Domestic goddess

My cooking/baking skills have been on a sabbatical for the past month..no, two months. It's sad. My poor family.

The other day I had thrown a pork roast in the crockpot and then smothered the beast in BBQ sauce - not much of an effort to redeem myself here. Michael was out golfing so on his way home I had him stop at the grocery store to pick up some rolls for the shredded pork sandwiches. When he gets home dinner is almost ready and I tossed some zucchini from my grandmas garden in the pot to boil and voiala, a meal. While eating that sweet man turns and says "wow babe, I LOVE it when you cook". Fail. I felt so bad that to him that was "cooking". Bless his heart.

To make matters worse on the domestic front, I was out with my mother-in-law on my michaels brothers birthday. For his birthday his request for lunch was lasagna. When we pull in the driveway she says "I should probably start the lasagnas now" In my head I'm thinking Costco frozen lasagna, then I open my big mouth and say "so, how do you do yours?, do you thaw them out in the microwave first and then let them finish heating in the oven?" she looks at me and replies "uhhh, no...I make them...ya know, from scratch". Crap. I can't even layer noodles, spaghetti sauce and cheese. I have to buy it that way. That was my low point.

So today, I am actually cooking! Spaghetti sauce from scratch, homemade bread, fresh mozzarella, homegrown basil..the works people. I'm determined to make a comeback. Wish me luck. If you see any Arby's bags in our trash can this week, you will know that my attempts were for naught.

Lately

I clearly have a failed blog. It's been an entire year since our last post. Sad.

We have moved from the city and live in the great metropolis of Salt Lake. We traded in our metro cards for car keys and our stroller for a carseat. Seriously, the first week we were back I was driving on the freeway and saw tumbleweed. Yes people, tumbleweed. I cried.

Since leaving the city we vowed to never:
-take our child on a flight...especially a red eye
-live in anything less than 1600 square feet
-pay $5.00 for a gallon of milk
Just small things.


Annie just turned 2 in june and is happy all the time! She talks nonstop and loves to follow me around. She loves friends, gymnastics, trains, books, cooking with me, going running with me and riding her scooter.
Michael quit his job in April and working for himself now. He has 2 companies that he is working on and is loving it! Happy husband = happy wife. He has enjoyed being back in Utah. He spends his free time golfing and creating algorithms. He has also lost a lot of weight.
I am staying busy being a mom, crafting, cooking and shopping. I have also taken up great liking to working out, we used to not be close friends.

We (oh, did I say we? I meant, I) will be better at blogging, I pinky swear.

Phonetically Challenged

Not the best sounding restaraunt. I have no idea what the food is like
either, we ended up going next door. Welcome to Maui!

World's Most Desired Book

I know you all have been looking for it, luckily I found it at the
Polynesian Cultural Center! Finally, a book that you can really use!

Aloha from Oahu - Turtle Bay

What a day! We arrived in Honolulu, forgot our camera on the plane,
went back to get it, I (Michael) accidently jumped on the freeway
instead of circling the airport to pick Shannon up (she went to get
the camera from baggage claim). No worries though, it only took me 30
minutes to figure out how to get back to the airport. We got to
Turtle Bay on the N Shore, which is a fantastic resort. They upgraded
our room, we went to dinner (had some amazing crab legs) and took a
walk on the beach. The picture is of Shannon in a "warrior" stance,
just like the statue. Awesome isn't it! What a great day. I'm looking
forward to Ukelele lessons tomorrow morning!

Hand Mouth Coordination

Annie is still working on the hand to mouth coordination. She's improving though. More and more is getting on her face as opposed to say the ground.

Hand Mouth Coordination

Annie is still working on the hand to mouth coordination. She's improving though. More and more is getting on her face as opposed to say the ground.



Michael

Annie and San Fran

So I realize it's been a super long time since we posted anything. But here is a really cute picture of Annie in a pit of balls. So cute. Last week after getting back fron San Fran we took Annie to a playground and played around a bit. She loved it for the most part. She played in the balls, crawled all over and even jumped on the mini trampoline with Shannon's assistance. It was a really fun day and not something I've had in quite a while-nearly an entire day with Annie. I decided that needs to happen as often as possible. Enjoy the photo.

This second photo has a story. I was in SFC for interviews and I needed to rent a car to get to Sacramento one afternoon. I rented a midsized car thinking it would be economical, etc. Well when I got to the rental shop they were out of the car I ordered so they offered me a royal blue mustang convertible. Typically the mustang isn't really my type of car. Actually, not just typically. It's not my type of car. Regardless I took it because I thought to myself, "how often do I get free upgrades anyway. I might as well take it.". It was an absolutely beautiful day and I thought I might pop the top - didn't happen. The Sacramento trip was pretty uneventful, but below is my proof to the world that when I got in the car there was slightly less than a half tank. If they charge me extra for not returning it full - I have proof!

Swimming

Annie has taken on a new favorite hobby, SWIMMING! She is so cute floating around the pool. She also discovered a love for sand, she found this love by tasting it....of corse:( If you read this blog you should know by now that 1) I don't blog often and 2) When I do I don't write a lot. So, enjoy a few pictures!

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

...btw, to listen to the card, turn off the standard music for the blog by scrolling to the bottom of the page and pressing pause on the player.

Boston

For Labor Day, we took the train to Boston. We headed out of the house at 6 to catch a 7 a.m. train. We went to the Boston Commons and the Public Gardens, a Duck tour, Fenway, Old State House, The Paul Revere home, Old Cemetaries, Long Warf and much more. We had a blast!

Apple picking

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A few weeks ago we went with some friends to New Jersey to go apple picking. We had a great time finding apples, playing in the pumpkin patch and taking fun pictures. We had so much fun, Annie fell asleep on the way home!

Annie swinging

She loves to go to the park. Enjoy this short video.

What is new in the 212?

I haven't posted in a good 2 months, I feel like I should. We have been having so much fun lately! Annie LOVES the swing at the park, we go there quite often, I have no idea how we will survive the winter. Here are some snapshots of her.

Annie

We have had such a fun time with Annie! The last 8 weeks have been the hardest weeks of my life, but we have enjoyed this little bundle SO much! She is such a good baby. She either sleeps through the night or only wakes up once! While we were in Utah we got some really cute pictures of her. We love this little girl and are so glad that she is ours!

Annie Thornton Birth Announcement

 

Perfect Father's Day and Birthday

Our first full day back from the hospital was Father's Day and my
birthday. You guessed it, the big 27. Shannon made these pancakes just
to remind me :). What a perfect day! There couldn't be any better
gift for a birthday/fathers day combo than a new, beautiful daughter!

NYC BBQ Block Party (Madison Square Park)

Catching up on some posts. This is where Shannon and I were the weekend before Annie was born. It was a really good time and Shannon was an incredible sport to suggest and come along. The lines were long but overall it was worth it. It was a good time!

Sleeping Annie

Here is another picture of Annie. This girl is soooo adorable!

Presenting...Annie Thornton

Many of you have been asking when we're going to post pictures of Annie and this morning I received the request that broke the camel's back (and I had a spare moment with Annie and Shannon asleep).

Annie was born on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009, weighing 6 lbs and measuring 18.5".

Thank you all for your support and well wishes.