Bed Baseball and Santa

Bed Baseball
No it is not dirty, it is a game Taj invented. Taj is obsessed with Sandlot the movie. No it is not the best movie for kids, it swears some, but he loves it. I know I'm justifying. Here is how Bed Baseball goes.

First Taj makes us put in the movie Sandlot. Then he gets his bat and ball. Next he puts on his helmet and yes, gloves.

His new thing the last couple of days is his Spiderman snow boots. Then he climbs on the bed. It starts usually with you pitching the ball to him.

Then it is your time to get the ball thrown at you. It is a little scary, it depends on what ball he grabs. He likes to pitch with his left hand, which Lance loves, but he is VERY right handed.

After a hard game this is usually what happens. Bed Baseball can be tiring.
I love Taj!!! He makes me laugh so much, he is a little character. I can't believe how big he is getting.

Santa
Elli has been very worried about not seeing Santa yet. We missed our ward party because of Co-ed volleyball so it was good that Grandma Janice is friends and works with a guy who knows Santa Clause. Santa also made a surprise appearance at Elli's preschool program, so we got to see Santa twice in one day.

When Santa walked into the gym during Elli's program her face lit up. While most of the kids were trying to figure out what was going on, she went and got in line. Elli's best cousin Hallie was in the program with her. They were so excited, they sat on Santa's lap together on their own.



I'm glad Santa came to my mom's house because Taj didn't dare talk to him at the school. He did sit on his lap for a second and tell him he wanted baseball stuff, he didn't stay there long though. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Our Tree is HUGE!!!

Our Christmas tree is HUGE!!! We went Christmas tree hunting with my family. We went to a new place and there were so many good trees. Our tree looked a lot smaller out there in the woods. It is the smallest one that we cut down, so if you think our tree is big you should see my parents and brothers.

We are so excited for Christmas. I can't believe we are less then two weeks away. I have a lot to do. Taj uses the ornaments on the tree as baseballs and Elli puts them back up. Elli loves decorating the tree so I guess it works.

Halloween

Halloween was so much fun!!! Elli was Bat Girl and Taj was Tigger. He was way excited a few days before Halloween but wanted nothing to do with it on the day. We really didn't get a good pictures of him but Elli on the other hand...

Elli's school had a parade that afternoon. They walked up a block and a half and walked back. Taj walked for a minute then hung out with Lance. Lance got Taj in his costume by telling him that Tiggers climb fences.

We walked around Orangeville Trick-or-Treating. Oh how I miss Sunset Ridge. Not only are houses farther apart but between work, State Football, State Volleyball and the Carnival at the school, nobody was home. We are going to find a Trunk-or-Treat next year. We did a lot of walking and didn't get a lot of candy. Taj didn't notice, he fell asleep in the stroller. Elli and I ended up driving around to more houses.


It seems like Halloween sneaked up on us, I wasn't ready. I didn't get to dress up this year but I always have next year. Now we are on the other side of Halloween it is kind of crazy, here come the "Holidays"!!! Life goes by way to fast!

October

This is what we have been doing this month. It has went by so fast, I can't believe Halloween is tomorrow. It has been fun!

This was the opening day of the Duck Hunt. He has shot at least two ducks everytime he goes out. He wishes he could share it with all of his friends from Cedar. If anyone wants to come to Emery County he would love to take you.

Lance is a proud papa and can't wait until Elli and Taj are old enough to go hunting. When ever Taj spots a bird in the sky he pretends to shoot it.

Elli just finished her soccer. She really liked it. She only kicked the ball if she got to kick at the kick off. She ran with the crowd the whole time though.

Her and Taj's favorite part was the treat afterwards. It worked out good they would always get a treat and a Caprisan and Elli doesn't like sweet drinks so Taj would always get a treat too.

She loves her "Trophy Necklace". We had to hang it on her bed so she would go to sleep that night.

Taj has a thing for playing in the closet now days. Lance doesn't think it's funny. He usually comes out stinky. Elli encourages it. She brings him toys and pillows while he is in there.

It has been a fun month and the weather has been wonderful, most of the time. We are really excited for Halloween!!! I will post pictures next week.

I'm Esme

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

I found this on Brooke's blog. It was fun! I am way excited for the Twilight movie to come out. Twilight is so great. Almost everybody loves it, from my 12 year old beehives, my high school students, even my adult friends. My mom is even caving in and wants to read it. It gets kids who don't like to read to actually read a whole book. Good job Stephanie Meyers.

Elli's First Day of School

Elli started preschool this year. She was so excited. She would ask everyday how many more days until school. That morning she was so excited and could not wait to leave. When we got to the school she got really quiet. If you know Elli you know how shy she can get. I was very anxious for her and did not want to leave until she felt comfortable. We went into her class and we had been there for 30 seconds when she leaned over to tell me something. I was there to comfort her and make sure she was going to be ok. She then told me that I could leave. I almost started to laugh and ctry. I asked if she was sure, and she told me to leave. She still wasn't talking above a whisper but she was ready for me to leave. She loves it. She has made new friends and she gets to go to the same school her Grandpa teaches at. She told me that when she is in her Grandpa's class she will be a big girl. My dad teaches 4th grade. I wonder how it would be to teach a grandchild. Kids you can say no to, but I don't think my dad has ever said no to Elli. We'll have to wait and see.




