Tis' the season to be busy...but we are loving it!

Last week I began a post with an update of what our family has been up to this year, but I guess that post is going to have to wait, because December has been a fun and exciting month. I've got lots to post about.

Last weekend was Bayley's and Kendal's Christmas Dance Recital. The recital in and of itself takes up a good portion of our week. They rehearse on Thursday and Friday nights and then the performance is on a Saturday night. It is always a crazy time of year to try to devote that much time to dance, however the girls love it and somehow we always make it work. This year Bayley performed the Christmas Waltz and Kendal the Christmas Polka. Both girls did a wonderful job and looked beautiful. Grandpa and Grandma "G" were able to come and enjoy the performances with us...the girls have loved their yellow roses all week!

While I headed to rehearsal with the girls on Friday night, Jeff and Trey joined the branch for some caroling...yes, we sent our best singers! It was a cold night and we quickly realized the Trey does not have any gloves or a warm hat the fits...so rather than dressing him in pink hat and gloves, which we do have in abundance, Jeff grabbed one of his hats and some random gloves...aren't my boys so cute!

The girls and I met up with the boys for hot chocolate and donuts afterwards...which is always a hit around here.

I finally made it the mall for the first time this holiday season last week. Kendal quickly jumped up on Santas lap and told him she wanted 3 puppy dogs...a far cry from a couple of years ago when she would only shout her wishes for "boots" to Santa. Kendal has trully caught the Christmas spirit this year. As I was preparing my Christmas cards, she decided that she wanted to write her own set of Christmas cards. She took it upon herself to write a Christmas card to each of our neighborhood dogs. I have to say that she really got into it. She had me write down what she wanted each card to say and then she copied it onto the card in her own handwriting. Then of course, she hand delivered each and every one. It really was so cute!

Trey on the other hand is still a little weary of Santa. On our first visit to see Santa he refused to even get out of the stroller. But by the second visit, he was ready to sit on his lap. He still walks around telling everyone who asks that he wants a Barbie...you should see the funny looks we get from strangers who have asked, but recently we have gotten him to add on that he wants a boy Barbie. It should be an interesting Christmas morning to see if the Boy Barbie is really what he wanted. Last night was our Branch Christmas Party. I asked him if he wanted to wear his Christmas hat to the party and he ended up wearing about half of the time. He is such a funny kid.

Bayley is excited to be out of school for the next couple of weeks. Besides being out of school she doesn't have any dance or swim practices, making it a true vacation. She loves breaks, but by the end she is usually ready to get back into the swing of things. This year her Christmas list includes Pixos, shoes and clothes. It is going to be so nice to be able to spend Christmas morning at our house this year. As much as me LOVE seeing our families and spending Christmas with them, the hauling of kids and presents over Christmas can be a bit exhausting. This year we get the best of both worlds. We get to spend Christmas morning at our house, then head off for hot cinnamon rolls and Christmas Day with the Griffeths. Believe me, Bayley is looking forward to those cinnamon rolls...she has listed them on every assignment that had to do with Christmas at school!

Jeff is taking this week off from work. We are so excited about spending this great time of year together as a family. Despite how busy we have been, we have loved the opportunities we have had to think about our Savior, his life and miraculous birth.

Another 1/2?

Chief Ladiga Trail 1/2 Marathon

So my "retirement" from long races was short-lived. On Saturday I ran my third 1/2 marathon. My sister-in-law Leigh who hadn't really trained for the race, ran with me and totally kicked my behind. She is an awesome runner, so despite my lackluster training she pushed me to finish in 2 hours and 18 minutes (only 9 minutes off my best time, when I did train hard). It was a lot of fun, but I could barely move by Saturday night. I am much better today. I also want to give a quick shout out to my friend Corrie, who also trained and completed the race. Great job...how about Nashville in April?

An Indiana Thanksgiving 2008

This year we had the opportunity of spending our Thanksgiving break with Jeff's family. We left last Tuesday around noon and arrived at our first stop about 9 p.m. The kids did pretty well in the car...what did we do before portable DVD players? On the way there they were able to watch 6 movies...instead of gauging distance by time we now gauge distance to destination by the amount of movies that will be watched.

