Thanksgiving

Okay, so Jon and I found ourselves both alone on Thanksgiving at the same time. Me...for obvious reasons. And him....well, his family was all in IA celebrating with his sister. He would have probably gone too, but like me, he was stuck working the day after Thanksgiving. Boo hiss! We decided to give cooking a try and though we didn't make a full-on turkey, Jon made some awesome turkey breasts and mashed potatoes. Meanwhile, I made some green bean casserole and the worlds most AWFUL apple crisp. It wasn't my fault though, I didn't remember to bring the right size baking dish and apparently folks...that is ACTUALLY important despite what you might think. We also decorated Jon's tree and decorated my entire house the previous night. We took some pictures to commemorate our 1st official Thanksgiving together. Keep in mind, MOST of these pictures we were being silly and posing like Barker's Beauties!!

The spread!!

Jon, welcoming everyone to the table....err, me to the table.

Me enjoying the delightful aroma of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Can you tell we were getting desperate for table angles?

High class, drinking wine out of a martini glass

Our favorite shot of the day....the overhead!!

Part 1 of 2: Jon making a pool in his mashed potatoes, watch out....

...here comes the gravy!

Jon in front of the impeccably decorated Christmas tree...and of course with Hershey!

Wow, look at that beauty...and the tree looks good too!

House Party - 2007

Well Jon and I hosted a house party at Jon's house in Cottage Grove. After weeks and weeks of prepping food and games, the big event finally arrived. We were rather pleased with the turnout and mix of people that graced us that night. We had an awesome time and had a lot of laughs. We started with an appetizer/cocktail hour. We followed that up with a taco buffet on only the best paper plates money can buy. We followed that with some games which can really only be described in the pictures below. And finally, we did a bit of karaoke-ing. It was an absolute blast and hopefully can be an annual affair!!

Jon and Paige trying to open a bottle of wine with a screw and pliers???

Matt and Dave

Sara and Kim (Jon's cousin)

Mike and Ken

Paige and I

Yo quiero tacos con mis amigos!

Okay, this does require SOME explanation I guess. This is musical chairs...however there is a new twist on a very OLD game. You put bags of silly clothing/silly items/costumes/accessories/etc under each chair and each time the music stops and a person finds a chair, they must reach under it and pull out one of the items without peeking in the bag. Here are some of the pictures...proceed with caution!!

Uhhhhhh, creepy!!

The final outcome!

Nice moves Dave!!

Jon and I made a bracket of our Ping Pong Tournament. We went all out as you can see!!

Ken showing us best ping pong moves!

Here is another fun game we played! It is a relay race around the ping pong table where the two competitors must wrap nylons around their waist that contain a grapefruit in the bottom. They must use a pendulum motion from their hips to push the ping pong with the grapefruit.

Sara and I nearing the finish line!!

Jon and Dave caught in the act of singing!

Kim and Jon caught in the act of singing. Notice in both pictures, Jon doesn't have a mic, but he did have a drink on the table behind him!

Matt singing a Foreigner song!

Need I say more??

Kelly's 30th Birthday

So, after all the planning and hoopla, the party is finally over! It was a rousing success, even though the ENTIRE family showed up to the wrong restaurant. Due to the mix up and being against the clock, the family resembled something close to a Benny Hill sketch. We immediately went into fast forward mode and looked like a group of mental patients who had escaped the Psychiatric Ward.

Kelly seemed truly surprised, even though our entrance into the party was not quiet nor graceful. Nobody in my family would have made a good thief. She shed a few tears, made her rounds to all the guests, and received some fabulous gifts. The food, drink, and company were terrific!

Jon made the trip with me and he received rave reviews from the family so I guess that makes it official. He was great sport during all the travel and party trials and tribulations.

The Birthday Cake! Kelly catching up upon arrival... .....more catching up! Denise, Corrie, Jon, and I Grandma Burgess and Kelly....it isn't Kelly's fault that she had so many shiny trinkets on her shirt...we made her do it!! Grandma B and I My mommy and I!! The new family...Dad, mom, Kelly, Greg, Jon, and I