Thornock.Org

It would take WAY too much time to tell you about all that we’ve done in the past month. So here are some bullet points and some pictures to go along with them:

I taught preschool and threw a Preschool Christmas party

Allie and I went with our girlfriends to Disney on Ice. Allie was in heaven!

Went to the Raleigh temple to see a Live Nativity Scene and show Allie the temple. They also had a room for kids to dress up and Allie had fun dressing up as Mary. She couldn’t stop kissing the baby doll.

Went to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro

We had a Christmas Eve dinner with some friends

Christmas morning was so perfect. Allie got EVERYTHING she wanted (way too much princess stuff). It was such a peaceful and relaxing day.

We went to Corolla, NC to a beach house with some friends over New Years. It was freezing so we mainly stayed indoors. We played lots of games and soaked in the hot tub.

We had a wonderful month but we missed family greatly! One of my goals this year is to update this blog more often…I’ve been slacking. Happy New Year to everyone!

To one, to all, Merry Christmas. We hope this letter finds you well, with hot chocolate in your belly and fuzzy slippers on your feet. As for us, we can’t wait for Christmas to enjoy each other’s company and relax at home. We will sorely miss being away from family, this being the first year in our married life to do so. But Santa will visit us here in Chapel Hill just as he would out west, and we’ll celebrate as a small family the best season of the year.

This year has treated us well. Of most significance, we three became four. Our son, Luke, is now six months old and is as lively as ever. He rolls, sits up and falls over, tries to steal food while we’re eating and laughs as his older sister mauls him. More than once, we have said to ourselves, “so this is what a boy is like” as Luke squirms, wiggles and grunts for attention. We love him. Most of all, Allie loves him—so much so that she constantly kisses, hugs and suffocates him. She has nicknamed him “Jeh-Jeh,” which came from thin air. The rest of us call him Buster and Pokey, which also came from thin air. It seems that he is just so lovable that he needs three nicknames to accommodate our affection for him.

Allie, age 3, took some serious steps toward growing up this year. She got rid of the pacifier, moved to a big girl bed, started pre-school and dance lessons, and very stubbornly mastered potty training. She has developed a healthy imagination and often tells stories that include princesses, horses, frogs, unicorns and Jesus—usually with some combination of those characters. When Luke was born, we were worried that she would reject the idea of another child absorbing much of mommy’s attention—but Allie responded amazingly well by loving and nurturing her baby brother. She brags often that she is a big sister. Seriously, we hate that she is growing up, but we sure enjoy these milestones in her life and she seems to generally take them in stride.

Kerrie spends most of her day chasing the two kids mentioned above. She, like most mothers, lives much of her life through the eyes and hands of her children. Being a mother is Kerrie’s greatest joy and struggle. Such is life. At nights, when the kids have finally left her some time for herself, she enjoys a good movie, surfing family blogs and watching the Office. And she continues to moonlight as an amateur photographer. Kerrie has made some great friends here in North Carolina and enjoys play-dates with them while the kids run wild.

Jake is plodding along through school…still. He completed his coursework towards his doctorate and is now working on a dissertation. We’re more than halfway done here at UNC and hope to get a job out West when graduation finally approaches. Jake works most of the day, but spends plenty of time playing. He is certainly the most spoiled member of the family. What he wants, he gets and the rest of us oblige because his tantrums are the biggest of all. Jake has had some fun opportunities to travel this year for accounting conferences—he went to Memphis in March, Provo in October and will be visiting New Orleans and Orlando in the next couple months. Someday, he’ll have a real job.

Life has been mostly good for us. Of course, we’ve had our angry, pouty, selfish, sleepy, gassy, rolley-poley, schleppy moments, but we remember the good things. And that’s what counts. We want you to know that you are one of those good things that we remember. We miss you and love you.