Wednesday we spent the day with Jeff's dad, Terri, Erin and Great Grandma and Grandpa Thornton. We had a great time and Grandpa Thornton did a great job picking out the kids Christmas presents. Bayley got the Christmas Barbie that she has been wanting, Kendal got an adorable Tinker Bell outfit, and Trey got an AWESOME Black and Decker Tool Set. Trey loved the set, but he also really liked the girls gifts...he took his turns playing with Barbie and wearing Tinker Bell....what are we going to do with this boy? It was so nice to be able to see them and spend time with them.

Trey posing as a toy in a boxTrey and Daddy workingKendal as "Tinker Bell"Bayley with her new Barbie

The Thornton's

Thursday we were blessed to be able to enjoy two Thanksgiving dinners. The first go around was at Jeff's Aunt Joanne's house. The food was great and it was fun getting to see that side of the family. The kids had a great time playing with Joanne's boys, Alex and Ben and they definitely put on a show. Trey was as wound up as I have seen him...by the end of the afternoon he was sweating. Next we headed to Jody and Marty's (Jeff's sister and brother-in-law) for another round of eating and fun. For the first time ever we were able to enjoy our turkey, deep-fried. It was actually very good and very moist. By the end of the evening we were stuffed and tired...isn't that the way the a good Thanksgiving is supposed to end?

Friday was "Black Friday"...probably one of my most favorite non-holiday days of the year. It has been a tradition in my family for many years, to get up early and hit the after Thanksgiving sales. I LOVE IT! It is crazy...tons of people battling it out to find and get the best deals...it could almost be a sport. This year I left the house at 4:30 a.m. I arrived at the closest Wal-Mart and 4:45 a.m. and there were ZERO parking spots available...it was the busiest I have ever seen it. After parking illegally along a curb I raced into the store to vie for the best position and to stake out the items on my list. The madness started at 5:00 a.m. and I exited the store with everything on my list at 5:22 a.m....SUCCESS! I also hit the mall and a couple other stores and was back home before 10:00 a.m. I got a big chunk of my Christmas shopping done and saved a bunch of money. The rest of Friday we were able to spend with Jeff's mom at the house. The kids played with their cousin Sydney, did crafts and for the first time that week Kendal and Trey took a nap. Sleep was not a major priority during the trip, but by the end of the week we were feeling the effects. It is going to take a couple of days to truly feel like the kids are caught up and back to normal.

Trey smiling because he got to touch the Polly Pocks

The kids also got loaded up with fun stuff at Grandma Nancy's house. Not only did they get to paint plates and figurines, but they also go their Christmas presents. As much as Trey loved his Elmo doctor kit, he really was digging the girls Polly Pockets (or polly pocks as Trey called them). They also all got cool new pajamas and some really nice Sunday clothes. The looked very sharp today at church. An added bonus this time around was that Saturday was Grandma Nancy's birthday. The kids were excited that they were able to spend some time with her on her actual birthday. She is a great Grandma who as usual was a wonderful host!

Grandma Nancy with grand kids on her Birthday

We had a great trip and feel so lucky to be blessed with such wonderful families. We truly have a lot to be grateful for again this year and family is definitely on the top of the list!

THANK goodness for Kids!

We had a fun week last week, filled with lots of fun things, but I neglected to use my camera at all to log those events and I am now having a hard time recalling what all we did. So I think I will use this post to do a quick update on the kids and perhaps in the process incorporate some of the activities we did last week.

BAYLEY continues to be our sweet beautiful girl. She loves her second grade class and teacher and did very well on her first report card. The second nine weeks have proved a bit more challenging, especially spelling, but we are working on it! She continues to enjoy dance and is looking forward to her winter recital December 13th. Bayley went to her first swim practice last week. We found a new swim team that should allow her the flexibility and practice that she wants. She will probably swim once a week and sometimes on Saturdays, just enough for a busy 7 year old. Her broken arm has healed very well and she just about has full range of motion back in her elbow. The other day I turned my head just in time to see her do her first cartwheel since the break...my heart stopped for a minute, but she was so excited that she was able to do one again.

KENDAL is Ms. Unpredictable. She is either as sweet and helpful as can be, or the opposite. Fortunately we get the sweet Kendal more than the sour, but she is still working on "not losing it". Like her big sister, she loves her dance class and is looking forward to her winter recital. She also thinks she wants to play basketball this winter. After watching her play soccer, I think she will enjoy it. She is obsessed with dogs and mentions at least once a day that she wants a doggy ( which is not going to happen). She helps out a lot with Trey and is still our little mommy. Last week when we were visiting Spencer and Leigh, Kendal's mommy skills were put to the test when Baby Spence spit up on her head...she had green beans all through the front of her hair. It was so funny...she has loved telling that story to everyone!

