happy trails to you...

Busy Saturday

2011-03-14T17:06:00.005-06:00

We had a super fun and busy Saturday! I love being home with Dustin and being able to do whatever we want. We started out the day not knowing what we were going to do and getting a few things done around the house. It quickly turned very busy. I made Dustin go to the mall and check out a store that I LOVE! It's called Cozy Cottage (lame name) and has the coolest furniture and home decor. The mall trip also included lunch and a haircut for Dustin.

Dustin decided after a traumatic swimming experience for Brody the week before, he was going to take him swimming every week to get him to learn to love it. Luckily, it was a MUCH better time at the pool. Might I say, he loved it!

While we were at the pool, we got the phone call from Cory saying that he had extra tickets to the Nuggets game. We were already going to watch the BYU game, but we decided we could fit it all in. I was a little worried that Brody wouldn't be able to handle the late hour and the loud noise. It was a little iffy even when we got there. But he loved it. It was probably the least of any game this season that I have watched, but it was really fun to be there and they won!

I love being a wife and mom! It sure makes the weekends more fun!

How do you rate your performance?

2011-02-22T11:29:00.003-07:00

My friend gave a really good lesson at church on Sunday that I cannot stop thinking about. She taught about work and the blessings that come to you and others for doing it. It has made me think a lot about my new "job" as a stay at home mom. Up until last year I had worked (for a boss) for 15 years. While I loved the money that I earned, I also loved the recognition that came from my superiors. I loved being told I was doing a good job. I loved exceeding my goals. I loved being told I was doing a good job. I knew I was doing a good job based on money, results, reviews, and bosses telling me so. As a mom/wife I have struggled with knowing how I am doing a good job and knowing what I should be doing better. Are my results based on having clean/folded laundry, a home cooked dinner, groceries in the house, a clean/fed/happy baby, a clean house, paid bills, etc? It is definitely the best "job" that I have ever had, but I sometimes wish there was a coaching guide giving me my expectations. Is that weird? Is there something that you do in your own life as a mom that helps you to rate your performance?

2011-01-27T16:29:00.002-07:00

While the poor east coast was getting dumped on with snow and freezing temps, Denver was amazing! It was beautiful.... about 60 degrees! That's pretty good for January. I took Brody on a walk and decided he probably wanted to get out of the stroller and see what the grass was all about. He LOVED it! It was so hard to get many pictures of him looking at me because he was so interested in the grass and the leaves. He loves being outside and loves the sun. He even met some friends at the park. Today was one of those days that make me happy to be me, which is saying a lot because we woke up at 4:00 am.fd

Is There Someone Like This In Your Life?

2011-01-24T10:25:00.002-07:00

Let me start by saying, I know I am really good at two things... I make good cookies and I am good at ping pong. Would I rather be really good at something else? ... SURE! I would love to be a REALLY good wake boarder or be REALLY smart or a REALLY good athlete, but I am grateful for my two talents.

Anyhow, Dustin got me a ping pong table for Christmas. It was a perfect gift and we have already gotten a lot of use out of it. On New Year's we had some good friends over to play. There were some guys that were very good! BUT, I was able to beat all of them and have continued to beat them since then. Dustin told me that I even became the topic of conversation amongst the guys at church, which gave me a little too much confidence.

My dad is not good at ping pong, he is GREAT at ping pong. Well, he is actually really great at a lot of things. He happens to be a REALLY good wake boarder, is REALLY smart, and a REALLY good athlete. I have probably played my dad about 500 games of ping pong in my life, and I think I have only beat him 3 times.

I thought for sure after playing as much as I have lately, I could beat my dad. He probably has not played in over a year and still whooped me last night... 3 times! Is there anyone like that in your life? Someone who can beat you at something, no matter how good you think you are?Someone who can always give you a serving of humble pie?

Happy Half Birthday to Brody!

2011-01-21T09:18:00.004-07:00

Brody turned 6 months old yesterday! It's crazy how quickly time has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital.

At one month old he was all smiles. He has been the smiliest baby!

Here he is at six months old. He does not sit still. He is the busiest little guy (just like his dad). He will come in for a little cuddle, which lasts for 3 seconds and then is on to find something else to do. He loves his toys, especially his jumper that he got from Grandma Shirley for Christmas.

It's hard to catch him smiling these days because he is usually moving his legs or arms so quickly that the camera gets blurry. Here were some of our attempts yesterday.