Elli also started soccer. She runs after the ball but never gets into the group to kick it. Last week it hit her but she still didn't kick it. She just likes the idea of the whole thing. Taj wants to play too. We could probably put him out there and no one would ever notice, he is as big as most the kids out there. We bring our own ball and play our own game on the sidelines. He tells me he is on the red team so we just go along with it. It is hard to be the youngest. I love the stages my kids are in. They are so much fun!!!

Our New Home

I have been so excited to post our new house! I love it. I still haven't decorated the inside so you only get pictures of the outside. It is way cute and we live in a very good neighborhood.



Taj and Elli got their own rooms, they love it. Taj got his first big boy bed. We miss the crib, he couldn't get out. He would jump off 4 foot porches but is too chicken to climb out of his crib. I loved it! He does like to be able to play with his cars without sister interupting. He hangs out in Elli's room a lot, I think he gets lonely.


Elli loves her new room and her new bed. My mom gave us a day bed she wasn't using. It has a trundle underneath that has a bed for her cousin Hallie when she sleeps over. She is so good at keeping it clean and we are going to decorate the walls soon. I wish I had more time and money to decorate.


Achilles even got a new home. He wasn't as excited, he could jump out of the last one. It is nice to have the fenced in back yard. Have I mentioned I love our new house!!!

Family Pictures

My little brother came home from his mission last Thursday so we had family pictures taken. I haven't been able to do anything with them but if you want to see them go to... www.stilsonphotography.blogspot.com

Funny Faces

My Mom gave me control of her camera last Sunday at Family dinner. I had fun, everyone likes to make funny faces. We had fun! I love living by my family. The pictures of us sitting on the deck are in the back yard of our new house, we sign on Wednesday!!!
 
I thought these were hilarious

Football

Lance and Taj played football in my parent's living room. It was so cute! The helmet and football have been around as long as I can remember.

Isn't he cute!

Preparing for the pass.

He throws...

Does he catch it?

NOPE!!!

He let it hit him in the head on purpose.

Goes for the tackle.

He's down!!!

Taj had so much fun.

Camping

We went camping a couple of weekends ago up at Potter's Pond. It was so much fun! My brother James brought up a four wheeler and we caught lots of fish. I would go camping a lot more if it wasn't so much work. It was fun though.

Taj woke up at 5:30 in the morning and was ready to play. I talked Lance into taking him fishing, Taj was so excited. He loved camping and loved the dirt and rocks. He loved fishing the most though, he almost fell in a couple of times.

Elli had tons of fun. She loved the four wheeler, I didn't get any pictures. Her and her cousins loved to have their fishing poles in the water but could not be bothered to reeling in their poles when there was a fish on it. Her cousins here are really making Elli girly. There was a field of wild flowers by our campsite. It was so pretty. I made Elli go sit and take pictures. It was at the end of the trip so she looked pretty dirty and she wouldn't look at the camera.

We love living by cousins. Elli and her cousins Hallie and Gracie get along so well. They all love to get their pictures taken.

Elli and Hallie are only a few months apart and they are best cousins. Their personalities are total opposites which probably helps. Hallie says she will not go to preschool unless she can go with her bestest cousin Elli.

Be an Asset

While I was in Cedar at my teaching conferences I went to some wonderful sessions about being assets in kids lives. There was a presenter named Brad Barton that talked about how kids need 40 assets in their lives. The more they have the more likely they will succeed in life. Some of the assets are a loving family, supportive parents etc... The one that Brad emphasized is having three or more nonparent adults who care about them. He told us about his abusive father, having learning disabilities and how he had less then 14 assets in his life and how the odds were against him. Then a wrestling coach believed in him and made him believe. He ended being an amazing athlete, even qualifying in the Olympic's in the Steeple Chase, and graduating with honors from college. He was so awesome to listen to and really made me think.


I don't know if everybody knows but I am in the Young Womens in our Ward here in Orangeville I was also in the Young Womens in the Ward we were in in Cedar. I love it and I love working with the Youth. I worry about some of the girls I worked with in Cedar. I have kept in touch with them somewhat but after this conference I am going to make sure I care about the Youth I am around. There are even some kids in our neighborhood who look like they could use an adult that cares. I just wanted to share this with whoever will read it. I love working with teenagers and am excited that I can be an asset in their lives. I hope this made sense and it just makes me feel better to share it with others. The pictures above are at Girls Camp. It was so much fun, these girls are so awesome!

These are my Cedar City Girls. I miss them!
If anyone wants to look at the 40 assets go to:
http://www.search-institute.org (I tried to link it but I'm not smart enough)

These are even good to know for parenting.