TREY is our busy little boy. He does all that he can to keep up with his two big sisters. Sometimes it is tough be the youngest and the third child, but most of the time he jumps right in and does what they are doing (whether that be dancing, playing Barbies, doing crafts, etc.) He has turned into a bit of a jokester and loves to act goofy. His speech continues to improve everyday. Since he started speech therapy I have noticed he really tries to say the words rather than just point or grunt. He is so much fun...most of the time!

Jeff and I love our busy little crew. We are so thankful to have them in our lives. We really have been blessed as a family and as I have been reminded numerous times lately that I really need to try my best to enjoy the journey!!

Tales of a 2 Year Old!

Halloween 2008

Some days I forget I have a 2 year old. I've been through the "terrible 2's" twice before and each time was very unique. Bayley so far was probably my most mischievous child. She had a long list of "2 Year Old Tales" well before she was even two...and then she turned 2 and the list grew even longer. In fact, I remember her continuing her mischievous ways until she was just about 3. Kendal on the other hand, was a very easy 2 year old. As far as mischief goes, she rarely if ever caused any. She had other issues, like tantrums, that we still occasionally get to deal with but other than that I breezed through her toddlerhood. Trey so far has been somewhere in the middle (knock on wood). I realize that he is only 27 months and still has a lot of 2 year old moments to come, but for the most part his mischief has been pretty manageable. It definitely helps that he has a big sister, Kendal, who usually keeps a pretty close eye on him, or at least knows what he is doing most of the time. This morning as I was finishing some of my daily tasks, I asked Kendal where and what her brother was doing. She frankly replied that he was in his room pouring out baby powder. I asked her if she was serious and she replied yes. On the walk between my bedroom and Trey's bedroom I made the conscious decision to keep my cool. When I opened the door to Trey's room (the fact that the door was closed is a good indication that Trey knew he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing) you could sense his nervousness with being caught in the act!

He immediately crawled into his bed and ignored all questions as to how, why and who was going to clean up the mess. It was actually pretty funny. I know we still have many "2 year old moments" to come, but hopefully between his sisters and his parents we can keep Trey's moments to a minimum.

Ignoring ALL questions!

Last week was another fun week for the kids. They loved dressing up yet again in their costumes and had a pretty good time trick-or-treating. Trey was really funny because we took a stroller so that he could keep up with the rest of us. He would jump out of the stroller when it was time to walk up to a door and as soon as he returned he would plop right back down in the stroller. He loved all of the Halloween decorations and at more than one house we had to threaten to leave him behind before he would quit examining the fun decor. Good times!

The Thorntons and Eden

Halloween Preview Week

Our pumpkins 2008

Last week was our warm-up for Halloween this week. Just about every night last week involved something to do with Halloween. Monday night for FHE (Family Home Evening) we decorated pumpkins. The kids had a great time and Jeff really got into carving this year. He did a great job on the scary monster the kids picked out to put on the pumpkin. The cat design was also picked out by the kids and was a new, fun option instead of carving. The kids hammered in little pegs in the design of a cats face and then the pegs light up once a light is placed inside. Really easy and something the kids could all do easily.

Wednesday I had Faith in God Girls. We decorated posters for the Branch Fall Festival which took place on Friday night. The girls had a great time and came up with some very interesting designs for the posters. While I am thinking about it, last Sunday I received a new calling in our branch. I am know the primary chorister. I am a little shocked that I was chosen given my relative lack of experience with music, but I am very excited. It is a fun calling that will definitely challenge me in a new and exciting way!

Thursday night was the Fall Festival at Bayley's school. It is their school's big fundraiser for the year and is a huge event. I felt like the entire month leading up to it they were constantly asking for donations of items to be used at the event. In the end it was a nice event and I am sure the school made LOTS of money. We left Jeff and Trey at home, while the girls and I spent about 1 hour at the event. They had a good time playing a couple of games as well as riding on the hayride.

