Believe

It has been such a fun Christmas season for us thus far! Whitney is getting older, understanding more and it is fun to see her get excited about little things. We got her the Little People Nativity scene that she loves. She likes to put the baby Jesus in her stroller and drag him around. The other day Danny had to take it away, I asked why and he said that Whitney was drowning baby Jesus in the dog water. :(

This season I started out with a big long Christmas wish list I had created for Danny of "things" that I wanted for myself.. I got the "me, me, me" syndrome and forgot why we really celebrate Christmas.. It's not about all of the gifts that we get or even the gifts that we give but about spending time with the ones you love the most, celebrating the birth of Christ, and cherishing every moment we have with each other. A couple of weeks ago, Danny's mom, Vicki, had a heart attack.. She is ok, they successfully put in a stent and she is back to her "selfless" giving self. But she was rushed in an ambulance to the hospital and for awhile the hospital staff wouldn't give us any information on if she was ok or not. Luckily she was, but throughout the whole experience I really got a reality check and realized how delicate life is and how extremely important it is to not let even 1 day go by without expressing your love to others.

I love the Christmas season.. I love making sugar cookies and wrapping presents with my family.. I love the Christmas eve talent show we have every year.. I love the smells of goodies and eating in extreme amounts.. it gives me the warm fuzzes just thinking about it! :) But what I love the most about Christmas (and sometimes I forget) is the birth of our Savior. What an amazing gift He is. This Christmas season I have dedicated myself to reading the New Testament and I feel like I can't get enough of it. The stories of Christ have come alive for me- more than any other year. Reflecting on 2009, I have seen and am a witness of the many miracles Christ has given me and my family. I am amazed while reading the NT-- that Jesus would perform miracle after miracle in front of the Pharisees and the Pharisees where so hard hearted that they didn't believe. How can that be? How can you physically see Christ heal the lepers, the blind, and dumb and NOT believe?? As I pondered that, I thought, we may not have Christ with us physically but He is with us spiritually and does perform just as many miraculous miracles in all of our lives. I need to remember to BELIEVE in Christ, BELIEVE in His birth, BELIEVE in His miracles. Sometimes I forget or don't appreciate everything I have.. This year I hope to be better, I hope to not be like the Pharisees who only cared about worldly possessions and who didn't believe (and sadly that is exactly how I am most of the time).. but I am going to BELIEVE this year.. all year long!! :)

I hope that everyone has a great Christmas!!

St George Getaway-

Last weekend we surprised my grandma Lindsey by meeting her in St. George for her birthday. It was a blast spending time with our family. We had SUCH a great time, I was very sad to go, and kept wondering why it has taken us so long to get away together! Love love love my family!!

My aunt Sherri, grandma and aunt Sandy.

The girl cousins with grandma.

{Not pictured but who was VERY present was Rosie and my mom- I didn't take very many pictures} My mom was an amazing help with Whitney! She totally sat in the car with Whitney while she napped so that I could selfishly shop! Thanks mom, LOVE U!

humm..

Today Whitney spent a couple of hours sporting this look..

We ditched the binky long ago but somehow she found this Bronco binky and the glasses.. don't know.. She normally won't wear them for longer than a couple of minutes.. She is silly!

Belated Birthday Wishes

It has been kinda busy these last couple of weeks and I didn't have time to wish a happy birthday to 2 of the people I love the most:

Happy Birthday to my handsome husband. Thanks for being so positive, supportive of everything I do and making me laugh...everyday! I love you!

Happy 21st Jessie! You are a great sister and aunt to Whit. Thanks for ALWAYS babysitting on the drop of a whim... and taking us on many adventures. Also, thanks for capturing all of Whitneys moments.. I wouldn't have 1/2 the pictures I have if it weren't for you!

Just a thought for today

I was reading this morning and came upon a talk in the April 2008 General Conference by Sister Tanner who had just been released as General Young Women President. She had some very good and applicable things to say so I thought I'd share:

"Each time I walk with Abraham and Isaac on the road to Mount Moriah, I weep, knowing that Abraham does not know that there will be an angel and a ram in the thicket at the end of the journey. We are each in the middle of our earthly path, and we don't know the rest of our own stories. But we, as Abraham, are blessed with miracles.

I delight in the Lord's mercies and miracles. I know that His tender mercies and His miracles, large and small, are real. They come in His way and on His timetable. Sometimes it is not until we have reached our extremity. Jesus's disciples on the Sea of Galilee had to toil in rowing against a contrary wind all through the night before Jesus finally came to their aid. He did not come until the "fourth watch," meaning near dawn. Yet He did come. My testimony is that miracles do come, though sometimes not until the fourth watch."

