The best suprise EVER!

We've been sick around these parts lately. It started the day before my birthday when I ended up in Urgent Care with a nasty case of Strep Throat. I was literally spitting into a cup so that I wouldn't have to swallow, and then would be in tears when my body forced me to wet my throat. Not pretty.

  I must have passed the nasty bug onto my computer, because it died the next day. The hard drive was fried, I was told by a man at the local computer hospital, and nothing could be recovered. I bawled as I thought about all the pictures that were lost--T's NICU days, England and NYC, our various vacas, Evie's birth and subsequent surgery, blessed Stanford.  After a few days and a ridiculous estimate, my pretty little laptop left it's Palo Alto hospital and headed to Sacramento where a super talented friend actually recovered nearly every picture on that fried hard drive. T was in surgery when I got the call from him and it put the biggest smile on my face.

Anyway, continuing on with my we've-been-sick-sob-story...

T had his second nose surgery, and it didn't go quite as well as the first, but more on that later. The day after surgery he spiked a high fever and was ridiculously sick. And then I started feeling yucky, again. And then two days ago Evie started acting grumpy and before I knew it he had a 102.5 degree fever. So we've been in and out of the doctors office, but of course it's just a virus (we hope so, at least). And then James woke up with a sore throat. And all on the weekend my parents were supposed to come visit us. We cancelled the trip and I was SO disappointed.

This morning we were cleaning up after breakfast and blasting some tunes when we heard a knock at the door. I was upstairs dressing a sicky Evie when I heard two voices that were so familiar. "SUPRISE!" the voices yelled...and T's high-pitched squeal of delight let me know just who he saw behind the door. My pajama-clad body ran downstairs to see the prettiest faces in the world--my parents! They were here to scrub my floor, clean the bathroom, play with the kids and make the yummiest soup for lunch. And they came bearing gifts--my fixed computer and a new cell phone (I haven't had one in a few years!) We even talked them into staying for dinner on campus. It was so nice of them to make the trip down and it was maybe the best suprise I've ever had!

     

 

Hundreds of posts to come about our awesome May. Okay, maybe not hundreds. But probably a lot more than you want to see!

See the resemblance?

The other day we were sitting at the table for lunch when T started staring at Evie in his highchair and then randomly said, 

"Mommy...I fink Evie wooks wike Pwesident Monson." 

Do you see the resemblance?

Evie in his high chair on the day T made the comment.

This is President Monson now. I must admit that I don't really think they look alike.

But I found this picture of President Monson as a baby and I actually think T might have hit the nail right on the head. It must be the sweet round face. 

A Message from James:

 Happy Birthday Heather! 

Hey there, Heather fans!  This is Heather's husband James writing, and I am the President and CEO of the H.Q.W. Fan Club.  After knowing Heather for some time (4 years and 120 days, to be precise), I'm convinced that Heather is the coolest person in the galaxy.  If you are reading this post, you likely agree with me already.  However, if you are not fully persuaded that Heather is no-rocks-the-most-amazing-woman-you-ever-met, YOU WILL BE!  See reasoning below:

1. She's Hot

 

Here's a picture of Heather in her wedding gown.  As long as I've known her, Heather has been an immaculate dresser.  I'm pretty sure the photo above could have been ripped from Modern Bride.

2. She's Smart

Here, Heather is letting me borrow her graduation cap and gown.  She burned through BYU in three years, and I heard that President Samuelson frequently asked her for help with his homework.   

  

3. She Knows Celebrities

When we lived in New York, Heather scored us an exclusive meeting with Elmo.  I had never met him before (oddly, he smelled like a pastrami sandwich).  Rumor has it that Heather operates on a first-name basis with Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez (whom she affectionately calls "T-Swizzle" and "Sel-Go").

4. She Travels

I took this photo of Heather while we were in Paris.  Heather has also visited Taiwan, Spain, France, and The Bronx.  For her next trip, she wants to go to Moscow.   


5. She's Sporty

 
Heather was Captain of her high school basketball team, MVP of her college track team, and President of the chess club.  Now, she leads Stanford University's cheering section at all home games.  Go Card!

