Halloween 2010

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

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!!!

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!!!

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

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

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

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.