The Whitesel Family

Life

2011-02-22T21:04:00.000-08:00

Holy cow was Christmas really two months ago? Life is crazy in the Whitesel home! Our Christmas was way fun. Taj was the most excited this year. He was so mad that Santa didn't come the day after we put up our tree. It was nice to be home this Christmas and not have anything flood this year. Kids just make everything more fun!!! Life is really, really crazy around here. I feel like I have four jobs. I teach three hours a day at the high school, which doesn't sound so bad but I am not the most organized person in the world so it feels like longer. I love the teaching part but I hate the correcting, and planning and my second job I count is my paperwork!!! Working in Special Ed has a lot of paper work!!! My third job would be my calling. I just got put in as Young Womens President. I think I am destined to be in Young Womens forever. I love the girls, they are so much fun. Again, I am not an organized person. And of course my most important and favorite job is being a mom. I love it, even though it kicks my butt. Kai is getting so big so fast. I feel like I am missing it. He is now eight months old. I have never had a baby with as much attitude as he has. It all started from the beginning. If he is not happy, everyone knows it. When he was a newborn, our teenage neighbor commented to Lance that our baby cried a lot. He grew out of that some what, but if he is not happy you will know. With the attitude come fun though. He loves his mom the most. His eyes light up when he is happy. He is scooting everywhere. Before his scooting he would roll everywhere. He loves paper and power cords. He has seven teeth and is working on the eighth, yes I am still nursing. He LOVES water. He would live in the bath if we would let him. We took him swimming last week and he loved it! The third is kicking my butt, but I would never wish for anything different. I don't know what we did without him! Taj is my crazy one. He has had energy from the beginning and it has never left him. He had this thing where he would hit older girls all the time. He would go up to girls in public and smack them in the legs and at times on the butt. It was a little funny at first but then it became very frustraiting. I asked him why he did it and the conversation went like this: Me, "Taj, you need to stop hitting girls." Taj, "But Mom I need to get my life back." Me, "What?" Taj, "I need to get my life back." Me,"How do you get your life back?" Taj, "I have to save the world." Well a couple of weeks later, after a lot of time outs and various punishments we had not gotten anywhere, so we have another conversation. Me, "Taj how do you get your life back because this has got to stop!!!" Taj, "I have to save the world." Me, "How do you save the world?" Taj, " I have to become a super hero." Me, "What does this have to do with hitting girls?" Taj, "I have to fight all the girls." Me, "Why?" Taj, "Because they are too cute!" Yes my four year old son thinks that girls are too cute! If you watch him, the cuter the girl the more he hits her. There is a girl in my class, a cute little blonde cheerleader, that he would attack everytime he saw her. Out of the blue one day he told us that when he got bigger he was going to marry her. Where do kids come up with this stuff? Taj still loves baseball, he likes to play the WII, he loves his older cousins Jace and Jaxon(they are his ninjas and are going to help him fight the girls). He loves attention and he makes everyone laugh. He is a big mama's boy and his dad is his buddy. He is crazy and yet the biggest sweet heart. Elli is at a fun but challanging age. She is learning how to read and it is tough. She is working hard and getting so much better. She also has a lot of attitude, yes sweet little Elli has attitude. On her good days, however, she can be such a good helper and she loves her little brothers, Taj most of the time, Kai too much sometimes. She is such a fun beautiful girl. I can't believe she is almost 7!!! She loves school, dance, basketball, volleyball and running. She will hop on our tredmill and run a mile like it is nothing. She loves to go to volleyball practice with her dad. These pictures are from when her dance group danced at the half time of a JV basketball game. Her cousin Hallie is in her dance group and Gracie is in the one above them. She is so Awesome!!! I am glad it snowed again so we could build our snowman. Now it can warm up.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

This is our Halloween marathon. It was Red Ribbon week the week of Halloween so Elli had to dress up almost everyday. One of the picture is her as a nerd. She is such a cute nerd. She couldn't decide what to be for Halloween, then my Mom found an old skeleton costume that my older brother wore and Elli loved it. Taj told me months ago he wanted to be a vampire. People kept calling him Dracula and he would get mad. He was not Dracula he was a vampire. Kai just got the costume we had that fit. So first we had nerd day, then the school parade and carnaval on Friday.

The next day we went Trunk or Treating with cousins. It was raining so we ended up in the church. The kids had fun. Anything is fun with cousins. Then we came home and decided to go to a couple of families in our Ward. Kai did not know what we were doing to him. Poor Baby!

