VICTORY IS OURS!!!!

Yesterday was Game Day and the Glendale 7th Angels brought it! We took both games and are undefeated, 2-0. It was awesome. We played Huntington Beach, Pierside Pistols first and won 28-14, I think it may have been a little higher score, but not sure. We had a little break, had some lunch, and then took on our rivals the Santa Monica Silver Monkeys (the ward we devoted all our practice time to, to beat since they WERE the undefeated team. It was the most awesome game ever and close. We scored first, which was awesome and it took them by surprise. I think they thought they had it in the bag, but they were wrong. Our defense was unstoppable. Nothing got by them well almost nothing. They did score, but then so did we and by the end of the game it was tied 14 to 14. We had to go into overtime. SM was up first and our defense held them it was awesome. Now it was time for our offense to make the play. And make a play we did. Hiedi-Jo our main receiver and I the other receiver did our post corner play and it worked. I took the defense with me leaving Heidi-Jo open for the winning pass. It was awesome. It was the most excitement I have had in a long time with competitive sports. I can't wait for our next game Dec. 5th. We're ready to bring it again. Look out Northridge, the Angels are coming.

Emme's Blessing & Halloween

On Halloween I was surrounded by 3 eyed monsters, dinosaurs, and a precious caterpillar/giraffe. Jared bought Emme the cutest caterpillar costume, but once in it she wasn't too thrilled so she ended up trick-or-treating as a giraffe, which was pretty cute too. I hadn't been trick-or-treating in a very long time. It was actually way fun to see all these little kids out in costumes beggin' for candy. The only down side was I was sick, so I didn't have much energy. It was still fun though. :)

Emme in her Caterpillar costume. Not very happy :(

One cute Dinosaur huh :)

That is the scariest 3 eyed, 4 armed monster I've seen in a long time!

Emme's Blessing Day! Isn't she the sweetest thing ever. She actually slept the whole day. I think Trick-or-Treating wiped her out the night before.

Kyle wasn't too into the photo opts that afternoon. ha ha

the grandma's and their littlest granddaughter and their beautiful daughter.

The Higley Grandparents

Me and my little niece. Precious!

It's Pumpkin Carving Time Again!

Friday, Branson and I went on a double date with a couple in our ward. It was lots of fun. We went to dinner and then stopped by the market on our way to the house and picked up a couple of pumpkins to carve. We decided to carve pumpkins that played off each other and it was a success. In the background the Disney version of the headless horseman was playing, it was a great & classic halloween date. Although we did watch the Office when we were done, does that make it not a halloween date. :/

Cupcake Mania

On Wednesday my Relief Society had a cupcake decorating event. It was such a success and so much fun. We had over 40 girls show up, pretty darn good for our first enrichment with the new presidency. We had 3 stations, the halloween station, christmas station, and the regular cupcake station. My favorite was the Halloween. We made werewolf cupcakes and they were amazing. First we had a quick class given by a professional cake decorator and then broke off to make our cupcakes. I started at the halloween table. It was amazing to see the development of this werewolf. Truthfully at first I couldn't see how this was going to work but slowly the creation came alive. It was so much fun.

PowderPuff Football

I've heard this term before and I know all too well what it is, but I never though I would be a participant. I am on a powderpuff football team and well I'm loving it, although I'm not sure my body is too thrilled about it. I have been going to practice for about a month now and I have found muscles I didn't know I had. I have never been so soar in my entire life. I have to say a month into it my muscles are actually doing lots better, but my knees not so much. Some days I can barely bend them. I have realized my mind is younger than my body these days. ha ha! I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's true, my joints and muscles aren't as young as I remember them. And it pains me to admit to this. I love sports and never thought I would have to consider limiting my activity in them. As of now, I am living with the aches and pains because I an having way too much fun. I love being part of a team and I am getting to know some great and amazing girls and guys. (We have almost the same amount of boys helping with the coaching as we have girls on the team, it's hilarious, but a blast) So as of now I will continue attending practice and add my athleticism to the team. I'm not that bad either :)

Velcro, that's my nickname because I catch the ball no matter what. That makes me part of the offensive team. I'm learning plays like 'double flares', 'west hollywood drag', 'right cross', and many more. I have even played a little Quarterback. I think they are thinking of training me as a back up, that is pretty fun too, although a little more responsibility than I want. You are all probably thinking why the sudden desire for football. Well I guess the Santa Monica 3d ward has a powderpuff team and they are undefeated and well we want to take them on. Truthfully I think we may just take them. We practice every friday and there are at least 2 practices a week if you can make it and we have some pretty talented girls. It's awesome. We are getting jerseys, soon and even have numbers. We are the angels and our colors are red and black or blue and black not sure I think that's still up in the air. As soon as we get some pics taken I will post them. So I breath football in my spare time which isn't much between my calling, work, friends, and a boy named Branson, but when I get to it's a blast.

