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