By Halloween day the kids were disappointed that we didn't have anything planned but church. I did light the pumpkins and take one picture. It was a lot of fun but I was ready for it to be over.

I saved the best for last. Lance is the only man at his office. The women at his work wanted Lance to be Prince Charming and they would be different princesses. Lance had a better idea.

Sisterwives. They all got very into it. DI was very popular. I loved it.

Here are some cute pictures of my kids.

Kai Dirk Whitesel

2010-07-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

He is here and he is amazing!!! Here are some pictures of our cute little boy.

Before

After 7 lb 6 oz 20 inches

He is very loved!!!

We Are Alive!!!

2010-05-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

So, I hope everyone hasn't given up on us, we are still alive. I blame being pregnant. I was sick all fall and then life got a little crazy. Lance started coaching a club volleyball team and I helped him as much as I could. It was a lot of fun. I miss coaching. I did find out that it is hard to coach with kids. We went to some tournaments up North and then Lance went to one in Cedar. The girls improved a lot and Taj loves the volleyball girls. He was always mad when they wouldn't come play at our house. Anyways, here is what went on this winter and spring.In December we went to Cedar City to say good-bye to Lance's little brother Kevin. He is now serving a mission, we miss him but he is doing good. Well, while we were there our pipe to our outside fausett froze and started spraying water inside and out. Our neighbors saw it and called my parents and they came to our house to find about 6 inches of water in our basement wall to wall. It was horible and very frustrating. We however were very lucky. Not a lot got ruined. We had to replace some wall and all of the carpet. It was good in the fact that it made me dejunk a lot. Lance teased me because I had to throw out so much. My AWESOME dad told us not to hire a contractor and he fixed all of our sheet rock. I am so thankful for my handy father. We are almost all put together now, it is finally getting warm enough to paint baseboards outside and some other things that was hard to do with all the snow outside.

This is what Emery County looked like all winter. It was very depressing. It snowed in December and then tempeture never went above 30 for months so it never melted. New snow would come and cover the old snow but it would never melt. We had mountains of snow all over our roads. We only went out a couple of times to play because it was so cold. I was so excited for March when the temperture finally went above freezing and the snow started to melt. I never thought it would but the snow all melted!!!My baby turned 4!!! I can't believe my baby is 4. He is so much fun!!! He makes us laugh so much. He says the funniest things. He always tells us "What are you talking about?" He also has some sayings that shouldn't be funny but it is hard not to laugh, we just wait until he is not looking. He is going to preschool two days a week and loves it. He still loves baseball and he loves hanging out with his dad and drinking Mountain Dew. He tells Lance that he is the best and I am the best punkhead. I told him that he better snuggle with his dad then and he told me that best punk heads get to snuggle with him. He is only my baby for one more month, CRAZY!!!
Lance got a new bike with his volleyball and for some reason parked it upside down in our front room. Well Taj was playing with it and started turning the pedal adn getting the wheel turning and then stuck his finger in it. Well, of course it was on a Saturday afternoon so we had to go to the emergency room. He ended up getting five stitches in his index finger and breaking it. They had to sedate him to get the stitches in. I wish they could have to \take them out too. He has to keep his finger wrapped until the end of this week, that's if he lets us take it off. It has been very dramatic but I think we will survive. We are lucky, it could have been a lot worse.

Elli finished her dancing. She was soooo cute! She takes dance with her cousin Hallie. She is getting so big!
Elli turned 6!!! I tried to talk her into staying 5 and in kindergarten, but she didn't want to. She is getting so grown up. She loves school and learning. It is fun to watch her learn to read. She started planning her party in the fall. She had a swim party with the girls in her class. They had so much fun!!! I made those cute cupcakes myself, I am so proud. She had fun being the center of attention, she isn't use to it. She is still shy, but when she gets to know you she will talk your ear off.

Hopefully it won't take as long to post again. I will try to get pictures of the baby up next month after he comes out.

Summer Fun!!!

2009-09-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that summer is over. We had such a fun summer. I think working made me appreciate staying home more. Here are some highlights from our summer. I wish I would have taken my camera around more often. Here is what I did take pictures of.

We spent the 4th of July in Emery County. We went to the parade in Huntington then the park afterwards. It was way fun and HOT!!! We went to fireworks that night with James and his fam. Taj loved the fireworks, he commented on each one.