Kendal and Bayley waiting for the hayride to start

As mentioned earlier, Friday was our Branch Fall Festival. The kids had an awesome time playing all of the games and hanging out with friends. The highlights of the evening for our family had to be the pumpkin carving contest (we won 2 out of 3 awards...great, but I think there was only one other family that entered), the cake walk, the spooky tunnel, and of course donut on a string. The kids loved all of the sweets and got enough to last quite a while.

Saturday Jeff and I focused some much needed attention on our yard. While Jeff was gone moving a new family into our branch, I started the process of trimming our out of control bushes. He finished up later that afternoon while I attended a baby shower. And then once I returned home I mowed the lawn for hopefully the last time this year. Saturday night Bayley had a Halloween Birthday Party at one of her friend's house. She had a great time, but we were all beat by the time we picked her up at 9 p.m.

I loved all the festivities of the last week and the opportunity for the kids to wear their costumes more than once this year. Kendal loves her chicken costume, Trey's lion costume has grown on him (when we first showed it to him he insisted he was going to be a doggy not a lion because he is somewhat scared of lions and lion ROARS!), and Bayley is making good use of a old dance costume by dressing as a Snow Princess. This week however is not quite as busy, which is just fine with us as we gear up for Friday night and Trick-or Treating!

Our Trip to New Mexico

Balloon Festival 2008 (Bayley is waving to the people below)

We made it! We managed to take 3 young kids across the country for a 4 day vacation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Not everything about the trip was easy, but we had a great time and made great memories. Friday we flew out of Birmingham, Alabama and after a short stop in Dallas where we fortunately did not have to change planes, we headed to El Paso, Texas which was the end of the airplane ride for us. Why did we fly to El Paso? Because the tickets were about $100 cheaper per person and the car rental was also much cheaper...an additional 4 hour drive to save about $500 was worth it in my book. Plus Jeff and I were excited to check out the city where we spent the first 3 years of our married life to see how it had changed and to catch up with some old friends. We arrived at my grandparent's house in Albuquerque at about 7 p.m. Friday night. After hellos and a dinner we headed off to bed after a long day of travel and to prepare for an 4 am morning to go to the Balloon Festival. Early morning at the Festival

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to hopefully see some balloons fly at the festival. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and the ascension was cancelled. We were able to walk around the grounds and check out different vendors. There was also a kid's tent where they had activities and crafts for the kids attending the festival. Bayley made a balloon wind chime and Trey and Kendal painted balloons. We still had a good time despite the disappointment of being unable to see any balloons. Sunday was more of the same as far as the weather was concerned so the two days we were in Albuquerque, there were ZERO balloons that were able to take off. Oh well, Kendal noted that we have seen a hot air balloon fly in Alabama before, so it was not big deal.

We did have a great visit with my grandparents. The kids loved seeing the house that their Grandma "G" grew up in and they loved picking vegetables in Great-grandpa's garden, playing with fun toys, and playing with my cousin Hannah's kids Reid and Ava. And of course, they loved "swimming" in the hot tub. We are so glad that we were able to make the trip to Albuquerque to see my Grandpa and Grandma Rogers. We had a great time and made some great memories.

Tuesday we headed back to El Paso to catch our flights back to Birmingham. While in El Paso we stopped and visited with the Waymans (Jeff's singles ward bishop while he was in El Paso), then we drove around and checked out our old neighborhood and the first house that Jeff I owned. It was fun showing Bayley where she was born and where she spent the first couple of years of her life. It is sad that she doesn't remember anything about El Paso, but we do have a lot of good memories. We didn't get back into Birmingham until 10 pm, so by the time we got home we were pretty exhausted. We were grateful that the kids behaved most of the time and that we had no flight issues!

The rest of last week Bayley had off for fall break. We didn't do too much, but that was just fine with all of us!

Bayley did get her cast off and is slowly but surely regaining motion in her elbow. The orthopedist told us to give her about 4 more weeks for her to regain full range of motion, but if she has any problems that he would send her to physical therapy. We are hoping that we will be able to avoid therapy and that her elbow will loosen up on its own.

Friday night Heidi and Eden were kind enough to come over for cookie decorating. My kids had a great time and took ownership of the cookies they decorated. I have such great friends who are always looking out for my kids and I! Thanks Heidi and Eden!

Well, it is back to the grind. I think we are all ready to get back to our normal routine. We had a great break but it is time to get back to business as usual!

Kendal showing off her soccer trophy