish Kilts, Powder Blue Tuxedos, etc.  There were also runners EQUALLY crazy wearing barely ANY outfits!   The race started (and finished) right on the boardwalk.  Once we hit the streets, it was great to run past houses with their radios blaring "pump up" music out the windows...past couples cheering from their front porch while sipping their morning coffee and reading the paper...past fans ringing cow bells...past kids on the side of the road "giving away" high fives.  It wasn't until mile 9 (when Shannon and I started to drift apart) that I missed my walkman.  Even though the weather wasn't picture perfect, hitting that boardwalk still gave an extra boost of energy and seeing those waves roll in were a GREAT distraction from the aching muscles.  Seeing that finish line and hearing the announcer start calling out names, I think I might have even picked up my pace a little for the last tenth of a mile or so.

Sure...I'm sore today...but my spirits haven't damped.  I'm definitely doing another Half Marathon...at some point...someday.  Not sure I'll be doing a FULL marathon anytime soon.  It would take a lot more training.  Training that I couldn't do until the young ones are in some sort of school.  But for now...I've found my "niche": 13.1 miles!

****updated with a few of the proofs...as in proof that I need to work on my facial expressions while running!****

Yes...I look like I'm dying...I was!

Still dying...and the guy behind me's picking his wedgie!

I'm surprised I had the presence of mind to stop my watch! 

I'm SOMEWHERE in there...

How cool, right?