In July I had Rural Schools in Cedar City so we went and spent the week. The kids had a blast. Grandma Debbie, Jay and Uncle Kevin entertained them 24/7. They didn't even miss me while I was gone. They went to the park and pool almost everyday. We went to the Green Show and Renaissance Fair too. Lance came down after work on Thursday and we stayed through Sunday. Lance and I even got to go to St. George and see Brooke and Dan's new house.

Grandma Debbie, Jay and Uncle Kevin came to Orangeville for the 24th of July. Orangeville had a bike parade for the kids. Taj decorated his bike but wouldn't ride because he didn't have his knee pads on. Our Ward organized a little celebration at the park. The kids loved it!!! They even got to chase a pig. We did fireworks that night then did them at Grandma and Grandpa's house with cousins on Sunday.

The Emery County Fair is my favorite summer event in EC. The parade was a blast. The kids threw snaps on the sidewalk while waiting. The band picture is of my AWESOME nephew Jace. He is the one in the back corner playing the drums. He is so good. I am so proud to be his aunt!!! We had so much fun this summer and we didn't even go very far from Emery County. We hung out as a family all summer. I don't have any pictures of the Winn Family Reunion. My mom took all the pictures but we had a lot of fun. I was in charge that is why I didn't have time to take pictures, the theme was Japanese Game Shows. Sorry so much info at once but enjoy the pictures.

T-Ball

2009-06-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

We just got done with T-Ball. Elli loved it. I was the coach because someone told me that if I coached, Taj could play. Well our team was big and so I didn't let him play at first but by the end I decided to let him. He did just as well as all the other kids, except for running the bases. He was a little shy so Lance had to run with him. Elli thought it was pretty cool that her mom was the coach. It was really interesting trying to teach a bunch of 5 year olds how to play baseball. The first practice every boy but one was crying, the girls were fine. Also, the boys were the worst at the games, they were always laying on the ground. Their dads were hilarious, they expected more of their sons. It turned out to be a good experience, I don't know if I will coach again, time will tell.

Bikes, Dancing, Birthday and Camping

2009-05-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

April and May have been kind of CRAZY!!!

Elli learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. It was such a proud moment. She was very determined and she finally got it.

Elli and her cousin Hallie had their end of year dance program. It was so cute. They were so excited, if you can't tell. Grandma Debbie and Uncle Kevin came from Cedar to watch. It was a fun weekend.

Elli is now 5!!! It was a fun birthday. It started when Grandma Debbie was here, a week before. Then she had a birthday party with cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Winn's house. Her cousin Hallie slept over and they played the whole next day. Our friend Jaylyne was down visiting her grandpa so she came over to enjoy the fun. It was an exhausting day, but everyone had fun.

Last weekend we went camping and fishing with some of our friends, KC and Jermey. It was a lot of fun. I was a little nervous since they do not have little kids, and ours are crazy. It turned out really good. We spent most of the weekend on a bass boat, which is not very big. We got to know each other very well. It was also very entertaining since Taj just decided to quote the bad words from Sandlot, we spent the whole weekend correcting Taj's language. KC and Jermey thought we were hilarious. It was KC's birthday, also, so we found a Hostess Cupcake and put a stick in it and lit it on fire. It was a fun weekend.

I Don't Want to be Spiderman

2009-04-11T05:26:00.000-07:00

The story I am about to tell is probably the highlight of my experience as a parent so far, so bare with me. About a month ago we were getting ready for church and Taj, as usual, was playing baseball in the front room. We had just gotten back from visiting my brother and all of our stuff we unpacked from the car was in the middle of our front room, including Taj's mit. We almost left his glove in my bronther's backyard and grabbed it at the last minute. Well I was in the bathroom finishing getting ready for church while Taj and Lance were in our front room waiting for the girls, all of the sudden I hear Taj screaming. I run in wondering what Lance has done to Taj, Lance had no idea what happened. Lance told me that Taj had put on his baseball glove and then started to scream. I finally got Taj settled down enough to look at his hand. His finger had a mark on it that was begining to swell. I told Lance that something had bit him. Lance picked up the mit and hit it against his leg and a wasp flew out. Lance killed the wasp and got rid of it while I comforted Taj. Elli was trying to comfort him also and kept saying that a bee-wasp had bit him. I figured Taj knew what had bit him. Well, while I was holding him, Taj looked at me so seriously and said, "Mom, I don't want to be Spiderman." I asked him what he was talking about and he told me that a Spiderman spider had bitten him and that he was going to be Spiderman. He was very upset and wouldn't settle down so Lance gave him "medicine" so he wouldn't turn into Spiderman. The medicine is also known as Sixlets. We went to church and Taj told everyone he saw that he got bit by a Spiderman spider and he was turning into spiderman. By the end of church he was starting to embrace the fact that he was going to be Spiderman. He then started to tell everyone, "I almost Spiderman." He even started to practice climbing walls. So far the transformation has not happened, we are, however, still waiting. If you ask him about it he will tell you all about it.
I love being a mom!!! Taj always makes us laugh but this was the best. It is funny what goes through little kids minds. The picture above is of Taj asleep with his baseball stuff. I always find either a ball, bat, glove, or hat in his bed, sometimes all of the above.