Breckenridge!

2011-01-18T08:48:00.006-07:00

We finally had the opportunity to go to Breckenridge this year with my family! I have not been there with them in over 5 years because I have always had to work. It was great to have all 23 people there. We even got to spend the weekend with Traci and Collin who came to town. It was really fun to have Brody up there!

Does it get any cuter than this guy? Seriously! Dustin and I are okay looking, but we make REALLY cute kids! At least so far...

We had a great time sledding with all of the little kids. We brought up my snowmobile and had fun in the empty lot next door. Aaron and Steffan rigged a sled behind it and we all had a great time being pulled around. The sled was a little too powerful for my dad... HaHa... it happens to me all of the time!

We also spent a bunch of time sledding down the driveway. Brody had his first sled ride with Dustin. He liked it a lot. Who knows how long I am going to have before Dustin gets him on the snowmobile?

We also had a shrimp boil! It was a little crazy with all of the food just chillin on the table, but it was really good! Plus, it made for a quick clean up!

Thanks to mom and dad for making it a super fun weekend!

2010

2010-12-22T20:35:00.011-07:00

As we reflect over this last year, we think 2010 might have been the best year of our lives so far! We had a super busy year, full of new adventures. We started out the year in February with the trip of a life time. We went down under and started out in New Zealand and finished in Australia. Our highlights from the trip include (but not limited to) hiking through scenery found in Lord of the Rings (which neither of us can truly appreciate), seeing the most majestic waterfalls in the world, petting wallabies in Sydney, scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, Dustin learning to surf, a jet boat ride (one that Jen would like to forget), and seeing the many sights that New Zealand and Australia have to offer. It was an incredible trip that we will remember forever! It was also the perfect way to spend some time together before the most incredible journey of our lives would begin.

In July our lives would be changed forever. We became parents to the most beautiful little baby boy. We named him Brody. He was 6 pounds 14 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. We could not be prouder of our little guy. We have spent countless hours staring at him and enjoying every stage of his life so far. He is about to sit on his own and enjoys rolling around, sucking on his hands and sometimes even his toes. He loves to laugh and has the cutest smile on earth! Our lives have changed drastically... we haven't been to a movie in months, we rarely go out to dinner, we cannot remember the last time we had a good nights sleep, and we couldn't be happier!

Dustin spent much of the summer perfecting his tricks on the wakeboard. He is quite the natural on the water. He also spent a lot of time with his new love, his Harley. He loves taking it for rides up through the mountains. At about 8 months of being pregnant, Jen decided that it was probably best to stop riding the hog, so Dustin found some buddies to take their bikes out for some fun times. He also enjoyed a fun backpacking trip with Josh and their buddies. They hiked from Estes Park to Grand Lake and had a great time being with the "guys".

In October we had the chance to visit Dustin's old stomping grounds from his mission. We spent a long weekend in Philadelphia. We visited the historical sights and most importantly had a lot of Rita's Water Ice and one too many Philly Cheesesteaks. The trip showed us how different our lives are now. We ended up at the hotel with take out twice because Brody wasn't a happy camper at the restaurants. We also had the experience of flying with a baby... wow!

The holidays have been so much fun with Brody around. Jen has enjoyed being a stay at home mom and not working retail during the rush of the holiday season. Dustin is kept busy working full time at Certifit and dealing with the many issues that come with being a landlord. He has also found time to play on a basketball team and work on his collection of tools in the garage. He never really uses them because he can borrow Josh's easier... he actually knows where all of his are!

We look foward to 2011! We can't wait for the many new adventures we will have as a family.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-19T21:27:00.005-07:00

Last year the holidays were so much fun for us. It was our first year being married and we had to much fun being together. Who knew that this year could top last year so much? It's all because of Brody! He is the greatest little guy! We have loved every new phase. I especially love this new phase. He is giggling and rolling and actually loves when I sing. As per Thornton family tradition, we went downtown to see the lights. It happened to be the coldest weekend of the year so far, but we had lots of fun. Here are some pics of the night...

Grandma and Grandpa with all of the grand kids.... tough shot, but they are cute!

Our cute little family!

Me and Dustin
Cory and Tiffany

Amy and Steffan

Mom and Dad

Mya and Jaxon were fighting over who got to push Brody. They are great older cousins to him.

Emily and Aaron and the twins.