Snow Day-

We are taking it easy today with all the snow we are getting! No work, no cleaning, no leaving the house... just playing and making messes. Here is a cute picture of the babies from this morning and what we will be doing today: snuggling with eachother, our blankies, sippies, and watching some the 55 episodes of Little Einsteins recorded on our DVR. (We are a little obsessive with this show.) Also, taking peeks outside at all the fun snow that is falling. (Can't wait to introduce playing in the snow to Whitney. I think she is going to LOVE it!)

Our summer days have come and gone.

Zumba!!

For those who have never heard of this, it is the newest workout craze. You combine weight strength, cardio, and sculpting while dancing to Latin songs. I DON'T dance and am reminded often by Danny and other loved ones of my lack of dance skills, so this gym class would be an obvious no for me. When my mom approached me about doing this Zumba class at the gym, I politely declined. She kept on being persistent and after many no's she finally, gently and motherly- like, FORCED me to do this class with her and my sisters.

As the day came closer a couple of concerns came up:
1. The location. Golds Gym on 13th.--Every time I go I see random people I haven't seen since high school, don't care about, and don't remember their names.. I pride myself in being pretty anti social and avoiding public places where their might be potentially awkward situations. This particular gym is a hot spot for awkward situations.
2. The classroom isn't "classroom friendly". There is a weight area right outside of the room with LARGE windows for "peeping Tom's". I don't want random people to see my awesome Latin dance moves. ;)

Night of the class, I decided to try and hide my identity by wearing an over sized sweatshirt and hat so nobody would recognize me and my sorry attempt at Latin dancing. When we got there it was super packed, I couldn't believe how many people would come to a Zumba class.. AANNDD I wasn't the only one who couldn't dance and nobody cared! Half way through the class, I completely forgot about how stupid I looked and started having fun! I LOVED it and might just become a regular attendee. Thanks mom for making me go!

The first song we danced to was Micheal Jackson's, Thriller, which was so fun. I came home totally high on endorphins-thinking I was pretty sweet-- and tried showing my dance moves to Danny. He thought it was hilarious.. so I still can't dance but I guess that is ok.. dancing is just not in the cards for me. Hopefully Whitney will get her daddy's dance skills!!

Goodnight Moon

Whitney you love to read Goodnight Moon before you go to bed. We read it every night and always say good night to many things... your doll, the dogs, your books.. sometimes we even say good night to silly things like the lights, Parkers picture, the couch (anything to delay going to bed!) But lately you love to say "good night" to the moon too. Mommy and Daddy have to take you outside so you can find the moon and say good night to it. At least a dozen times through out the day you ask, "Where's moon?" and look for it in the sky. I respond, at least a dozen times, saying, "The moon is asleep. He will wake up tonight to watch over you while you sleep." You don't quite understand that concept yet and will ask me again and I will tell you again where it is. I don't mind though. I love you and love answering all of your questions. When you actually do see the moon at night -on walks or in the car you yell, "Moon!" point to it and do your cute little laugh. You get SO excited to see it. It makes me and daddy laugh. You are one very observant and persistant little girl. We love you!

Summer Outings

We had a lot of fun activities this summer with Whitney and Camden. My great assistant and sister Jessie was always there to capture the many moments with her camera!!

Jungle Gyms--

I actually forgot this place existed.. It was fun though. We went in the afternoon and there was only a handful of people there. The kids had a blast. The babies favorite: the safari car ride. My favorite: the bumper cars with Gabi!

Wheeler Farm-

We went on probably the hottest day of the year with no strollers.. it was HOT!!
The babies loved the animals.. I don't have a favorite, I just remember the piercing HEAT..

Thanksgiving Point- Petting Zoo

Babies loved walking around and getting excited about the animals.

Their favorite: The pony ride!!

Gardner Village Petting Zoo-

My favorite! I love this little petting zoo and the babies do too!

They love walking around and getting a little treat at the candy store.

We also had many walks to the park and trips to the aquarium. Whitney is at such a fun age, I love it and we love all the fun adventures Jessie drags us on!! :)

Date Night with Parker

Danny, my parents, sister, and most my extended family are out of town this week in Lake Powell. Soooo jealous! I opted out this year for a few reasons one of which was little Whit. She would be a lot of work on a house boat with over 20 people, surrounded by water, she also HATES wearing a life jacket... so I thought that I would sit this one out and Danny would go. I was going to try and go for the weekend but couldn't get work off! Bummer!! Next year...