Catch the Passion

Last night I had the opportunity to experience what the press called an Evening of Community and Cultural Riches. My friend Ann won a couple of tickets to see the new conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform his first show at the Disney Concert Hall. Sadly we weren't one of the riches at the concert hall I think those seats were reserved for the powerful and wealthy, but we got a couple good seats at the Plaza theater across the street where they showed the show live on TV. Sure it was only part of the experience, but it was still amazing in itself.

The new conductor is something Dudamel, I can't remember his first name and I am too lazy to look it up right now. ha ha. But he is 29 yrs. and is from Venezuela. There was lots of hipe about this guy, but after the concert I can see why. He was amazing to watch. So animated, so vigorous, so enthralled in his work, he was captivating. I really don't know what all the motion and conducting really means but everyone of those musicians watched him like a hawk and produced some of the most beautiful music I have every heard. Sure it was 2 hours of just instrumental music and I thought I might have a hard time with that, but I really didn't it was amazing, like August Rush amazing ;)

I Became An Aunt Again

Earlier this week I got a phone call at 6am in the morning. It was my brother, even though I was still half asleep I groggily said "oh boo, congratulations, right" He laughed and said not yet, but that Brynne was at the hospital and in labor. It was all surreal, my little brother and his beautiful young wife were soon to be a mommy and a daddy. Truthfully, now don't laugh, it brought tears to my eyes and it still does. I was and am so happy for them. Well it was a long day of labor for poor Brynne. Her water broke at 1:30 I think it was Thursday morning and I didn't actually get the text that she had their little girl till 3:30 California time. So I think it was about 16 hours of labor, but it was all worth it because a beautiful baby girl was born. She has dark curly hair like my brother and I think they said she has blue eyes -like me! She was 6 pounds 3 oz I think and 19 inches. She was long toes like her dad, ha ha! I am so excited to have my first niece. I can't wait to meet this little baby girl. It took them a day to pick out her name. They had one picked out but when she arrived and saw her the name they picked didn't fit her. They finally decided on Emme Kate Higley. I think it's adorable!

Meet my new niece Emme...

Quick Trip to Utah

Last weekend was all about the girls. For those of you who don't already know, my sister-in-law Brynne is expecting a little girl in October that's only 3 weeks away. WOW!! Well last weekend my mom and I made a girls trip with my aunt and cousin to Utah to see Brynne and Jared and to celebrate with her at her baby shower. Lauren met us down there as well. And it was a great weekend - quick, but so much fun. (I tried to make time in Vegas to visit you Lin & Abby, but I just couldn't do it :( - next time) (and for all those locals in Utah, I'm sorry I couldn't meet up with you either, Kelly, Lane, and the Nays' - once again next time) Love you all though.

So Friday we drove all day long, but it went by so fast it was amazing. Man, can a car full of women talk and we didn't stop when we arrived. We checked into our hotel and continued to visit well into the night. So fun :)

Saturday was the shower. We went over to the Higley's to say hi before Brynne had to leave with her mom and sister to set up for the shower. They have the cutest place! Lauren had some news too that day. She's expecting her 3rd little one. I'm hoping its a girl and she will be arriving April 7th 2010. I'm so excited. By next year I will have 2 nephews and 2 beautiful nieces. I'm the luckiest gal ever. The shower was beautiful and I have some pics to share.

On our way to the shower in Alpine. Me and my sis.

The delicious spread, it was amazing. Good job Brooke, Katie, and Brynne!

Brynne  got some pretty cute stuff. Her little girls is going to be stylin'.

Byrnne's mom made this quilt, it matches the bed set for the crib.

My mom made this quilt. It's a rag quilt and also matches the colors of the baby room

.