What a fun year it has been! We can't wait for Traci and Collin to get here in a few weeks! Merry Christmas!

We gave thanks...

2010-12-05T19:56:00.006-07:00

Thanksgiving was extra special for me this year for two big reasons. The first was because of Brody. He has given me so many things to be thankful for. He makes me smile all day long. He is also the first person to make me smile when he wakes me up in the middle of the night. I love being a mom!

The second reason was that I actually got to enjoy the day without having to worry about having to wake up at 5 in the morning to drive to work in the dark, park a mile away, work 18 hours, and deal with the craziness that is Black Friday. The holidays have already been a million times better without retail in our lives. Everyday I am thankful that I don't have to work and get to raise Brody! Thanks to Dustin for making that an option for me!

Anyhow, this is the cute little guy on his first Thanksgiving!

Here is Grandma Lisa with the granddaughters (minus Mya)...

Ruby and I had fun taking pictures. She is such a cutie!

Dustin had fun wrestling and playing games with the little guys. They LOVE Dustin!

Jaxon got me to try and put a puzzle together with everyone. We didn't get very far.

Brody and Dustin got a good post Turkey nap in.

On Friday night we got to go to Zoo lights with the Coopers. It was great to hang out with them and the weather was perfect. It was the best night to go!

Brody slept thru most of it, but woke up for the Giraffes! They are our favorites, so we were happy for him to see real life ones.

On Saturday we headed to Granby to hang out with the Trails. Brody loves the mountains almost as much as his dad.

It was an awesome Thanksgiving!

Outerwear Debacle

2010-11-16T14:47:00.006-07:00

So far getting Brody in the right sizes for the right season has worked out perfectly. Since we had such a warm fall, he got to wear his summer clothes up until they didn't fit and then it was cold and time to wear warm clothes. It has been perfect! Well, perfect until now...

It has been snowing and thus time to buy a warm coat for Brody. Some things have been super fun so far, like hats! I love hats and I love buying them for Brody. He even likes wearing them so far. This was a really cute one I found and had to have, of course making me want to buy a cute brown coat to go with... NO LUCK! I found this really cute bunting, but as you can see, it's not going to last long. The 3-6 month is perfect, for now. It probably won't last until Christmas. So, I will probably have to get him the 6-12 month as well. By the way, whoever invent the size 6-12 month did not have kids! Brody will probably double in size from 6 to 12 months.
This is a coat that I finally found and thought would work (plus it has the brown to match the cute hat), but as you can see, it probably won't fit for quite sometime.
This is just plain cute.

And this is the 6-12 month coat that I ordered online. He probably would not fit in this until next year. By the way, this is the smallest that they make this coat.

I understand there is no way to put a baby in a coat into his car seat and we could just use blanket then, but what do I do in the mountains when he is not in a car seat? Especially when my husband insists on taking him snowmobiling... what do I do then?

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-01T13:40:00.001-06:00

Halloween was extra fun for us this year because we had Brody around!

We got to dress him up and take him to the ward trunk or treat and then to my parent's neighborhood for the party and trick or treating!

He is becoming a thumb sucker! AHHH! I hope this doesn't lead to braces and kids picking on him when he is still doing it in the third grade. For now, I will take whatever soothes him (especially when he has had a stupid ear infection)!

Have you ever seen such a cute lion in your life! He was adorable!

Ward trunk or treat!

He was exhausted from looking so cute... he was also probably hot from the 75 degree weather!

On Sunday we went to my mom and dad's house for more festivities and to celebrate Amy's birthday. All of the kids were adorable. Brody was not so happy and did not feel very good, but he was good enough to put on his costume and trick or treat for a bit... and by trick or treat I mean carry him down and the street and not actually go to any doors.

Here are the twins with Brody.

And this is how the night pretty much looked! Hopefully next year, he will be happier and healthier!

The Trails Enter the Blogosphere

2010-10-26T15:33:00.000-06:00

Since my last posting of my last blog (inlovewithshoes), a lot has happenned. I got engaged,

got married

honeymooned in Mexico!

Went to New Zealand and Australia!

Got Pregnant!

Had a baby!

and not once did I blog about any of it. That's a little strange since I used to blog about buying shoes and ordering french fries. It's about time I start blogging about the important stuff! Some might go back in time to catch up on some of my highlights over the last couple of years. Anyhow... The Trails have a blog now!