Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Saying goodbye is so lame. I hate goodbyes. Sad.
Our last Sunday was hard. I cried. A lot.
BUT...
we will LOVE and REMEMBER these people forever.
(Obviously I didn't take lots of pics...it was Sunday for heaven sake. But we love everyone!)


The International Relations students.

The Relief Society Presidency.
My Relief Society Presidency. The old Relief Society Presidency.
I was released. And I cried.

A family picture on our last Sunday in Cambridge.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Helping Hands

On Saturday we went to a wildlife reserve called Mole Hall for the Ipswitch Stake Helping Hands.

Jim actually did some work. You know, digging trenches and building roofs.

When he wasn't posing for his stalker wife, that is.

Talmage and I made froot loop necklaces and I wrestled with a billion little rugrats (AKA-I was in charge of the nursery).
Sometimes we played with the kids.

And other times, well...don't judge us. When things got busy, we stuck some of the younger children under the table. They ate crackers off the ground and we ran after other kiddos. You do what you gotta do.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Pudding Club

This, my friends, is an absolutely horrible picture of a beautiful sight--a table with so many amazing sweets Willy Wonka would've been jealous! We had a Relief Society activity on Wednesday called Pudding Club (Pudding is another word for dessert here in the UKizzle)...and it did not disappoint. In fact, I am positive that it attracted nearly double the sisters that our activities usually do. I'd pridefully like to think it's because the event also doubled as a goodbye to us sisters who are leaving, but seriously, I think it had everything to do with the mention of all-you-can-eat pudding!

I played the part of crazy American paparrazi. It came quite naturally! I wanted to get pictures of everyone there so I'd always remember them. I LOVE these people. I didn't quite get everyone...but I was close!

Ruth, Vanessa, Janene, Susan and Mason


Heather (my poem-sending friend), Fiona, Bryny, Louise


Nina, Doris, Debbie, Lynda, Lynn, Claire


Rebekkah and Christa


Libby, Yolanda, Sister Jensen

Sister Jensen, Sister Kinjo, Victoria

And here I am in the middle of some previously picturized people.
Pudding Club is possibly my newest favorite activity EVER! I plan on suggesting it in my next ward, and the ward after that, and the one after that, and so on and so forth (and maybe one day we'll stop moving around all the time and I will be forced to stop suggesting it. The thought makes my head a little spinny!)
Dear Cambridge Ward,
Let me tell you one more time.
I love you like a fat kid loves cake.
Love, Heath

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Singing in the Staircase

I love baby talk. I love baby talk. I love baby talk. I love baby talk.

And that's why I love this video of T singing/baby talking in the staircase.

You'll like it too. Trust me.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

England Fan!

England is playing in the World Cup today, and word on the street is that an absolutely adorable fan is sending his support all the way from Rexburg.
An England jersey has never, no not ever, looked this good on anybody. Am I the luckiest aunt in the world, or am I the luckiest aunt in the world?

I can't wait to see these two soon. soon. soon.
And mostly I can't wait to hold and hug and love that baby. OH man he's cute.
Go England!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Weekend in Wales

We spent the weekend in Wales visiting friends and relaxing (AKA watching game after game of the World Cup). It was wonderful! I was completely rubbish at taking pictures, but believe me when I say it was a well-needed and much-appreciated.

This is the only picture I took which even proved we were visiting Mitch and Niall...and I didn't even take a picture with the Abbott's. Oh man! We have missed the MacKenzie's SO much since they left Cambridge and it was so nice to see them again.


These two little cuties got along great. Except when Talmage tried to beat her with a stick. And when he tried to hit her in the head with toys. Oh yeah, and maybe he stole her blanket once or twice. And everytime he saw her he tried to poke her in the eye. But other than that, BFF. They do have the same birthday you know.

Daddy and son on Father's Day. The primary children in Cardiff made all the Daddy's a ribbon to wear and also gave them chocolate. T and Jim both enjoyed!

The Abbott's took us to St. Fagans Museum of Welsh Life and we really enjoyed it. It's a collection of Welsh folk architecture, artifacts and lore. We had to take a picture in front of this red house because Jan said Mom Wigginton has one just like it from when she visited Wales. We can't wait to dig it out when we come home!

On the bus home from Wales, Talmage made a friend in the next seat over. The man let T listen to his headphones and Talmage was singing along (one of his favorite things to do lately!) It was so cute.

