Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Well, I can't believe that the New Year is here already. It seems like it was only yesterday that we had a New Years party with some new friends. This year, we had a similar get together with the same families from last year, as well as three others, who are all now, dear friends. The evening was a smashing success ~ lots of tea, cookies, mom's Cajun Red Beans and Rice, Mrs. Sanford's fudge, Sierra's brownies and wwwwwaaaaayyyy more that would take forever to mention. :)

We had rigged up a surprise for the families coming and had the hardest time keeping it from them...pictures of that follow. We topped off the evening with a New Years toast over sparkling apple cider, and a song that Jessica and I wrote. Here are the lyrics. While you read them, keep the Marines Hymn tune in mind. :)

From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli.
People make New Years resolutions, to be happy, healthy free.
They will pledge to lose a thousand pounds and to walk ten miles a day.
They will save their money so they can buy a car on Black Friday.

Out the West side of Peoria, lives a family out of norm.
Dad will fix the fence in record time, mom will learn to knit with yarn.
Tiffany will smuggle fireworks, into IL next year,
And Melissa will appreciate hair on dad’s face called a beard.
Jessica will see a physiologist for her bug-a-fobia,
Caleb will take out the garbage, on his own and wont complain.
And the little girls will dust their rooms and they’ll keep their closets clean,
And little William will be potty trained and he’ll share his black beauty.

Down the hills of Allentown until you reach Schmidgall and a turn.
Mr. Candler won’t be scared of snakes, Mrs. Candler will drive in snow.
And Josiah won’t mind dirtiness, and Sierra will learn to sew.
Lenna will drink raw milk everyday so she won’t wither away.
And Elita will make bread each day, and will even grind the wheat,
And Hannah, she will learn to read, she read all of War and Peace.

Down Route 9, past Pekin in Tremont, where the Riggenbachs do live.
Mr. R. will purchase cell phones, Mrs. R will raise a pig.
Lily will perform her dance routine to “What a Comforting thing to know”
Gretel, she will get a cat for each character from Hornblower.

Out in Downs, outside of Normal, where some friends of ours reside.
Mr. Sanford he will sell their home, and a Pekin one he’ll buy.
Mrs. Sanford won’t drop cameras, Josh will learn to fly a plane.
Garrison will change his mind about the United States Marines.
And Melinda, she will memorize, more than Mr. Price next year.
And Susannah will join the church band, and she’ll play the flute by ear.
Derrick he will get the lead role, in our Reformation play,
William, he will take a sabbatical from dessert each Su-un-day.
Peter, he will sing a solo at the Pekin Manor thing,
Adrianna will learn the Italian tongue and she’ll speak it fluently.
Zach will cream the guys at paintball, along with Nathan at his side-
For they are a band of brothers, they will live and do or die!
Victoria, Elana and Becca will rise before the crack of dawn,
They will make the coffee, breakfast and go out and mow the lawn.

Way down yonder down in Texas land, Daniel and Christa abide.
Daniel will teach his son baseball, and he’ll teach him not to cry.
Christa will see a physiologist for her vacuum obsession.
And they’ll take an after dinner jog, all around the neighborhood.

From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli.
People make New Year resolutions, to be happy, healthy, free.
They will never lose a thousands pounds, and won’t walk ten miles a day.
But they won’t buy stuff from China, only from the U.S.A!!!


Dad and his "Little Man" go for a sled ride down our "hill."

Christa, William and Daniel decided to go for a ride too...we figured this hill was safe enough for Christa. :)

William goes for his first ride alone...

...and he loved it!

We can't remember how many times he went down, and each time, he brought his sled back up with him.

This cute little guy kept coming up to the door and telling us he needed a nose wipe. :)

Late last week, we had this marvelous idea of decorating our "ball room." Daniel was so kind and took the lead in making our dream a reality. We decided to keep this a secret from the families coming...which was a real test of our patience. :)

Daniel hanging lights.

Lights! The Camera! and Action! come later...

"Can I dance too?"

"Hmmmm....how should we decorate the banister?"