We played this fun game where we broke into groups and each group were given a couple of magazines. The goal was to create a picture using the magazines of what Jared and Brynne's little girl would look like. It could correlate to any age. Then Brynne picked the one she liked most. She picked mine group's pic. It's the cute little girl in the left hand corner with the big yellow bow. :)

The Fam

Here's the Bates Ladies

And then the Higley, Yearsley, and Bates ladies. :)

 

Here's Boo with his man pack on. It's a manly diaper bag, how great is that!! Ha ha ha. Man,  times sure have changed. 

 

SO....

It's been longer than forever since I posted anything and really I don't have much of an update. I don't have any pictures to share because my mother has had my camera for the past few weeks and although I had many opportunities to take some snap shots I couldn't.

I've been doing great! I have camped in the Angeles Crest Forest, that before the fires of course, I have been to the beach recently which is always fun, I have also been to Disneyland. All picture worthy. I now have my camera and I will be carrying it with me from now on.

Oh yeah! I have also moved once again. This will be my third time in less than a year. Crazy huh! I promise I think I have found somewhere I want to stay for a while now. I love my new roommate and I love the city. It's called Montrose, sadly it's right next to La Crescenta and La Canada so it's on fire right now, but luckily for me we haven't been evacuated yet, and most likely we won't there's quite a bit of space from me and the mountains. But I do know a few people who have at least been evacuated, hopefully the firefighters can keep their houses safe. Besides the fires, the place is absolutely wonderful. It's a cute little town full of ma and pa shops and cafes. Tons of trees and family oriented neighborhoods. I love it. I can go running in the mornings and not feel like I'm in danger and walks at night knowing I won't be shot.  I will try and get a few pics of the place soon. I am waiting because I am still working on getting my room all decorated and organized. As soon as I get that all done I will snap away and share.

Father's Day

Poor Dad, he only had me home this year to celebrate what a wonderful father he is. Of course he got phone calls from the rest of the kids and a letter from his missionary, but besides that it was a quiet father's day. I went to my sacrament meeting in Glendale then I headed home to spend some time with my parents. Like I said it was a low key day. We got online and chatted with Lauren and the kids. They sure love the webcam and so do I. Jared called as well. While everyone was on the phone or the computer Dad opened his gift. He got a push cart for his golf clubs, now he doesn't have to break his back carrying his clubs. After we chatted with the family the 3 of us made an outstanding dinner. We had lobster and steak. I've never had lobster before, I liked it. Then I just chilled with the parents the rest of the evening, it was actually pretty wonderful. I love being home.

I was chatting with the kids while dad was opening his gift. Love the Wed Cam!!!

My Little Sis in the MTC

I got back from Utah last week. My family and I were all there to send Rachie off to the MTC and then to the mission. I know I already told you where she was going but once again she's off to Tampa, Florida spanish speaking.  I am so excited for her. Well I arrived in Utah Saturday with my folks and Rachel, then Lauren and her family showed up Sunday. Of course Jared and Brynne live there so they were our meeting ground. I was wonderful to spend so much time with everyone. My nephews are getting so big and are as cute as ever. It is so much fun to watch and play with them. It's crazy how their little personalities are so different. Kyle has so much energy, he is constantly talking, running around with some sort of make believe weapon, then there is Luke who is quite but very mischievous and knows it. Just as he's about to do something he knows he shouldn't he gives us this little smirk its too cute. I definitely had a blast with last week. 

While we were there getting last minute things for Rachel we actually did a little playing too. We hiked the Y, which I thought was pretty fun. It's a bigger hike than I remembered. ha ha.

We also when up to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. The kids really liked that, then we went to Tepenaki's Japanese Steakhouse which was awesome. I have never been to a restaurant like that before, they cook the food in front of you. It was tons of fun. And I caught the shrimp. The whole time it didn't really feel like Rachel was leaving it was actually surreal to think about. But when Wednesday came that all changed. Dad set her apart Wednesday morning and that's when the reality set in. It was time to say good-bye and that was so hard. I had actually done pretty good all morning, Lauren on the other hand was a mess, but when we were doing the hugs and stuff that's when I got all teared up. I couldn't hold it in anymore. Boo even cried. It was a tough morning. The other kids (married ones) all left around 11:30 to head back home to Idaho, Jared and Brynne were heading to her parents for awhile. So all that was left was me and my parents to take her to the MTC. It's a whole new experience now. There is no having the family come in and see them off it's curbside drop off only. Strange huh. We parked across the MTC first and then walked across to take a few pictures and were instructed after taking pictures to get back to the car and then drive on through. There were missionaries everywhere welcoming the newbies. It was actually a wonderful site. We pulled up to the curb and she climbed out. We unloaded her luggage took a few more pics and gave her a few more hugs and kisses and then the missionaries took it from there. She just walked away with a big smile and watery eyes leaving us ready to embark in the service of our Lord and Savior. What a blessing that little sister is to our lives. It was an emotional week, but one that was most precious at the same time. She's going to be a wonderful missionary and I can't wait to hear about it over the 18 months she's out.

