No Vacancy

One of the main reasons that Jarom and Lix decided to move us all from Richmond to Dallas was the prospect of getting into a larger home for a similar amount of money. And that has been a huge blessing during our first year here in the lone star state. Jarom and Alixa can go days without seeing each other, which has been great for their marriage. Jenna and Bo have lots of space to run around in and make messes and hide from each other, although whenever they do play hide and seek they inevitably both end up in the exact same spot in the closet behind Jarom’s clothes. Every time. But lately it feels like we have needed every square foot of this place. First we had Jarom and Alixa, along with Jenna and Bo. But Lix just keeps getting bigger and bigger and this new little girl Everzoomius is intruding more and more into our lives. Then we had Mario and PJ move into the guest wing, along with lots of their stuff from, let’s say 70 years of life. Then we had Abe arrive for the Thanksgiving weekend, and he got stashed in the toy room because we figured the mess of the toy room could mingle with the mess of Abe and they could sort of conceal each other. So with all this hullabaloo going on I decided to start using my fortress of solitude up in the attic. But when I got up there I found yet another inhabitant, a raccoon. So for the time being I am just hunkered down in my cage waiting until the storm blows over. Unfortunately, despite all of Jarom’s best efforts to get rid of the invaders (traps for the raccoon, bringing Nate over to make fun of Abe, forcing Mario to do assorted yard work, and positive remarks about President Obama for PJ) he has had no success. So I suppose I’ll tell you a little bit about our holiday.

We started at our new ward, and it turns out that it’s pretty similar to all the other wards we’ve ever been in. Old guys fall asleep during priesthood and Sunday school, kids cry and make noise during prayers and the sacrament, and the people are generally very nice and happy to meet you. We seem to have moved down a little bit in the socioeconomic standing of the ward and are now the poor folk, which will hopefully mean we can become the ward charity project. Bo was not particularly thrilled about the new meeting time of 1:00, but that’s what happens when you have 4 units meeting in the same building. Lix has decided that she isn’t going to cut ties with everyone from the other ward, which is probably a good idea. And Jarom is momentarily excited about not having a calling, and especially about not having to wrangle the triplets and other 8-year-olds from his primary class.

Since the Hegewalds are homeless-ish they decided to invite all their children to our house for Thanksgiving. Only one of the three took them up on the offer. I’m not sure if that means they don’t love their parents or they didn’t want to deal with Jarom’s scroogy holiday spirit. But either way Abe chose to come, which meant a holiday full of golf and dance. The boys got in 18 holes on a 73 degree afternoon with Lix along for the ride as a caddy, videographer, and heckler. There was also a dinner trip to TopGolf with Nate along for the ride as a heckler and a handicap for Jarom. On Saturday the Hegewalds took off to see the Nutcracker and toted Jenna along with them. She had a blast and hasn’t stopped talking about the mean mice and the princess and the soldier to anyone who will listen and some who won’t.

Thanksgiving itself was a little bit of a letdown due to some sickness in the house. Jenna spent the night before throwing up all over herself and her bed and her room. If you are going to wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning, it really is best if you have some vomit to clean up while you are at it. Alixa spent the day paranoid that she had strep throat and weighing the pros and cons of a trip to the emergency room. Jarom had been down this road before, sitting in the ER for hours and paying hundreds of dollars just to find out that she should go home and she’ll feel better tomorrow, so he didn’t really want to shell out for the waiting room experience. But you can’t say things like that because if you do everyone calls you an uncaring cheapskate, so he just told her that she should do whatever she felt like she needed to do. Thankfully she decided to try and tough it out until Friday morning. Friday came around and she was feeling better. She still has a sore throat and a bit of a cough, but nothing some sleep and essential oils can’t take care of.

The weekend is now ending and soon people will be on planes and in cars and leaving the metroplex. And it will be nice to have a less populated, quieter home. But we will also be sad when there is no more Uncle Abe to play with, and no more Opa to find after naps, and no more Mimi for Jenna to color with. But I guess the bittersweetness of family is what Thanksgiving is all about. You know these people, and they are crazy and they bother you and do things that make you want to pull your (or their) hair out, but it is still nice to have them around, even if it’s just for a few days. We definitely still want to get rid of that raccoon though. I’ll keep you posted.

I Wish...

I wish I would win this giveaway. It would make my entire holiday season merry and bright.

Find giveaway at here.