Yeah, I think that'll do. :)

After dinner was consumed and the kitchen was cleaned up, Daniel and I went down to set up the camera and get the computer plugged in. We called back up to the house, and Melissa and Jessica led everybody out. When the reached the overhang, we had everybody close their eyes, come inside and line up. Once everybody was in, we told them they could look, and...well, I think the photos do a better job explaining their reactions...

Surprise is written all over their faces! We had the hardest time keeping this from them! :)

"Hey! Who put that mistletoe up?"
Lily had to break it to her and tell her it was actually a holly. :)

And the dancing began. We started with a dance from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. We learned it sometime last week, found the music and have been aching to teach it to everybody else. :)

Hey look, they're matching...

...hey look, so are we...scary...

Help?

The Gents line during the "Barley Reel." One of these days I'll beat the "gracefulness" part of the dance into their heads...

Gar and his sister, Becca, Polka-ing at the speed of light!! I'm glad I sat out for this one...

Dad and Grace dancing the Polka. I'm thinking maybe we should get rid of all the items on those shelves so we can get rid of the shelves...then we'd have more room to Polka!! :)


Hey look, it's King Richard in modern day...you can tell he goes way back...he's still using a Canon. :)

Garrison thought it would be a good idea to do a solo ballet dance for us.

Jessica and I demonstrating the "Virginia Reel" done football training style.
Special thanks to the Thomas' for the fabulous idea!!!

Dad spends some time with Emma, most likely coaching her for the football dance. :)

And there she is....the Belle of the ball!! Emma was on the girls side, but after reeling the set, she got a bit confused...

"GO! GO! GO!" My dad acted as our head coach and did a marvelous job! :)

Daniel asking Christa if she's sure she doesn't want to Polka...

The longer you hang around the young people at our church, the more hand motions you use...

During the Potsies Jig, I heard somebody clapping. When I looked up to see who it was, I saw Emma.

She was so cute, I couldn't resist getting another photo of her. :)

And here stand two of the football coaches, Mr. Candler and Mr. Sanford. I'm almost positive one of them was in the military...:)

Gangsta's in da hood? ;-) A.K.A. ~ Those of us left at the end of the dance...one of these days we need to get a photo at the beginning of the dance...

Counting the minutes till the New Year...

Counting down the seconds till the New Year...

"To the New Year!!!!"

And so I close with a picture of our handy-dandy-man-of-all-work-brother-in-law. Thanks, Daniel, for all your hard work! And thanks Mom and Dad for everything y'all did to make this party come to life!

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:18 PM

    Tiffany, that was a BLAST!!!! I had SO much fun! Awesome pictures, we need to get together and dance more offten!! :)
    Happy New Year!!

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  2. Hey Tiffany, I just want to thank you and your family for everything last night. It was a total blast!
    Happy New Year!

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  3. Anonymous4:14 PM

    Hey Tiff, That was so awesome! I can't wait until next year! I agree with Melinda, we SO need to dance more often! :D

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  4. That rendition of the song is downright hilarious. Seriously. ;D I couldn't help but burst out laughing at Jessica's and Garrison's...

    Happy New Year!! :D

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  5. LOL that song is good....

    Happy New year!

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  6. Melinda and Sierra,

    Great minds think alike, eh? :) We'll have get monthly dances set up. :)

    Josiah,

    You are more than welcome! I'm so glad that all y'all were able to make it in the snow. ;-)

    Ashton,

    Oh, but you didn't hear us sing it! :) That's what really made it funny! We busted out laughing maybe three times and had to stop and try to stifle the giggles before we could continue! Wish y'all could have been there!

    Emil,

    Thanks...now we need to write a verse about y'all! :)

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  7. The pictures and lyrics were fantastic! Looks like y'all's dances were fun. We'll have to learn a few new ones when we stop by during the MD. move...

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  8. Stephen,

    Yeah!!!! That would be soooo much fun! I like the way you think! :)

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  9. Hey Tiffany!
    Have a quick question for you (and I don't have your email...so)- I am trying to find a graduation dress.... and my mom and I have absolutely fallen in love with the white dinner gown that Molly Gibson (from "Wives and Daughters") wears. (See http://www.earthlydelights.com.au/wives.htm, the white one on the fifth row down, or http://www.intimelyfashion.com/film/mollygibson1.html). Do you have any idea where I could find any kind of pattern for this? And/or do you know of someone/somewhere who can make it? Being the seamstress queen you are, thought you might have connections with or knowledge of someone. :)

    Thanks a ton!