Unfortunately our trip had two casualties--T's tooth and the pushchair. The tooth was chipped when Talmage decided to dive off a one-inch ledge separating the grass and the pavement. He fell face-first and I knew it was not going to be pretty. There were lots of tears, lots of blood, and TONS of hugs. We think the rest of his tooth is here to stay (it's not turning black)...until the next fall that is! The front wheel of our pushchair snapped off when an overzealous employee for our bus company threw the cart into the storage area. That stroller is like my car so I am pretty sad, but I guess this means we'll buy a new one (and maybe the bus company will even help...we'll see!)

M and N and M
Thank you!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

To the BEST...


You make fatherhood look easy.
You make fatherhood look important.
You make fatherhood look good.
Really good!
Loves forever and thank you.
(PS--This picture was taken by our amazing friend Laura. She is oh-so talented!)

Friday, June 18, 2010

Reminds me of my mission...

Cambridge Wards new sister missionary.
Sister Kinjo from Japan, standing proudly at 4 feet 9 inches.
Deja Vu.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

a little bitta this, a little bitta that, then some more-a this

a little bitta this:

there is an elderly sister in our ward whose name is heather. she dyes her hair bright red, she's legally blind, and she wears very blue eyeshadow...and a lot of it. every sunday we meet in the hall to tell each other that heather just happens to be the best name ever. last week she told me she found a poem about the name heather that reminded her of me. she was so excited as she handed me the envelope. later, i read these words, "heather--her feet are planted firmly in the air. dreamy, disorganised and rarely punctual, her scatterbrained style is reedemed by her loveable nature." i think that was supposed to be a compliment. i think.

a little bitta that:amidst packing, cleaning and preparing for a new adventure, i've also found myself baby-sitting quite a lot this week. t loved having kev-dawg over to play. i attempted to pack...although as soon as i put something in the box the two boys took it out. oh well, at least they were entertained.

those big blue eyes are so blue. love 'em.

those big brown eyes are so brown. love 'em too.
p.s. everything is a phone these days.
a little more-a this:
today was a really crazy day (which fit in quite nicely to our insanely busy week in this awkwardly busy month), and i mean it. the mr.'s and i ran around town all day with breaks that were few and far between. we were packing, delivering loads of stuff to charity shops, entertaining, serving, grocery shopping, home teaching (me and t were jim's comps!) and walking, no, running, to get it all done. by the time we finally made it to our casa at 7:30 pm we literally fell onto the couch, unable to move from exhaustion.
BUT, just then there was a knock on the door and there was sister clarke with one of her totally famous carrot cakes all for us. i asked her for the recipe a while back, and she brought us a whole cake gorgeously decorated with vanilla frosting and chocolate shavings. and just in case you're wondering, i've eaten at least 3 slices already...and will eat more soon...and it's amazing.
sister clarke brought cake, yes, but more importantly she brought love. her love and Heavenly Father's love. life may be crazy, but it's good crazy. and sister clarke helped me know that we are moving in the right direction.
now i think i'll head in the direction of that cake. again.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

ConGRADS Fiesta

Last night we had the Ellises and Lewises (plus a few of the single students) over for a goodbye/conGRADS fiesta. The year is coming to an end, and I will miss these amazing friends more than anything! There was lots of Mexican food, tons of conversation and laughing and at the end, a few sad goodbyes (Katherine and Baby Verla Roberta are leaving tomorrow...the rest of us have a few weeks. PS--I don't think Katherine has bought into our name choice yet!)

Us with me taking the picture.

Us with Rob taking the picture.


These are the graduate cupcakes I made for the fiesta. They were featured in one of my incredible cupcake books, and I am really happy with how they turned out. They tasted good too, which was a miracle since I ran out of white flour and had to use half wheat!


***

Until Lake Winnipesaukee...love ya'lls!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Bathing Baby Beauty

Big brown eyes.
Perfectly shaped eyebrows.
Blonde hair...
growing longer everyday.
10 cute teeth...
more on the way.
Goofy sweet smile.
Cheeks like marshmallows.
Delicious puckery lips.
Look at those ears?
Love them!
Crazy farmer's tan.
Likes to splash.
Drinks bath water.
Eats the shampoo.
Plays with his boat.
Signs all done.
Bathtime is fun.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

May Bumps

Cambridge might be home to some of the greatest minds in the world, but I think it's about time someone bought them a calendar. On Friday, JUNE 13 we walked down to the River Cam to watch MAY bumps (AKA civilized bumper boats). Supposedly there is reason to their madness, like students studying for exams in May, but why not just call it June Bumps? Oh well. Since no one asked my opinion, May Bumps it stays.