Ups and Downs

Halloween is an eventful season for the Winns. Lix takes great pride in the costumes that she chooses and makes for the little ones. This year is was a custom made mermaid outfit for Jenna and Bo got all gussied up as her sidekick, a little red crab. They got to wear their costumes a handful of times, which was great because nobody wants to put in all that time and effort for just one night. There were a few school parties, the ward trunk-or-treat, and Halloween night itself. Before heading out we had a few families over to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire pit. Then everyone headed up and down a few streets collecting goodies. Jenna is now an old pro at the trick-or-treating. Mr. Blake couldn’t figure it out at first, but he’s a quick study. He was thrilled to get candy from the first house, but absolutely refused to put the candy in the bag. So he went up to the second and third houses with his hands already full of candy. Eventually Jarom was able to convince him to drop the candy in his hands so he could go get some more. He had a blast. Jenna was very brave and decided she wanted to go through the haunted house that our neighbors set up in their garage. She didn’t panic at all, and even went through a second time, escorting her sissy mom around.

In true delinquent Winn fashion, this pumpkin was carved on November 1st.

Over the past few months Jarom has been applying and interviewing for a new position at work. One of the things that Lix has wanted to upgrade around the house is the living room furniture. We got a pretty nice leather sofa and chair when we bought the house, but they are more stylish than comfortable, and we wanted a nice sectional for the kids to be able jump around on and so that Jarom and Lix could both watch a TV show without having to touch each other. So they’ve been looking, and one night they found one that they both loved and was a pretty good price. It was the last one in stock, so they decided to get it and if the new job fell through maybe they would return it. Fortunately the couch is still in the living room and everyone loves it. It has been especially useful with the extra adults that are always hanging around the house these days.

Jarom and Lix did take advantage of those wayfarers by heading out to Vegas for a few days and leaving the chitlins with Mimi and Opa. The occasion was an invitation from some old friends to run on a Ragnar relay team. If you know Jarom you know that he isn’t one to pass up running long distances and paying good money to do it, so they jumped at the chance. They caught a late night flight on Thursday and got to Grandpa Paul’s house at about 1:30. After a few hours of sleep the team arrived to pick him up for the race at 5:30. The first order of business was a trip up Mt. Charleston to the starting line. It was 28 degrees and snowing, so not exactly the sort of weather that Jarom had expected or brought clothes for. For those who are unaware, Ragnar is a 200 mile relay race done in teams of 12 people. Jarom had 3 legs to run, two 6 milers and a 3.5 miler. His first was 6 miles along 95 going into Vegas, which would have been fine except for the gale force headwind. He’d complain, but Dave (the next runner) had to run 8 miles into the same wind, and his was uphill to boot. Jarom’s second 6 mile leg came at 8 pm or so, and was actually quite pleasant. The wind had basically stopped and it was a quiet run under the stars with very few other runners and just the bright light shooting up from the Luxor to keep him company. He got a shower and a two hour nap late that evening and then at 3 am it was back to the lab again. His final run, the shortest at 3.5 miles, was at 6:30 and it was warm enough to do it just a t-shirt. Overall he felt pretty good about his performance, averaging about 6.6 mph in less than ideal conditions. He passed about 45 people and was passed by only 3, one on each leg. Sadly, each time it was a girl. And each time he tried to pick up the pace to avoid it, but it was no use. After the race ended (30:30:41 later) it was time for some Café Rio and back to the house to relax and watch Texas A&M beat Alabama. It was fun for them to hang out with Mandy and Dave for a while and to be able to laugh at their kid’s unruly behavior without having to worry about their own kids causing trouble.

Sunday and Monday were days to catch up on a little bit of sleep and hang out with Jarom’s grandpa. There was lots of eating out, wandering around the strip, people watching, and a trip to O. They also got to visit with a friend of Jarom’s from high school who got baptized a year ago and lives in Henderson. Overall it was a pretty fun few days, and it was nice that Lix’s parents were around so that it could happen. But it wasn’t all roses. There was the fact that they flew Spirit airlines in order to save some money, and that airline is basically one step up from trash. There was also the fact that poor little Bo got himself sick on the last day (perhaps pink eye?) and they weren’t there to help out. And on Sunday we got news that we are being kicked out of our ward, which makes us sad because we will inevitably see a little bit less of a lot of the nice people that we have come to know.

Speaking of terrible things, one day last week the whole family went by Petco to get me a meal and while they were there they were checking out an adorable little orange kitten that was very calm and cuddly and that Lix and Jenna and Bo all loved. It turns out that Petco is just a holding cell for the kitten, and that the adoption is actually handled by a third party. So Lix took down the number and gave them a call, ready to bring that little cat home that day. Sadly, she did not pass the phone interview. It turns out that even in a world where there are a bajillion stray cats that need a home Lix is not qualified to adopt one. There were significant concerns about the fact that there weren’t any other cats in the house and little Wally wouldn’t learn the appropriate social behaviors, and also that he would be spending a portion of his time outside, where coyotes would likely eat him. So I guess they’ll have to find a kitten through another cat agency, perhaps one with a less exhaustive background check or less ridiculous screeners. Or maybe we will just wait until we see someone with a box of them in a parking lot and avoid the mess all together.