Catch Up

2009-03-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

I have a camera!!!! I am so excited. Lance's dad read my post and felt bad for me so he bought me a new camera(Thank you Kent). So we are back in business. Here are some things that have been going on the last couple of months. Lance had a birthday in January. We had a lot of fun. He turned 29 on the 29th. We gave him 29 cans of Mountain Dew, 29 pieces of various candies, 29 muffins and so on. I think Elli, Taj and I had more fun then Lance. Lance and I were going to go on a date but it happened to be the Carbon Emery basketball game so we went to that.Elli June was traumatically injured last month. I was at Young Womens and Elli and Taj were playing crazy with Lance and Taj started shaking my shelf in the front room. Well there was a tile with vinyl lettering on the top shelf, it fell and Elli caught it with her face. It was very traumatic.I just liked this picture. Elli and Taj are becoming such good friends. They still fight now and then but now that Taj likes to pretend more him and Elli can play for hours. This is them one night right before bed. I LOVE my kids!!!Taj's Birthday!!! My baby turned 3! It was a sad day for Mom but happy for Taj. He was so cute on the days before his Birthday, he wanted everything he saw for his birthday. This was his Birthday Breakfast.He let sister help him open his presents.This is his tractor tipping race track. He loves it McQueen goes flying.He had a Baseball Birthday. He still loves baseball. He had a Baseball cake. Look at his awesome baseball uniform that Aunt Lisa found him.His Uncle Darrin gave him a baseball toy that shot the ball in the air and then you hit the ball in the air. Taj LOVED it. He is really good at it, especially for a three year old. Lance and I gave him a boring old bike. This is one of the only times he has sat on it. He wants to play baseball whenever it is nice outside. It was a fun Birthday, I know because we were all exhausted that night. I love my Taj. He is so much fun and makes our house so much more exciting. He is all boy!!! I love you Taj!!! This last weekend we went up to the Sportsmen's Expo. We went up Thursday night and stayed with Lance's dad, then spent the day at the Expo. It was a lot of fun. They had a kids fair and Elli and Taj loved it. This is the kids sitting in a boat learning about boat safety.This is what Elli will look like if she becomes a ranger when she grows up.This was one of our favorite part. The kids got to fish for 10 minutes out of a tank of fish. It was awesome. You could see the fish take the hook. I think Lance had as much fun as Elli and Taj did. Our other favorite part was the dog dock jump. I didn't take any pictures but it was fun to see the dogs jump. Some dogs were jumping over 20 feet. I think the Sportsmen's Expo is going to be a yearly thing for the fam. After the Expo we met my brother Alex and his fam at Temple Square. We walked around the visitor center's. The kids loved it. Everything is more fun with cousins.I have been wanting to take the kids to Temple Square forever, I am so glad we finally made it. I know this is a lot for one post but I guess that's what happens when you don't write for months.

2009-02-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

My internet is not working at my house so I have not blogged forever. Like I mentioned before my camera is broken so I don't have any pictures either. Here are some pictures from sledding at Christmas. It was soooooooo COLD! It was fun though.

I have birthday pictures to post for Lance soon, I know everyone can hardly wait.

Christmas

2009-01-14T14:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas was so much fun!!! I broke my camera on Christmas Eve so I didn't get a lot of pictures. My mom took some but all the grand kids were down so she didn't get a lot of my kids. Here are some though. I am so sad it is over.

Bed Baseball and Santa

2008-12-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2008-12-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-30T16:32:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Summer Fun

2008-07-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

So I am so excited because we finally made it so we can use my Mom and Dads internet from our laptop. I can now update my blog more often. Not that there is much to tell. Our summer has been pretty uneventful. Me and the kids just got back from Cedar where I was going to a teaching conference with my Dad. I brought my camera but I didn't see my kids that often so I didn't take any pictures. Most of our summer has been going to the lakes and fishing and swimming with the dog. The kids love to play with the dog. The beach we are playing on in these pictures is no longer there, the water level at Joes Valley got higher. Lance is so proud of his dog, he loves to fetch his duck out of the water. I hope everyone is having a fun summer!!!