My brother Parker also didn't go. He had to stay home for school and football... And today was his big football game against Jordan. They did awesome and beat them 28 to 24. Whit and I LOVE to go to Parkers game and it is the highlight of our weeks!


Which brings me to my story..Whitney has a MAJOR, I'm talking MAJOR crush on Parker. She asks for Parker every day, I show her his picture and she says "My Parker." When she sees him she gets a really shy look on her face and turns her head and will never look directly at him, but the most awesome part.. she is a perfect angel when he is around.


After the game we went on a date (Me, Parker & Whit with Meg and Aaron) and normally when we go out to eat Whitney gets restless.. won't sit in the high chair for very long.. gets into everything.. makes big messes. Tonight, however, she was perfect. She just sat there and stared at Parker. After awhile she wanted to sit on his lap and she sat and didn't move. (NOTE: THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!!) She was so good. I was equally shocked, when I tried to take her she said "no" and clung to Parker... she only wanted "my Parker".

After our date, when we got home and I was putting her to bed she made her bedtime requests which were: "My baba, my baby, my Parker!"

I love her!

This picture is completely unrelated but funny. She was telling Danny that she needed to poop so he rushed her into her potty and she sat, grunted, pushed, but no poop. We took her off and put her diaper back on. A few minutes later she said "poop" again. Danny rushed her back in, but didn't make it in time.. Better luck next time!

Whitney Update

An update on the little Whit monster. She is 17 months now and is so very busy. She is into everything-- screaming, pulling hair, hitting, scratching (timeout is a regular occurance in our house).. I keep telling myself this phase will pass but somedays/ most days I feel like I missed something along the way. Maybe I am just not doing it right, that I just created or enabled this bad behavior in her. Either way, we keep on trying and I love her, despite her bad moments. Here is what Whitney is learning and loves.



1. I am trying to introduce her to the concept of the toilet. Not necessarily potty training yet, but the idea that mommy and daddy go poop and pee on the toilet. We have taught her the "poop" baby sign language and when she is pooping, she tells me and does the sign. So the other day Danny was sitting on the couch and farted (Danny probably isn't going to be very excited that I am posting this) but she went up to him and kept on saying "Where's poop? Where's poop?" and tried looking at Danny's bum to find the poop. It was really funny! (Maybe you just had to be there.) :)



2. We went to the fair last week and she rode the ponies. She LOVED it and has discovered that Mo is a good substitute. She now strattles Mo every chance she gets and makes him take her on ponie rides. She obviously falls off, and falls hard but she thinks it's funny and gets right back on him. She is silly!



3. She has a very obsessive personality and her current obsession... listening to music and singing. She has a few "silly songs" that we listen to OVER and OVER again that she sings along to. If the song changes, she screams and says "no" until we turn it back. Whitneys top 4 songs: 4. I am a Child of God, 3. Pop Corn Popping the Apricot Tree, 2. Sean Kingstons "911" song, and.. the song we sing all day long...1. Skidamarink, I love you. She also loves to count to ten and sing the alphabet with mom.



4. Whitneys animal sounds. She seems to be really engrossed with any sort of animal/insect so we have been teaching her animal sounds.We also have the Planet Earth videos that she loves to watch. Funny animal moments: The other day she tried catching a fly in the house- chasing it around and all, she picks up ants and smashes them in between her fingers, at the fair she screamed and yelled "NO" at a lady who was looking a pig. Apparently, Whitney was the only one allowed to look at and touch the pig.

The Utah State Fair

Last weekend we went to the Utah State fair with our friends and had a great time! Whitney loved all of the animals, rides, and the fried food!

Yes, Whitney is screaming. She doesn't like pictures..

Ohhh. Handsome daddys!

Jared and Danny decided to take Lilee and Whit down the slide and of course Danny picked the bag that goes the fastest. He was catching air. Whit started BAWLING after she realized what she had just done!




I think our favorite were the pigs! They were so funny.
They reminded us of fat Mo! He acts just like a pig, no joke!




The 3 amigos. Whit is trying to give Athan a kiss.

A Weekend of New Discoveries

This last week we discovered some new "likes" at the Westenskow household.