Watching Hotel Transylvania

Hanging out at the State Fair

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

October has been a busy month around here. The last week of September was spent prepping the house for its new inhabitants by cleaning up and moving some furniture and changing the guest room from an oversized storage closet into a space that could actually house people. Jarom helped out with all the getting ready work and then took off for a few days to go to Madison, Wisconsin and get some training for his job. His timing could not have been better. During the few days he was gone Mario and PJ arrived, along with their U-Haul, which needed to be unpacked. As prescribed in Matthew, the task of moving them fell to the next youngest brother, who happened to be available and as strong as an ox. Some home teachers and other friends also helped briefly, but a big shout out to Nate for being so helpful.

The two older siblings

 Playing with cars

One of Bo's hiding spots

Riding Jarom's midlife crisis

Jenna's new dresser, painted by Lix

The new kitchen table

The last two weeks have been spent trying to figure out how our new living arrangements are going to work. It took a while to get all the furniture settled where it needs to go, but things are great now. The grandparents arrived bearing gifts in the form of a bookcase, a TV stand, a piano, and most importantly, the most awesomest kitchen table you can possibly imagine. Alixa has been looking forward to this day for at least a decade. It is an eight person round table with a lazy susan built into the center. In order to make room for it we had to ditch the table that was purchased when Lix and Jarom were first married. *Tear* As some of the new furniture takes its rightful place there has been a fire sale of Winn stuff on Craigslist. I guess Jarom just got a little wrapped up in it, because a few days ago he took Lix out furniture shopping without the kids and they came home with a purchase order for a new sectional. Gone are the black leather couch and chair that nearly killed Jenna. Gone is the world’s greatest coffee table (2^nd edition). And tomorrow in their place there will be a great new treasure. Merry Christmas, Alixa. Hopefully Jarom will get a raise at work to cover the expense.

The other great new thing here in Texas is the weather. The heat has broken, and we’ve entered into the wonderful phase of 80 degree weather, which will hopefully last until January. Pool hopping has been replaced with park hopping, and the family can take Sunday afternoon walks together without coming home drenched in sweat. Lix took the kids and the school group down to the pumpkin patch and pretty much let the kids do whatever they wanted. They came home filthy beyond imagination, but had a great time and each got to pick out a pumpkin. Bo loves them, and will hug them and carry them around the house if you let him.

Bo is getting pretty old. In fact, this Sunday will be his very first time attending nursery, which will be a very sad day for Alixa and Rob Ogden. For Alixa, it means that her little baby is growing up and that she will have to start going to class again in church. I’m pretty sure Rob isn’t going to start going to class, but he is going to lose a great playmate. Rob has sort of become Bo’s adopted dad, and he loves to sit with him during sacrament meeting and play with him in the halls during the other two hours. Rob has taught him how to play with cars and how to steal food from Reese and other such shenanigans. One of Bo’s favorite things to do these days is run to a bathroom and stand next to the toilet paper until a parent finds him and then start pulling the paper off. I’m not sure why or how, but Rob is probably to blame for that too.

Lesson 1: Trajectory equals velocity x launch angle / time

Hmmm...we're going to need a better ramp

Look at how well Bo is paying attention. Also notice that Rob is working 

so hard that he had to take off his jacket.

Jenna and Bo have also become quite bonded in their show watching. They love little einsteins and eagerly clap their hands along with the show and will remain entranced for 30 glorious minutes while Jarom or Alixa or I can get something done. Jenna is a great big sister, and helps Bo out with all the stuff that he can’t do. She is getting pretty smart and learning a lot of stuff in her thrice weekly schooling. She loves Jarom’s iPad, especially Where’s My Water?, or as she calls it, the alligator game. She usually plays a few levels before going to bed, and can often finish them entirely on her own with only some helpful verbal hints from her dad. Both of the kids love having Mimi around and are excited to have Opa return this evening. There’s a big trip to the state fair scheduled for Saturday and that should be a huge hit. Other than that we are all just trying to not step on each other’s toes too much and enjoy the fact that we get to have family so close to us. Check back in a few months and see if everyone is still alive.

Pushing the limits

Jenna: what are you eating?
Mom: fish.
Jenna: is it from the river?
Mom: no it’s from the ocean.
Jenna: oh. Why it's not moving anymore?