New York!!

I just got back from one of the coolest places ever. I love New York! It is so much fun and full of so much life. Millions of people walk the street, well maybe not millions we'll say thousands but it sure feels like millions. I sit here tonight on my bed still shocked at all the things I did the week in New York and I still could have done more but we just ran out of time. I went with a good friend of mine from the OC but who now lives in AZ. We met at JFK and then went on our merry way to Manhattan. We checked in to our hotel early evening then hit the city. We went straight to Time Square and took in the sites. That city is a non-stop hustle and bustle, it's amazing. I took her to my favorite pizza place in Manhattan, which she agreed was amazing. Then we just walked the city and got to know it a little better. We enjoyed Time Square then walked down to 34th Street, saw Madison Square garden, Empire State Building, walked back up town and saw Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, and NBC Studios. It was awesome. And that was just the first night we pack every day full of stuff. Sunday we went to Central Park, Church, Lincoln Center, Little Italy, Grand Central Station, and Serendipity for some frozen hot chocolate. We also went on the Intrepid and navy ship, which was pretty cool. I could share every detail but I am realizing that will take for ever. Basically we filled out week will museums, broadway shows, amazing tours of famous places like the Radio Music City Hall, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center, and NBC Studios. We went to the Met Museum, the Natural History Museum, the MoMa, and the Whitney, all wonderful museums. We walked the Brooklyn bridge and had the best pizza in the world there in Brooklyn. And I mean it when I say the best pizza ever. (If you go to NY, you must eat at Grimaldi's Pizza) AMAZING!!! There is a great ice cream place near by too, again AMAZING! What else did we do... we did Central Park several times, that is one of the most beautiful parks ever. I mentioned Broadway, we saw the new show In The Heights which was great and Phantom of the Opera which was fabulous. I got to see Harlem, don't recommend that ;) and Washington Heights, both enlightening. We walked 5th Avenue and Park Avenue. And of course we did the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building, and the top of the Rock (Rockefellar Building) those were all amazing. The trip itself was FABULOUS. I would say everyone should experience New York sometime in their life. I absolutely love the place. I was exhausted by the end of the week, but it was worth every minute. Man there was so much more but this will have to suffice. Here are some highlights...

A Little Update (Easter Weekend)

Once again it's been way too long since I have updated my blog. I actually have quite a few things to share but I thought I would start with Easter. My family and I spent the weekend in Ventura at a beach house we used to go to when we were kids. It was so much fun and the weather was great! 

Here is Rach and cuz Cate enjoying some jello eggs

This is Little Rachie Zierenberg (cousin) and Little Rachie Higley. Too cute!!

Game Night! Whoo Hoo!

Me and my Grams

!

Some volleyball on the beach. So fun!

YEAH!!!

Me and my little sister poising with beach during a break in our bike ride.

The kids (my cousins kids, our little kids couldn't make it) and I got a little rowdy one night after dinner. We had some michael jackson playing and the kids got the urge to do a little dancing, but soon after that dancing turned into rough housing. ha ha ooops, it could have been my fault - a little. 

Family Picture time!

My little cousin lost both her front teeth that weekend. She pulled this one out during our walk by the beach. It kind of grossed me out. ha ha ( I have a weak stomach)

My mom, sister and I. Sadly we missed Lauren and Brynne and Jared.

It's not over till someone gets a piggy back ride and that was little Ra.

We had a huge easter egg hunt for the kids and they loved it. But so did the adults we got to help eat the candy. 

Grams and the Higley girls. That was our last walk on the beach. I had to head back to NoHo that night because unfortunately I'm all grown up and had to work the next day.