New Member of the Family

2008-05-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

We now have a new member of our family. His name is Achilles. He is a black lab with an awesome pedigree. Lance has wanted a dog for so long, he is sick of getting his own ducks out of the cold water. He is a way cute puppy. When we picked him up the first thing he did was jump on Taj and started licking him. It was fun, he loves kids and the kids love him. He is already a good retriever which makes Lance so proud. I even think he is a good dog and I am not an animal person.

Elli's Birthday

2008-05-26T08:22:00.001-07:00

Elli turned 4 years old at the first of the month. She has been so excited for her Birthday since her cousin Hallie's Birthday in January. She has been making a list ever since. It was funny because it took me forever to decide what she wanted for Christmas because she didn't know and then January came around and her list was long. I couldn't figure it out until I was watching tv with her and a commercial came on with a toy from her list. The difference from Christmas til then is that we didn't have sattelite. I have found that Nick JR and Disney have a lot more toy commercials then PBS. Well anyways her list grew and grew. She even saw a commercial for a toothbrush that has a special brush for the tongue so that got added to the list. She was so funny. When I asked her what she wanted for her Birthday cake she wanted a Princess, Superhero, Hannah Montana Cake. So that is what she got. She had so much fun on her Birthday, Her Grandma Debbie came from Cedar to see her and spoil her rotten. Then she got to go play with her cousins at her Grandma Janice's house.
It is amazing how far Elli has came in the past year. When she turned 3 she graduated from Early Intervention where she was going for speach. She has no problem with her speach now, even though I keep having her tested hoping for free preschool, she never stops talking. She also isn't very shy anymore and she sticks up for herself so well. I love my Elli June. I can't believe she is four. She keeps telling me that she still likes three though. I feel so old.

I Love My Kids!!!

2008-03-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

Life in Orangeville is picking up. Taj turned 2 last week and I was so sad. My baby is so BIG! He talks so much now and he is the biggest tease. He is obsessed with Cars the movie so everything he got for his Birthday had to do with Cars. He says Lightning McQueen so cute. My mom even got him Croc shoes that were shaped like Lightning McQueen, he never takes them off. He runs everywhere we go. We walk to my Mom and Dads house everyday and he runs the whole 4 blocks. That is a long way for a 2 year old. He is so fun and I love him so much.

Elli is getting so big too. She dresses herself everyday. She has to wear 3 shirts. We keep asking her if when she turns 4 she will wear 4 shirts, she just gives us dirty looks. She also loves to do her own hair. This picture is Elli at her cousin Jaxon's basketball game. Grandma got in trouble by mom for not fixing her hair, she said Elli wouldn't let her. I love that she likes to be herself and independent. She is such a pretty little girl(she knows it too) and so much fun. She loves to sing and make up her own songs.

My kids are so much fun. I laugh all day. I am so thankful for them. I do not know what I would do without them.

Hannah Montana Party

2008-02-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

Elli and her best cousin Hallie had a Hannah Montana party last Friday. Since we moved to Emery County we have gotten a sattelite and have the Disney Channel. Elli is addicted to Hannah Montana and we watch it A Lot! Well Hallie's older sister Gracie had a Hannah Montana Birthday party on Friday and Hallie was not invited so Elli and Hallie had their own. They got all the same treats as the other party but it was at our house. The party involved playing house and dress up while Hannah Montana was on in the back ground. It was fun and they didn't know they missed anything. Elli loves living close to her cousins we only wish we lived closer. She keeps telling me that she likes our new house. I am so happy that she is adjusting so well.

The Whitesel Blog

2008-02-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

So, with the encouragement of a friend I decided to start a blog, after all everybody's doing it. It is an awesome way to keep up with what is going on in everybody's life. Our life has changed very much in the past month. Our move to Orangeville was very exciting and sad at the same time. Lance is loving his job and we are having so much fun around cousins but we miss Cedar. Our neighborhood was so fun, not that we don't have good neighbors now but they are all older and have no kids at home anymore. We went to story time at the library last week and the only people were us and one other family, the lack of little kids is a bit of a culture shock after Sunset Ridge. In the nursery there is Taj and one other girl, Taj loves the attention. I am however enjoying the no calling for a little bit. My Dad is in the bishopric so it won't last long, it's probably better that way. Well the blogging has begun, hopefully I can figure out how everything works.