1. I finally caved in and bought a car. Not for myself but for the little one. She had her big blue eyes set on the "Pink Barbie Mustang" but that was well out of my budget so we settled on something a little bit more economical... the red Cozy Coupe. And, quite a success it has been. She drives that thing all day long, drags her baby with her and likes to run into the dogs. When she wakes up she asks for her car. I give her her "ba ba" and she sits in it as she watches Little Einsteins. Perfect toy!

2. Star Wars. I have never seen the shows and Danny has been threatening me our entire marriage that one day we would have a Star Wars marathon and watch them all. This last week his threat became a reality. I caved and we watched.. every night.. AND quite to my surprise, I really liked them! I loved every cheesy, and theatrical comment Harrison Ford made and isn't he handsome?? I totally think so.


3. Last but not least, and probably the most important discovery.. Wizards of Waverly Place and Selena Gomez. On more than 1 occasion in the last 3 days I have come home and found Danny "glued to the tube" watching The Wizards of Waverly Place.. Not Sports Center, ESPN, the news, an adult sitcom... but a young teenage girl show about wizards. He then asked me if I would start DVRing the show so that we could watch more episodes. (And being the major GEEK that I am, I totally whole heartedly agreed. I love the Disney Channel.)

I am also not naive to the fact that the only reason why Danny watches this show is for Selena Gomez. -- which is probably the only reason why I watch it too. She is very cute!! :)

Driggs Scott Gleason..

He is finally here! We have all been waiting and have been so excited for this little guy to come! Cute Ali had Driggs today September 4th at 10:53 PM. He weighs 5 lbs 15 ozs and is 18 inches long. He is a month early, so the nurses will watch him to make sure his lungs and kidneys are working properly.. but he is perfect and beautiful and I am so happy for Ali and Rob!! Ali was a rockstar during her labor, I don't think that I heard her complain once, she did sooo awesome! CONGRATULATIONS!!! We love you Gleason clan!!

Looking Forward to Fall-

I LOVE the summer but I LOVE LOVE the fall! It is my favorite season and I can't wait for this year. Here is what I am looking forward to this fall:

• Sweatshirts and Jackets
• Good smelling "fall" candles
• Cool brisk evening walks to the park
• The anticipated arrival of baby Driggs
• Carving pumpkins
• Trick or treating with Whit. I love Halloween!
• Cheering on the Broncos every week with Danny
• Celebrating Danny's 28th Birthday
• Watching Parker play his 1st year of Highschool Football!!
• General Conference
• Sunday nights at grandma's with her homemade hot chocolate
• The red, yellow, and orange leaves that will cover my entire front yard
• Racking up all the leaves and playing in them with Whit, Danny, and our 2 overfed fat bulldogs

Wahoo for fall! Can't wait..

Back to School

I have decided and feel prompted that it is time that I started school again. I went and talked to a counselor and I have done all of my prerequisites to get into the nursing program at SLCC. I just need to apply and wait. The only problem is that it is a 2 year wait.. soo I might apply at some other universities in the area but most likely I will just wait and hopefully do the baby thing again. We shall see.. In the meantime there are some other classes that I can take now so that when I get into the program my work load won't be so much. I'm excited, should be interesting working out all the details. Danny's excited and is my biggest supporter. He says he can't wait until he can be the housewife! (Like it's easy or something?? Seriously, he will be in for a real treat!)

A Gracious Banker-

This past week was not a great week with my new budget. The day that the money was deposited into my "special budget account" I decided to go shopping. - Clothes shopping. There were lots of great sales going on and I just NEEDED some things for Whitney and myself, right? I get to the check out line to pay for all of the "goods" and when the lady told me the total it was a little bit higher than I had expected..ok a lot higher. I had spent over half my budget in 1 day at 1 store on stuff that we probably didn't really need. Oops! I felt really guilty because Danny is on this "lets save our money, pay off our house" kick so I decided not to tell Danny and thought...humm maybe we can just not eat this week, very selfish, I know. Well that didn't work. Danny said that we needed to do a Costco run. I got kinda nervous.. still didn't tell Danny about it until we were on our way to Costco and I said very nonchalantly "Well, I may have spent a lot this week on other things..." He gave me the look, I gave him the look (the innocent- I'm sorry I will never do it again -look) and I won. The gracious banker lent me some money to pay for our groceries! (Not that I gave him much of a choice and really-- Danny getting mad??-- Doesn't happen very often.)-- But he didn't let me off that easy. The Banker said that I will have to repay my debts through my budget this friday when the funds get deposited into my "special budget account." Darn budgets!

Note to self: Do the fun shopping AFTER the necessary shopping.

