Saxons Cowboy Birthday! (a little late!!)

Thought I would put up a few pictures of Saxon's birthday! It was quite the birthday! It started with a parade and he left with about 3 pounds of candy. All of his Utah cousins and aunts and uncles came over for a BBQ (that's about 30!) He is really into cowboys so we took him to a rodeo and then topped it off with our town fireworks! He just thought all the celebrating was for him. We didn't tell him it was Alpine days! He doesn't care, it was great! Here are some pics!

Summer is Over!

Hangin out on the boat and "TUBIN"
Saxon is our Boat FANATIC!
First Day of Schoos Threads!
Saxon going au naturalle on the ranch!

Well, Vienna started 1st grade on Tuesday and I am coming to the realization that summer is pretty much over. Sending your first child off to first grade is quite somthing. I never realized how long school really is. I found myself missing my little girl in the early afternoon and watched the clock slowly tick by until she walked through my door. And all she could say about her first day of school was "Mom, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and a cookie for lunch!!" Yes, lunch was the highlight of school for her. She never liked pb&j sandwiches at our house, oh well. She is loving school. It doesn't hurt that all of her best friends are in her class. I'm just hoping that with all the distraction she might actually learn somthing.

We took a short trip down to our ranch to camp last weekend. One last hurrah before school starts and we had a fabulous time, except for when Bryce drove the Jeep into a ditch!! We got it out o.k. and we had a fantastic time! The kids love camping and I only wish we had gone more this summer! All in all it was a good summer. The reunion was definately a highlight. I hope everyone else had a fantastic summer. I'm a little sad it's over, but I am excited for a little structure. Things seem crazy in the summertime. Here is a few pictures of our outings!

Two peas in a pod.

Just having PB&J's in our Orange shirts together....

Making crazy cookies at Jane's

Sarah and her good friend Mandy spent the past 5 years making mud pies for our "Neighbor Jane" and getting choclate chip cookies and other sugar filled goodies in return. Now Mandy is moving to Utah so Neighbor Jane invited the girls over to make a farewell concoction. The girls didn't even bring any mud. We will miss Mandy and her family. If you are in Ogden and a giggling girl offers you a delicous mudpie, give her a big hello from us and a choclate chip cookie or two if you happen to have any. -SAH

China Brian shots from July 07

"Big fun. Very different." - Brian

Other SC dudes...

The sand on Carmel beach is so nice. You feel like you want it pushed all over your toes. Hank likes to be baried in it. It just feels good. Carmel is a wonderful place.

Ok, So Allen is a big surfing Dude. He even went to the surfing museum. Coolness....

Scott

Sarah's Baptism July 29

Sarah had a great birthday and baptism. She had friends and family present and the water was nice and warm. She asked if she could swim around before she had to leave the font. Her cousins Alli Wilkinson and Allen Halversen gave wonderful talks.

It is always great to have the grandparents present for these events. We love them so very much and enjoy having them in our lives and during special events.

Nana Claire made Sarah the special butterfly cake. You know you are special when you get a butterfly cake. It was a busy day that ended with a swim and candles. Scott

A Very Unhappy Birthday to You!

Well I am sad to report that my dearest husband has probably one of the crummier birthdays that I have seen. It all started with a very busy work day for him (he's not a big fan of those). Hopes to possibly get home early were shattered by some appointments and deadlines. Other events made it an overall horrifying day at work for him. Things at home were crazy too. His dear wife has been coaching Young Womens Softball everyday in a week long tournement and has also been playing on the stake team for region tournement every night. Plans to go out to a nice dinner and have a small party were crushed when I was informed of a double header. Luckily we had the chance to see our daughter perform in the Alpine Days Lip Sync contest. She has been planning this for about 365 days (since last years competition). She was brilliant! After her fabulous performance a shrill cry came from a nearby playground. Kael had been pushed from the top of the monkey bars and fell to break his arm. Where was mom? Yes, a softball game. Bryce took Kael and luckily Grandma and Grandpa Higbee were there to cheer Vienna on. It was a good thing too because what I heard was that when they announced the first place winner out of 40 kids, My little Vienna was SHOCKED! Our entire ward was there to scream and cheer and from what it sounded like, it was like a movie. AND I MISSED IT ALL! After a long game (yes, we killed them!) I finally rolled in at 10PM. My Kael was on the couch looking miserable, Vienna was on cloud 9 dreaming of what to buy with the 20 bucks that she had won, Saxon was very overtired, and my dear husband was on the back porch quietly reading a book. I wondered what I could possibly to to make this seemingly horrible birthday a little better. I grabbed his favorite cake that I somehow found time to make earlier that day (thank goodness), assembled the kids, lit some candles, and we had a oh so small and not to mention LATE party on the back porch. It was very sweet and I hope it made his supposedly "special" day a little more special. I guess it all boils down to family in the end. What a day. So here I TRY to sit and type this message with a rasberry on my butt the size of a cantaloupe that I recieved while trying to slide into a base and tell you about this crazy day. And in the end, I realize that I don't think I will ever forget that little birthday party on the back proch at 1030 at night because I was with the people I care about most in this world. I hope you all are having little magical moments like this with your families.
Love,
Lori
Oh, the only picture I have to share of this day is the one of the rasberry on my butt, so I will save you all the horror and send some others with the next post. You can thank me later!

Beach Boardwalk night fun

Wipe-out.... It is dark for this ride and the lights were bright.

