A Couple of Weeks in Pictures

So this week I decided to do my update mainly in pictures. We have had a lot going on, but despite being busy we have had a lot of fun. The only thing that has kind of thrown us off is Trey getting sick this weekend. Starting Friday afternoon he started running a fever. Other than the fever he had no other symptoms. Well, Saturday morning he woke up and sounded horrible. He had a definite crackle in his chest and it sounded like he could barely breath. Anyway, finally Sunday morning we couldn't take it anymore and we took him to the emergency room. After a couple of hours there, the doctor's diagnosis was a double ear infection, bronchitis, and a sore throat. They treated him with a breathing treatment and a couple of shots. Sunday afternoon he took a 4 1/2 hour nap and seemed to be starting to feel better. He still isn't one hundred percent, but a couple of days of antibiotics will hopefully do the trick. Other than that here are the highlights of the last couple of weeks!

Trey going down the slide at the park. He loves his newfound mobility at the park. He is not afraid to check everything out.
Kendal swinging at the park. We love fall days. Last week we had lunch at the park two afternoons.

Can you believe we can still swim? It is definitely starting to get chilly, but when the sun is out it is bearable. It won't be long until we will cover up the pool for the winter. Spring will not be here soon enough!
The girls performed Saturday at our Ward Talent Show. They wore ballet costumes and performed a jazz routine. They were a hit!

The girls are gearing up for Halloween. Kendal picked out these funny teeth at the dollar store and couldn't wait to get home and try them out.
We sure are glad we have good dentists in the family!
Crazy teeth!
The girls had a great time doing my hair one afternoon. I think they used just about every clip they could find in my hair.
Kendal with some friends at the park!

Fun in the tub. The kids love getting in the big jacuzzi tub on Sunday mornings. We let them turn on the jets and put in bubble bath. They love it! Trey is intrigued by the bubbles. He isn't exactly sure what they are all about.
Posing in the tub.
Sunday morning pictures!
This is what you get when we try to take a family photo by ourselves. It just doesn't quite work, even with Jeff's long arms.
Trey makes the cutest expressions. This is him in awe of a book. He favorite word these day is "hot". Every time I give him food he will look at it and ask if it is Hot? It is so cute. He also will attempt to blow on his own food if he thinks it might be hot. I love this age!

Well that is our weeks in pictures. I have continued to train for the 1/2 marathon. On Saturday I ran 7 miles. That is my all time high. Everyday I really do feel like it is getting a little bit easier. I will never be a great long distance runner, but I am looking forward to accomplishing my goal of finishing the 1/2 marathon. Incorporated in my training schedule, I have planned a couple of 5k and 10k races. I am looking forward to those and I am trying to include family and friends as much as possible. Jeff may try to run a couple of races with me. I am also inviting the Griffeth family to join me on Thanksgiving for the Gobble Trot in Marietta. Hopefully, I can talk a few of them into joining me!

Birthday Party Fun!

Have I mentioned the my kids love a good party? Bayley especially loves everything about a party...the cake, the atmosphere, the presents, the friends, etc. So this past weekend was just about the perfect weekend for Bayley. Friday night we drove up to Elijay, Georgia for my brother Spencer's 29th birthday party. It was a perfect evening filled with great food, great company and great news! The last present Spencer opened was the suprise announcement that Spencer and Leigh are expecting a baby in April! We are so excited for them! After spending the night at Spencer and Leigh's house, we drove home Saturday morning. Bayley had another birthday party to attend for one of her friends from school, so while Kendal and Trey tried to catch up on lost sleep from the night before Bayley and I attended the party. We completed the day with a nice swim together as a family and an early bedtime. Sunday was Stake Conference in Birmingham, so we made the short drive over there and enjoyed a nice meeting. It was a quick weekend but a fun one.

Our weekday nights are quickly filling up. Bayley has decided she wants to join the local swim team, so that will involve practice 2 nights a week. In addition to Kendal and Bayley's dance classes as well as youth nights at church, our nights are officially booked for the rest of the year. It's nice to be busy doing things that you enjoy, but there are many nights that Bayley comes home and complains that the days go by too quickly. I have told her that they never slow down and only seem to go quicker the older you get. I continue to train for the upcoming mini-marathon. I am going to try to run a couple of local 5K and 10K races to kind of gauge where I am at. My big goal is the finish, but I would love to be able to run the whole distance! We'll see. Here are a couple of pictures from the last week, hope you enjoy!

Thornton News Report

Well, I have put off updating the blog long enough. It's not like we haven't had any news as of late, but for one reason or another I have not been as motivated as I should be to update the blog. I will do better.

I will start with Trey, our walking man. He is officially a walker. He is so cute! The first couple of weeks he would walk with his hand in the air to help with his balance, but as of this week he can now walk with his hands to his side. He loves the mobility that walking gives him. We have even put shoes on him a couple of time and he has done very well. Since I have rarely put socks or shoes on him this summer, he kind of looks at me funny when I put them on. Usually his big sister Kendal will help him out when we are at home and quickly takes of his shoes and socks for him...if you know Kendal you will really appreciate this because she never leaves her shoes on in the house or the car. His vocabulary continues to expand..he can now say Mama (his favorite word), Dada, ball, and night-night. It won't be long before we have another little chatter box running around.

Kendal has mastered her colors! We are so proud of her. This week we are beginning her letters. It should be an adventure. She has started her dance classes and loves it! She asks just about everyday if it is Thursday, the day of her dance class. Bayley has her dance classes on Tuesday and the first time that Bayley had her class, Kendal was sure that the teacher would let her in to dance to. She snuck away and came out all dressed up in her dance outfit ready to go. It was so cute, but pretty darn sad for her when she realized she really wasn't going to be able to dance on Tuesdays. Since that first class, she now appreciates that they each have their own classes a little more. She continues to be a big helper around the house and a toddler full of surprises. She is definitely our little fireball.

Bayley has enjoyed her first month of school. Her teacher lets her help out in the room, which Bayley really enjoys. It is hard for her to make friends at school because she is such a well-behaved child she rarely will talk unless asked to. She has made a couple of friends and I sure that number will grow as the school year progresses. She is enjoying her dance class and is looking forward to performing with her little sister in our upcoming Ward Talent Show, this upcoming September 22nd. The girls are going to do Bayley's dance team routine from last year, that Kendal pretty much had down pat after watching Bayley practice. It should be a lot of fun to see them on stage together.

Jeff is doing well at work. He tries to fit in golf every chance he gets. He does a wonderful job of including his kids in his love for golf. He will take the girls out with him to play a couple of holes. They love it! This last Saturday he and Bayley put together a lemonade stand out on the golf course to raise money for the American Heart Association. On one of the websites I frequent, there was a post with a link to the SunKist website where they were giving kids a lemonade stand if they would use it to raise money for a good cause. Jeff and Bayley decided to choose the American Heart Association as the cause and ended up collecting $87 in just under 2 hours. The girls had a great time and it will be fun sending in a check to a great cause.

As for me I continue to train for the half-marathon. I think I am doing pretty well, but you never know until you have run one if you have prepared enough. In the last 2 weeks I have received two new callings at church. I am now the Faith In God Girls activity leader and the Second Counselor in the Relief Society. I am once again in charge of Home, Family and Personal Enrichment, a calling I held in the Martin Ward for over 2 years. It will be a challenge, but both callings can be a lot of fun as well. Oh well, I enjoyed my 2 months as fourth Sunday Relief Society teacher.

Finally, I am excited to announce the arrival of two new Griffeth cousins, Nate and Olivia. We are so excited they are here and that both the babies and the mommies are doing great!