Island Park

The day after I got home from girls camp we left for a trip with Danny's family to Island Park, Idaho. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!! Julie's family (Danny's stepmom) has a cabin up with their own private dock on the lake--- AMAZING! The boating was awesome, weather was great, the scenery was crazy beautiful-- the only minor glitch was our very cute little toddler. She was good for the most part, but was teething and had a cough so she was a little bit onery, but that couldn't damper our spirits! We had a great time and -- as always-- came home with the vacation blues. Back to work..back to cleaning, laundry (the list could go on forever).. back to REAL life. But, as my sister Jessie would say, "Mindi, stop complaining. At least you got to go on a fun trip with your family!"-- I guess she is right!

I asked Danny really nicely if he would buy me this cabin and I would help pay for it with my "minimal" budget and he said "Fat chance in..." Bummer! Someday, right! (Hopeful thinking!)

It amazes me that people don't believe in a Supreme Being and that this earth is just a happenstance??? --It is too beautiful to be just an accident!

The dock. Us getting ready to go on our evening "cocktail" cruise.

My cute little Whitney helpers! She loves these 2.

Girls Camp

We had great girls camp this last week at Heber Valley. We had cabins, toilets, showers, eletricity.. totally my kind of camping! Our camp director, Brenda, came up with our ward theme "Be still, dream big, and go forth." I think that this theme was very inspired for our girls at this time and also for myself. I love it and feel like it applies to every aspect of my life, in anything that I do.

We had a lot of fun playing games, hiking, eating, having spiritual devotionals, and being together.-- Also just as important, I went a whole week with out any Diet Coke! I considered it my "detox" period and surprisingly it wasn't that bad. (I just ate a lot of candy and chocolate to compensate and probably gained 5 pounds doing so.)

I love my calling in the young womens, the girls I serve, and the leaders I serve with. I know that the Lord put has put me in young womens more for myself- to learn and grow- and hopefully along the way I can help someone else. We have such a unique group of girls coming from a variety of different backgrounds and hardships. I am amazed at their perseverance and steadfastness in the trials that they deal with. AMAZED!

Our fearless hikers with President Hilton!

Missie going down the zip line. They had these fun challenge courses for the girls to do. One of them was a rope climb/zip line. It was very fun!

So beautiful.

The crew

The crew as we were waiting for the bus to come and get us!

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Budgets

With Danny now working in the financial industry he has become a lot more "observant" with our bank accounts. He has finally decided to give me a budget. The dreaded word! Not that budgets are bad, I think that they are good and necessary regardless of your income. Danny has set me up with a separate debit account in which I get xxx amount of money on it every week for groceries, food, gas, and whatever else I need. If I run out of money, too bad! And if I dip into one of our other debit accounts--- I'm in trouble! In order to really maximize my budget (and also prove to Danny that I can stay on a budget) I have jumped on the bandwagon and have started coupon clipping. I have subscribed to the weekend newspaper and have found a new passion--- Saving money at the grocery store. I'm not like the "crazy coupon addicts" who save $100's at the store but I am saving a little bit and having fun doing it! I went to Smiths the other day, I only spent $27 but saved about $15. I know that isn't MONUMENTAL savings but it's 15 more dollars in MY budget to spend on anything I'd like! Although I initially wasn't super thrilled about the idea of budgeting, it has actually turned out to be kinda fun. I am learning to get creative in my purchases and to be more disclipined. Who could have thought having a budget could be so fun?? Ok, maybe not "so fun" but interesting (in a good way).

Newport Beach

We just finished the annual Hart Newport trip and had a great time! It was our 15th year going and I think it was the best year yet. We played a lot in the sand, water, and with all of our fun cousins. We love the beach and always have a great time!

We ate lots of breakfast at Ruby's. Tradition! :)

We played in the water.

We went down to Balboa and had a lot of fun in the arcades! I think our crew took up the whole arcade room.-- No joke.

Our family.

Whitney trying to escape.

The handsomes.

We had a lot of sandy treats and drinks!

Whit loved the carousel but wasn't super excited about getting off. Danny in true "daddy" fashion pulled out his walet and paid for another ride for his little princess.

Much better, thanks daddy!

Whit ready for the beach at probably 9 AM.

Our little cute bum!

Whitney and her many mothers.

We rented a fun little party boat and cruised around Newport Harbor.

Whit's first attempt in the water. She loved it, I didn't so much. Too cold! (I'm standing behind her)

We visited our fabulous friends in LA and had a great time with them!

We feel so blessed to have such a great family! Can't WAIT for next year...