Tuesday, December 30, 2008

A Christmas party to remember.

[This is formatting weird. But it took forever to get it on here and I don't want to mess with it. So i'm leaving it]
Every year we have a Thueson extended family Christmas party. This year it was at my parents house. This post is mainly for the family members who couldn't come (although I imagine by now they've heard all about it!). This year turned out to be a bit more exciting than most and I know several people in attendance have been waiting for the pictures and video footage from the night, so here you go.

It started out the same as most years. Everyone was late, we had tons of good food (but way too much of it) and there were crazy kids running everywhere.
Here's the patriach of the family (my dad) and his younger brother (the one on the right).


















Cousin Sam just got home from his mission a few days before the party. He did a good job not acting overwhelmed, but I'm sure he was.














































































My parents put together a little program. Some reading and singing. Thuesons singing is definitely a treat. :) I was going to put video footage on here, but it hurts to listen to so I decided not. We have a few great singers mixed in with some not so great singers. No names will be mentioned.





























































If you made it this far, here comes the fun part. Right before the program was to start, Shane walked in with his Christmas gift for my mom and dad. In true Shane fashion, he actually paid for and GAVE my parents two goats for Christmas. I'm not kidding. He gave them goats. A little history: While Shane was in Ghana visiting my parents on their mission earlier this year, my mom ran across some goats walking down the road. She stopped to pet one and said "Oh, I want a goat." She didn't mean it. Shane took it literally. So, for christmas, he bought her goats.
Here he is just as he walked through the door. The girl holding the other goat is his friend Sara.
She's thrilled.
They were a big hit with the kids. Mya loved them. Jaida stood on the couch shrieking in terror. The goats roamed around the kitchen. When everyone cleared the room, they pooed and peed everywhere (I'm sure in terror). My mom doesn't know that. I guess she does know. Shane, of course, was responsible for cleaning it up. And in case anyone is wondering, goats stink. Really bad.



















A few days later, the goats and I had a little photo shoot out on the back patio. It didn't last very long because Doug (the fatter brown one) backed up and looked like he was going to charge me. Photo shoot over.

They're kinda cute. Their names are Doug and Gene. No idea who named them (it was either Jeremy or Shane).
































































And here's some video footage to document it all. As you can tell, mom wasn't pleased. And she's adamant that she's not keeping them. They are still at her house. . . .who knows, maybe she'll grow to love them. Shane claims he's finding them a new home. He just has to "run some background checks." My guess--they'll be at the Thueson's for quite a while. Unless someone else wants them. Anyone? Anyone?









You may not want to watch this one in front of inquisitive children who may ask "What are they doing?" (like Jaida just did). They're both boys. Hmmmm....





You can read more about the goats on my brothers blog at http://jeremusings.blogspot.com/2008/12/hey-goat.html if this isn't enough. :)

And what better way to end all the excitement than with some IV antibiotics. My dad had to get knee surgery (a few days before Christmas) due to an infection that started in his mouth (long story). He now has to get IV antibiotics for 2 weeks, twice a day. Luckily he's a doctor and has a son in medical school, so between the two of them, he's able to do it all at home and not in a rehab center. He's using the coat wrack as his IV pole. We've also been known to use chairs, bed posts, and a really long stick (yes, we've done IV's at our house several times, myself being one of the recipients).
































Few. It's over.

Uploading videos

Can anyone tell me how to upload a video clip from You tube to blogger? I have some videos I can't get uploaded straight through blogger so I'm trying through You tube.
Thanks.

Monday, December 22, 2008

It's a Christmas miracle!



After two weeks of nightly coughing, 95% of the time accompanied by throw-up (by both girls one night--super awesome), BOTH girls slept through the ENTIRE night. Asleep by 10 and didn't wake up until 9:30. This has never happened. I haven't slept that good since Jaida was born. In fact, I was sore when I woke up because I stayed in the same position too long. So now I get to spend the day cleaning, doing laundry, shoveling walks, etc. because I'm well rested and have no excuse. Thank you to the sleeping angels who knew I was on the brink of a complete mental break-down.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Letters to Santa.

Their letters probably should have started with "Dear Santa, I can explain." Love these girls.

Translation: Obviously Mya's is scribbles. She's smart, but not quite writing letters. But she does know "the B says Buh" and is happy to tell anyone she sees. Although sometimes the B says other sounds as well. Depends on the day. When Mya sat on Santa's lap (yes, she sat on his lap with NO tears--pictures to come), she said "I want wip gwoss (lip gloss)." That's all she requested.





Translation: Dear Santa, I want: Big bike (her's is one of those tiny ones and she can't go as fast as the kids with "big bikes"), lip gloss, computer (one she can type letters on), books, notebook, barbie (she wants princess barbies). Love, Jaida.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A day of giving Thanks.

Our Thanksgiving Day. In pictures. And brief commentary.

My dad giving the turkey a cold water cleansing.Poor Mike got stuck making Yams. It's my least favorite thing to make on Thanksgiving. Ugh.
The giblets (sp?). My dad makes a very fragrant soup with these in it. Nasty.
Kelli got a funky new curling iron so she tried it out on all the little girls. J looked like a little girl straight out of the 60s.
Getting the oil hot for the deep fried turkey.

Shane rubbin' the bird down with some special spices.

J manning the vegie tray.

Mya helped set the table.

The head chef.

You have to tuck the wings in or the bird won't fit. And hot oil is splashing everywhere while you're trying to do it. I was safe behind the lens. These other 3 risked life and limb to get us all fed. Thanks for taking one for the team.

We're sooooo glad Nana and Papa were home for Thanksgiving this year. No more missions.

The bird ready to fry.

My dad injecting the turkey with a marinade. Check out the size of that syringe. I won't mention what else he's used it for.

The finished product.


Oven turkey.
Shane submerged the turkey with a caulking gun. It was the only thing we could find.
A shot of the whole gang. We were ALL there this year.

Getting her vegies in before the pie. What a good girl.

If you know Shane, this picture is so him.