 The 3 musketeers at the aquarium

Jenna has been pretty funny lately. She is going to school for a few hours a day three days a week and seems to always have new and interesting questions and observations. We’re not really sure where they all come from. The other day she mentioned something to Jarom and Lix about marching bands, and when asked what she knows about them she said “they blow the whistle and then they start playing.” Maybe she’s secretly watching halftime shows on the TV upstairs when nobody is around. Alixa’s favorite thing that Jenna says now is "brownie face" instead of frownie face. It is hilarious because she says it so seriously. It often comes up as the result of a nursery lesson or when someone is having a bad day. In the past few weeks Jenna has had a few firsts. She had her first trip to the dentist, which went quite well. Everyone was very impressed with how well she sat still while they worked in her mouth. She also had her first trip to the nail salon, where she had a great time and everyone was very impressed with how well she sat still while they worked on her feet. So yes, Jenna is well above average for a 3-year old in the sitting still category. But there is a time for sitting still and at all other times it is not only important to be moving but also to be winning. Jenna has decided that anytime she is going to a destination it should be a race with whoever else is going there. The Winns are always happy to support a competitive atmosphere, but it turns out that Jenna is not a very good loser. So anytime someone beats her up the stairs, even if that person didn’t know it was a race, she starts to cry. It’s a problem that we’re working on at the moment. Sometimes her hypersensitivity is pretty cute. Last week in the bathtub Jenna had put a few things in a cup and told Lix that it was for her. Jarom then foolishly dumped the stuff out of the cup so that he could use it to wash Jenna off. She began to cry because she had made spaghetti with meatballs for mom and was sad that she didn’t get to eat it. It was cute, even if it is a little bit much sometimes.

 Sitting still at the salon

 Sitting still at the dentist

 Laughing at the sun

Bo has become the most adorable troublemaker that you’ve ever seen. He has found his inner “Jenna-voice”, which is just another way of saying “Lixi-voice”, which I believe is German for megaphone. Why is that the only trait that seems to have made it through from the Hegewald genes? If you walk past the house you may wonder why we are keeping a pterodactyl around, but it’s just the 16-month old. On Sundays Lix hangs out with him in the halls instead of going to class because he is a little too rambunctious and can’t go to nursery for another 6 weeks. He enjoys racing Jenna (he never wins) and wrestling with her (he sometimes wins) and destroying the towers that she loves to build (he always wins.) He knows what things he should and should not be doing, and will look to a parent with a devilish grin whenever he is doing the latter. He will still do it, but he knows that he may have to run for his life and hide right afterwards. It sure makes it hard to be mad at him because he is so stinkin’ cute. He loves animals and can make a handful of animal noises. His favorites right now are birds, and you’d think that each time he saw one it was the coolest thing in history, even though he sees hundreds each day. Oh to be a little kid again. His climbing has kicked up a notch, and he will often be found on the top of the couch or up on the kitchen table or other places that he probably shouldn’t be getting to. He falls a lot, but it never seems to faze him.

 We're thinking of getting a couch like this so Bo has more surface area to climb on

 

 

Lix is knee deep in morning sickness, but still refuses to throw up. There was a close call last weekend, though. After a chef salad dinner she said that she wasn’t feeling good and went upstairs to go to bed after throwing up. At first Jarom was a little incredulous when she said that it wasn’t the pregnancy that caused it, but about an hour later when he was hurling as well he was a believer. Poisoning dinner was just Alixa’s way of dropping a few pounds the night before her big run. A group of women from the ward did a 5k mud run and a few days before the event a spot opened up and Lix took advantage of it. It was a filthy, disgusting mess and she had a great time doing it and had a blast with the other gals. The next day in church Jarom was repeatedly complimented on his rock-star wife and how she was leading the pack. To reward her Jarom is going to take her to Las Vegas without the kids for a few days in November. This will be only her second kidless trip since Jenna was born. Jarom got recruited to run one of the legs in a 12 man, 200 mile relay race there. I can’t imagine how they trouble filling those spots. So while he is running Lix can hang out with one of her best friends from college and then they’ll stick around a few more days to spend time with Grandpa Winn and enjoy the neon lights and illicit activities without worrying about naps and baths and bedtimes. And who will be watching the kids? Why Alixa’s parents, of course! They are coming to live at the house for an undetermined amount of time starting the first week of October, which excites Jarom more than he could possibly express in words. But it will be good to have grandparents around, and we are counting on PJ to cook up some mean dinners and Mars to do some solid gardening and be available when Jarom needs a golf partner. And I didn’t want to send this out to the interwebs without including the name of the new baby, courtesy of Jenna. It will be a girl, and her name shall be everzoomius. So there’s that. Happy birthday, Nancy.

 Before. Nice lipstick, ladies.

 During. Nice form, Aimee.

After. Nice shades, Lix.