Merry Christmas,
Jake, Kerrie, Allie and Luke

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Normally we feel a little homesick on Thanksgiving but this year we were too busy to feel sorry for ourselves. We hosted the feast at our apartment and had a full house. There were fourteen people and a dog. We had so much food, the dog even feasted. Here are some pictures:

This is the first turkey I’ve ever made. It turned out very tender and delicious, if I say so myself. I used the Homestyle Turkey, the Michigander Way recipe so I can’t take too much credit. Anything smothered in butter will turn out delicious.

The gang about to dig in(minus me, two babies and the dog).

YUM!!! Turkey, mashed potatoes/gravy, rolls, corn on cob, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffing, homemade baked beans, raspberry jello dessert, and deviled eggs. Not to mention there were appetizers: veggies and ranch, cheese and crackers, pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing. And of course we topped off the evening with some chocolate pecan pie, pumpkin cream pie and ice cream.


Allie’s meal consisted of crackers, muffins, rolls, pie and ice cream. A nice well rounded meal.

Luke watched from the sidelines.

After dinner we exercised it off by playing Wii boxing matches. We had some good laughs watching each couple take each other on. Allie got into it as well.

We had a Thankful Tree. Every day in November Allie would say something she is thankful for and we’d put it on a leaf and onto the tree. She came up with some interesting things: wishes, princesses, beds, bags. She also came up with some very meaningful things: family, friends, home, food, Jesus Christ, church, prophet.

Lastly, I want to say how grateful I am for my darling children, amazing husband, perfect parents, siblings who I adore, wonderful in-laws and super fun friends. I’m also grateful for my health, my home, and for the food that we have. My Heavenly Father and Savior are especially important and I’m extremely thankful that I know of them and their plan for me.

Luke is six months old. Can you believe it? I hardly can. These past six months have flown by. Luke had his check up today and here are his stats:

18 lbs 5oz (just below 75%)
26 3/4 inches (75%)

I am shocked that he’s not in the 90th percentile. He seems huge to me and apparently to everyone else as well. Everyone assumes he’s a 9 month old because of his size.

He’s healthy and hitting his milestones on target. He is rolling everywhere, sitting up, saying mama (although I doubt he knows what that means), he laughs hard at Allie and he ate rice cereal for the first time today. He loved it!

Allie absolutely adores Cinderella right now. So, Cinderella she was. She got to wear her costume a lot this year. The Halloween fun began a week ago at our Ward Trunk or Treat. She scored lots of candy. Then she had a preschool party on Thursday where they told ghost stories, decorated cookies, and paraded around the lobby of our apartment buildings. On Halloween morning she dressed up again in her Cinderella costume to dance and twirl and shake her sillies out at her dance class. That afternoon, we went to the student-housing festival. She got her cheek painted, decorated cupcakes, made little crafts, etc. Then we came back to our place and had some friends over for taco soup and corn bread. After dinner we went to another festival. We decided she had plenty of candy left over from the church party so she didn’t need any more. The festival had lots of games for little kids and they would get a toy for playing. When Allie woke up this morning I asked her what she wants to be for Halloween next year. Her reply: “naked girl.” That truly is her next favorite costume. I have to force her to wear clothing most days. Don’t worry, I won’t let her be naked girl next year…it just made me laugh so I thought I’d share.

Jake and I were lame…we didn’t dress up.

Our pretty princess.

Luke was a leopard for Halloween. Allie wore the same costume when she was a baby. I put their pictures side by side and was surprised at how similar they look. Can you tell who is who? This quiz shouldn’t be too hard.

We headed south to Myrtle Beach, SC last week for a much needed vacation. Our hotel was right on the beach so we spent most of our time in the water. When we weren’t at the beach or swimming in the hotel’s many pools, we hit the outlet mall and Alligator Adventure. We had a very relaxing and enjoyable stay and hope to continue this summer tradition until we move away from North Carolina. Here are some pictures:

This was our view from our balcony. Luke was kind enough to wake us up early so we could watch the sun rise on the Atlantic ocean. Although I would have rather been sleeping, it was beautiful! (I didn’t get a picture of it though).

As soon as both kids were awake, we ate a quick breakfast then headed to the beach. I think this was around 7:45AM.