    Brooke
    (btw, I sent this to you via Jessica's address...but I thought I'd ask ya here too :) Thank you!!

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  10. I took the personality test, and I'm an ENFP, too.
    Allison Bontrager
    www.bontragerfamilysingers.com

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  11. Tiffany,
    This is Esther DeLadurantey from Texas. You left a comment on our blog asking for a cake recipe. I do not have your email so here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
    Esther DeLadurantey

    Eggnog Layer Cake

    2 1/3 c. flour
    1 T. baking powder
    ½ tsp. Nutmeg
    ¼ tsp.salt
    2/3 c. butter
    1 ½ c. sugar
    3 egg yolks
    1 c. dairy or canned eggnog
    3 egg whites
    Creamy Eggnog Frosting

    Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottoms of two 9x1 ½-inch or 8x1 ½-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper; grease and lightly flour pans. Set aside.
    In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.
    In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until combined. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and eggnog to beaten mixture beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
    Thoroughly wash and dry beaters. In a medium bowl beat egg whites with electric mixer on medium to high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up). Gently fold beaten egg whites into the eggnog mixture. Pour into prepared pans.
    Bake for 25-30 min. for 9inch pans (30-35 min. for 8 inch pans) or until a wooden tooth pick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 min. Remove cakes from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Frost with creamy eggnog frosting.


    Creamy Eggnog Frosting
    In a saucepan, combine 1 c. sugar, ¼ c. flour, and ¼ tsp. Nutmeg. Add 1 ½ c. dairy or canned eggnog. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, beat 3 egg yolks with wire whisk. Gradually stir hot mixture into beaten egg yolks. Return mixture to saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 min. more. Remove from heat. Stir in 4 tsp. Milk. Pour mixture into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature (do not stir). In a medium bowl beat 1 ½ c. butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or until fluffy. Add cooled eggnog mixture, one-fourth at a time, beating on low speed after each addition until smooth. Makes 3 ½ cups.

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  12. Brooke,

    Thanks for the comment! I just wrote you back. :)

    Allison,

    That's funny! Y'all have a really nice website...I love the colors y'all picked!

    Esther,

    What!?!!? You don't have my email!?!?!? Well, I'll get it to y'all! :) Thanks soooooo much for the recipe! It looks (and sounds) so good! :) If I hadn't already made cheesecake for dessert tomorrow, I'd make that...But, there's always next week! :)

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  13. Anonymous10:28 PM

    great pics. :-) Happy New Year!

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  14. Scratch and dance picture ? ;) It looks so fun !

    Happy New Year
    Melissa

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  15. Hello Tiffany!

    I wanted to let you know that our movie "Never be Shaken" is available now. You can buy it with PayPal on the blog: www.NeverbeShaken.blogspot.com

    Oh! Your dance looks like it was a lot of fun! We're hosting a Historical Winter Ball this Saturday! Our group keeps growing...last time we had about 75 people and we're anticipating 100-150 this time!!! I can't wait! :D

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  16. Thanks Jordan! I hope y'all have a wonderful New Year! :)

    Melissa,

    Hahahahaha...now that would be very nice! :) Wish y'all could have been here! :(

    Happy New Year!

    Miss C.,

    Thanks! I'm not sure we could fit that many people in our "ballroom!" lol Your event sounds like it's going to be a blast...

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  17. Oh, but that looked like fun! How did you learn to do the Pride and Prejudice dance? I would love to learn!

    I heard about your blog from my mom who is on the patriarch's wives and I have enjoyed reading it.
    ~sara~

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  18. Anonymous2:44 PM

    Hello! We were inspired by this post to learn how to dance. We've had a great time and are hoping to get together with other friends like you have. What music do you use when you dance?

    www.princessesindisguise.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete

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