The boats (each college in Cambridge University has one) start a few seconds apart, with the first boat rowing like heck away from the next boat. The second boat rows like heck from the third, and so on. If a boat bumps the one in front of it, they both pull over to the edge of the river. The bumper goes up in the standings, and the bumpee goes down. It's pretty entertaining, and since it's been occurring anually since 1827 (yep, before California was even a state) I'm guessing the three little Wiggy's aren't the only people who think so.

When a boat bumps another boat, the bumpers get to put shrubbery in their hair or clothes or wherever they want. I guess it's their way of making the bumpees green with envy. Ha!

Talmage was not about to let us put leaves or grass in his hair, but of course he ate both leaves and grass. When does the eat-everything-I-see-even-if-it's-totally-nasty stage end? Hopefully soon. We loved sitting by the river to be entertained, and luckily the weather cooperated. Happy May Bumps everyone...and happy June!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Ear Infection and MOTYA

Talmage has an ear infection and I won the Mother of the Year Award. Let me tell ya all about it.

This was Talmage on Sunday. He cried and screamed and drooled the whole day through. He was feisty and angry. He didn't want to eat and he wouldn't sleep. He was inconsolable. Period.

You see that finger in his mouth? What does that mean to you? Let me tell you what it meant to me--T was teething, again. Sure enough, I checked his mouth and some big, gnarly molars were poking through his gums. We had done this before. We hugged him tight, but it was pretty much business as usual around the Wiggy Casa.


T screamed and arched his back through Daddy's International Studies garden party. Still, I assumed it was due to teething. "You're OK," I repeated to Talmage again and again.

He also ran around like a maniac through Mommy's Relief Society evening. I blamed it on exhaustion, due mostly to teething. Of course. "You're fine," I said over and over.

Let's just get right down to the nitty gritty. After four days of misery, T developed an awful fever today. I made an appointment with the doctor, and took my hot little baby into her office. She was shocked as she looked into his ear and saw that it was horribly infected and the ear drum was bulging. She is afraid it will burst at any moment and started him on antibiotics. Yep, that's when we learned it. T has an ear infection and I won the Mother of the Year Award. Good game Heath, good game. We brought him home and basically let him eat what he wanted, do what he wanted and climb on the couch/windowsill as many times as he wanted. It's the least we could do considering we forced him to attend all of our functions all week, with an ear infection no less.

Poor thing is sleeping like an angel upstairs, and I'm once again feeling like a negligent parent downstairs. Asi es la vida. The sicky pictures are way too sad, so I thought I'd share a few cute pics of T in happier days.

We had a BBQ with a family in the ward and these little cuties enjoyed the pool the whole time. Mr. Independent (I have no idea where he gets that trait!) wouldn't let anyone hold his hands, so the girls were constantly on the lookout. He thought he could swim a few times, but overall he just splashed about.


What a cute little fishy in the pool! He had so much fun and it made me so excited for a summer full of swimming.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Our Oxcellent Day in Oxford

We spent Saturday in Oxford, mostly because I did not want to leave this country without visiting our "rival" universities turf. Call me biased (or maybe call me tired) but we spent a few hours in the city and then were more than ready to come home to our beautiful, delightful, picturesque Cambridge. In my opinion, Oxford is almost a perfect mix of Cambridge and London. It's a big city (especially compared to our little cow town), but it still has the history and colleges. BUT, it was WAY less family friendly (this coming from me--and you've heard my stories of Cambridge's family friendliness) which is always a major turnoff. Despite everything, we had a wonderful day exploring a new city with the fam.

The gorgeous Christ Church College which is Oxford's largest and most well-known college.


Jim posing with a statue at the Bodleian Library. We enjoyed the courtyard and one little room, but pushchairs and children are not allowed in the actual library...bummer.


Jimmy James and Mr. T in a deep blue Lotus...which they both tell me is a really spectacular car. Who knew?

The round reading room. Say that five times fast.


As we are walking towards Pembroke College, Oxford Jim says, "Wow, that Pembroke is a lot bigger than my Pembroke. I'm starting to feel insecure!"
There was an awesome little petting zoo outside the Oxford Castle. T LOVED seeing the animals, and touching them too. It got us both really excited for the Cali State Fair this summer!
Me: Where is the famous pub you wanted me to see? (referring to The Eagle and Child where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien would eat, read and discuss their works)
Jim: It's the one up there with the bird picking up baby Tommage.
The Wigginton Three after walking, no, running home from the bus station in a crazy, random Summer (almost) rain storm. The drops of water were so large they hurt and the three of us were completely and utterly drenched.

Wet.

Really wet.

Wet also, but mostly just cute.
As you can see, he is copying Daddy's tongue-face!