Here’s Jake and Luke taking a walk. Both weather and water were warm…perfect! However, a few hours later the rain clouds rolled in and started pouring. We would have continued playing on the beach had we not had a 3 month old with us. So instead, we went swimming at the pool.

The hotel had five different pools; three of them were specifically designed for children. They had an indoor and outdoor section. Allie loved the pool, however, she steered clear of any tipping water buckets. She didn’t like getting her head wet.

Here’s a picture of the outdoor kiddie pool.

Jake and Allie chillin in the lazy river.

We were waiting for an animal show to begin at Alligator Adventure. Luke wasn’t as excited about it.

Allie got to pet a baby alligator. It was extremely humid there, hence the crazy hair we both have.

Luke fast asleep in dad’s arms. Yes, those are alligators behind him.

We got to watch them feed the alligators raw chicken. Holy schnikes those are some scary creatures!

They did have other animals and reptiles, including this very large tortoise.

Here is an albino alligator. Quite an ugly site.

So, can anyone tell me the difference between a crocodile and alligator (without cheating and googling it)? I found out the main difference at one of their animal shows.

When we arrived home we bathed the kiddies and put them to bed.

On Wednesday we went to Lake Jordan for a birthday party and it was so much fun. The lake had a playground, picnic tables and grills, bathrooms with changing rooms and showers, sand to play in and the water was so shallow I didn’t have to worry very much about our fearless Allie. I don’t know why we haven’t been going to the lake once a week. It’s only 25 minutes from us. Anyway, here are some pictures from the lake:

I was sitting down…that’s how shallow it is in the swimming area.

Luke taking five.

He’s got the same concerned look that Allie had as an infant.

Hours of fun in the sun!

Allie started her dance class on Friday. She loves it. Here’s our pretty princess ready to go to class.

We are off to Myrtle Beach, SC for a much needed vacation. We’ll post pictures when we return.

The title pretty much sums up our past week. We went to a Durham Bulls game last week with some friends and participated in the Dollar Dog night. The hot dogs were nasty…not even worth the buck we spent on it. However, the french fries were awesome. We had a great time at the game and the Bulls won.


This huge shopping cart was a hit for Allie.

This past weekend was Allie’s friends birthday and she had a pool party. Allie was very excited to go swimming.

I think this picture is so cute. They look a lot alike, don’t they?

Here is Allie and her boyfriend. They held hands from the pool all the way to the picnic area. They are too cute together.

We said our goodbyes to our trusty old friend, Goldilocks (our gold Camry) and traded her in for a new friend, who is currently nameless. Here she is:

Feel free to suggest a name. She’s a 2002 Honda Odyssey and is decked with everything (leather, DVD player, VCR, CD, auto sliding doors, heated seats, etc.) Other than some minor dents, chips and normal wear, it’s in pretty good shape for a 6 year old minivan. I know what you’re probably thinking; “You don’t need a minivan with your small family and why they heck would you upgrade to a gas guzzling vehicle when gas prices are so high.” Well, our Camry was in desperate need of some major repairs. It has served us well but with over 160k on it, it was time to be traded in. We decided to go with a minivan since we will eventually need one. Plus we love the extra space. AND…now we have three extra seats so all you westerners can feel free to come visit us and we will chauffeur you around North Carolina.

Other than our big purchase, not too much is going on. As always, Jake is extremely busy; he’s working on three papers, not including his dissertation. The kids and I have had many play dates with friends this summer. It’s been scorching hot lately so we have been staying indoors. We got out early this morning and went to the playground where Allie played in the sand for a few hours. By 10am, I was ready to go home to our air conditioned apartment. Here are some pictures of the kiddos:

When Luke was born we wondered who he looked like. We assumed he would look exactly like Allie but he surprised us with his own unique look. He had a more pointy, upturned nose and heart shaped face, less round than Allie’s. Well, last night I was looking through Allie’s newborn pictures and found one of her smiling at 8 weeks. I pulled up Luke’s 6 week old picture and I was surprised at how similar they look. They aren’t identical but they are definitely siblings. Wouldn’t you agree?