 6. She's a Great Kisser
 

I waffled about including this item in Heather's birthday post, but I couldn't resist.  Heather gives amazing kisses! (Don't get any ideas, gentlemen, she's mine!)  The kiss portrayed in this photo resulted when I told Heather that I bought her the castle in the background.

7. She's Mom of the Year

Heather is an incredible mother to our boys, Talmage and Everett.  Rearing these kids takes a lot of hard work, and Heather has always been up to the task.  I couldn't ask for a better companion in raising our family.

* * * 

Well, are you convinced now that Heather is the coolest person in the galaxy?  Nay, in the universe?  If you belong to the H.Q.W. Fan Club, you are in good company.  

Happy Birthday, My Love! 

James L. Wigginton

President & CEO, H.Q.W. Fan Club 

May Fete Parade

This morning started off with a super sweet birthday call to my mom and a crazy long walk from our car to the 90th Annual Palo Alto May Fete parade. I love when there are fun events on my mom's birthday because I feel like we're celebrating her, even if she's far away.

We were able to walk in the parade this year with the Palo Alto library and it was so much fun. We were running a little bit late and parking was horrendous so we are grateful that we made it in time.

 The Library Group, Mother Goose & Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee

Comfort looked AMAZING in her dress and face paint...and Rowan's tiger face and Cedar's pumpkin suit was awesome.

Note to self: Next time the library gives cute candy favors to the kids walking in the parade, DON'T let them carry said candy while walking in the parade. We learned this the hard way when T dropped his jar on the parade route and it shattered in a million pieces and he cried because he couldn't eat the candy. Bummer.

T wanted a picture with the cat, but was a little nervous to hold it's hand. He was, however, ok with holding Rowan's hand and taking a picture all together.

The super cute Viles family, minus Frankie. Poor kid runs and covers whenever he sees me coming around with a camera.

 Me and my boys at the fair after the parade.

I pulled some fruit snacks and crackers out of my bag of tricks and it kept all the kids satisfied for a long while. While they were munching, I was rocking out to the band who sang Adele, Beatles and even Katy Perry--they were phenomenal!!!

They also had a car show and had lots of awesome old cars. This super nice man let T honk the horn on his cherry red Model T. It was be-autiful.

We finished the day with some Mexican food and an ice cream cone (although my throat is sore so nothing went down as well as I wished it had). Happy Birthday Mom...glad we got to celebrate you today!

Mormon Helping Hands

When I was in Sacramento we helped my parents with the Mormon Helping Hands project in their area. I don't know that I was any help in the park...but I tried to be a cheerleader with two crazies in tow!

After the service project we all went over to the Big Wig's for a BBQ and pool party. It was delicious and relaxing and a really great time. We LOVED seeing Kate too and we're glad she's home for the summer.

May just got so much sweeter...

Because this little doll is my newest niece.

Love you little Avery!

Elder Uncle Chase

I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with T when my brother Jordan left on his mission. Talmage only knew him by the letters I would read to him and the pictures he saw. We called him Elder Uncle Jordan and they met for the first time when T was nearly two.

It's weird to think that we are nearly repeating the situation--this time with an Elder Uncle Chase and an Evie that will only know his uncle by letters and pictures. Talmage on the other hand, he is very aware of his Uncle Chase and is going to miss him terribly. You should have seen my boo-boo lip the size of Texas when Chase mentioned that when he got home from his mission that T would be 5. FIVE? That's insane. And Evie will be T's age. They LOVE their Uncle Chase and I'm so grateful for the example he is setting for them.

Today was the day that things became official. My parents made the trek to Utah and dropped Chase off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo. He will study there for three weeks before heading to Ogden. He has shown so much maturity in preparing and receiving his missionary call and it's awesome to see his understanding of what missionary work is all about. He will do a great job teaching people about the love of Jesus Christ because His light emulates in Chase's face. 

I am so excited for him and proud of him!

We went back to Sac for the weekend so we could hear him speak in church and say goodbye. We were almost late to church because I was snapping pictures (and making Jim snap pictures) in front of the house...whoops! At least we got some good ones with that cute little brother of mine!

Me and my Mom after a fun morning of dress-up ;)

 I'm so sad Evie's not in this picture. He was sleeping. 

 President Taylor and Chasey

 We love you Elder Uncle Chase.