View from the Log ride.

The Hammer

We were one of the last people out of the park.

Allen, Heather, Sarah, and Scott

San Fran China Town

Heather and Allen in Chinatown. Anyone want to be some cool chop-sticks?

San Francisco Trolley is a cool way to get around town. Just hold on for dear life and hope none of the trucks and cars pick you off the side of the trolley. A big cable under ground pulls the trolley up and down the street.

Trolley kids in San Francisco near Fishermans' Wharf.

San Fran kids

Can you Say Japanish Buildingish?--.^

EEEHeee owwweee oWWWeee Ahahahaha...

hmmm... I looks like Buddha! Maybe --.^?

In this picture I feel like I'm a news reporter reporting on the Golden Gate Bridge... "As you can tell, the top half of the Golden Gate Bridge was abducted by aliens Today... and the only way for the government to cover it up was to use a supernatural weather gun, that was developed in china, to cover it in a thick layer of fog... The locals think that its an improvement... who needs all those cables that hold it up anyway? :o And that's how the cookie Crumbles... Reporter Allen signing out"





Smile With Your Eyes!... Really My eyes are Smiling... Allen~

Big Trees

Just another day in the redwood forest. After a long walk it is always good to rest in the shade of a giant redwood tree. Heather is becoming a real Santa Cruz tree hugging girl. The trees here love to be hugged. As you can see, there is a lot to hug.

Sun, sand, and fun at Capitola by the Sea.

Allen and Heather show their abilities in the raging ocean.
They are real naturals.

What better to do on a hot summers day? Bask in the warm sun and float on the waves. Later we all went to the blue ball park for pioneer hamburgers and the works. Play on the park slides and swings with all the kiddies. Then run to the Beach Boardwalk for some night beach walks and some arcade games in the Coconut Grove. Tuesday was a packed day. Scott

Allen and Heather made it to SC.

Yes, They made it to Santa Cruz. It was a tough trip with very little sleep and they made it still smiling and in good cheer. They already are looking over the surf boards and spying out the great waves. The ocean air is wet and Heather was looking for a way to wipe it off. Takes a little time to get used to all the humidity.



Yaa...a.a. They finally get to meet the umbrella-man. He even talked to Heather. Very impressive. He is one of our local works of art. We get quite a few of those.























Just like Abby Road in London (with be Beatles), the gang walk across the famous Pacific ave. It turned out to be a grand day in Santa Cruz. They ended on the warf looking at the sunset and watching the sea lions roar.








..

So much fun was had by all. Scott

Working and scooting

Hey.... did someone say HELP? no worries IT are on their way...
vroom... push faster bernard... we got some urgent issues to attend to... Rolondo

Back from the Big Apple!

Hey Family! I just posted about my fun trip if you are bored and want to read about it- =)Here it is! Looking forward to our Big Visit to UTAH!

Rachel

Bang Bang boy

Hank at SC mountain gun club.

The scouts hiked 6 miles and then to the gun club to pass off their merit badges. Hank was the amazing kid. Hank was a sharp shooter. He shot his first try with a 100% hits. The trainer was shocked this was Hank's first time at it. The second set of 25 he missed 2 (98%). Dude,.... Hank Rocks. The rest of the day I spent with Hank sitting in the shade watching the others try to qualify by getting 48% or more to pass. Several didn't make it. Way to go Hank.

Scott

Calif grads

Hank and Scott 06-14-2006

Audrey and some friends

Audrey is graduating to high school with friends who think highly of her. Graduation was during a heat wave but we were all proud to be there to see her move on to 9th grade. She is an honors student.

Hank is moving on to middle school and we watched him today graduate as an honors student. I am glad that they are doing so well. All the Halversens are noted for having smart kids. This be the truth. Hope your having a great summer. Scott

He'll be there when you need him.

PLease CLICK on PIC for FULL ENJOYMENT.

At our Mother's Day picnic, my dad took this awesome shot of Mark in Billy Bob teeth and used his sweet computer skills to create this "OS SO REAL" advertisement!! Is that Uncle Rico?

Rachel

Bryce's New Look!

By the way, Bryce is growing out his hair again, Do you like his new look??

HELLO SUMMER!

We decided to take a summer vacation early this year and beat all the rush to Yellowstone! We had a great time. We saw every animal in the park except a moose, but it's o.k. because we saw one up the canyon from our house today so we're counting it! The park was empty with the exception of a bunch of wildlife photographers trying to catch a glimpse of some newborns in the park. The day we got there a photographer got mauled by a mama grizzly. He followed her and her cub for about a mile when she got sick of him and literally took his face off. I think leaving a mama bear and her cub alone is probably a better idea. A nice big black bear came within a foot of the car and the kids were pressed up to the glass like suckerfish. It was great! We had a little bout of the stomach flu, but it was nothing that could slow is down too much. We took a short stop in Jackson where they had an Old West festival going on and then headed home. It was a great trip! So that was our official summer kick-off! Now it's time to get serious about the reunion! I think it is going to be a great time and I'm planning some good times together. The kids are really looking forward to seeing all of their cousins as I'm sure all of your kids are too! You should have recieved a note in the mail giving you some info. If you need to know anything else, give me a call or an email! The resort web page is zermattdolce.com (I think!!) If that doesn't work, Google Zermatt Utah and you will find it! Can't wait to see everyone!