Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! What a fabulous time of year... the holidays are just jam packed full of fun, laughter and pure excitement. We are so blessed to have a 3 year old and 8 month old that are the epitome of all those things! Nolan and Drew are such fun boys...we can't wait for Christmas morning!

For the first time, we didn't mail out Christmas cards this year... but wanted to make sure to wish everyone a VERY Merry Christmas! We love you all - thank you for being a part of our lives!


On Monday night we decorated our "Gingerman Santa House". We had such a good time... our house may not be the most structurally sound - but it is quite a sight!





My family's Christmas party was this last Saturday. Just imagine 9 little boys running around with excitement - we even had to eat in shifts there's so many of us now! We did finally add a girl to the mix in October... She is definitely going to grow up with a lot of protection! The kids had such a good time, and as always the food was delcious! Thanks Nana Prince!




We went to "Breakfast with Santa" a few weeks ago. Although "Santa" was clearly only one of the real Santa's helpers...we had a great time! Thanks Nana Thurston!





Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

U2 on the Horizon...

U2 has announced the release of their new album, with tour dates forthcoming. I know what I want for Christmas...

http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=2279

...Another U2 Blog entry will be coming soon.

Neighbor Gifts 2008!

Milestones of a Father

There are certain milestones in a childs life that should be recorded...the first smile, the first steps, the first word, etc. As a father, there are also milestones in life...the first time they say "dada", the first time you play catch, and the first Jazz game you go together. Such an event took place for me the other night, as Nolan and I went to his first Jazz game together. I'm not sure which one of us had more fun. The Jazz lost the game, but neither one of us cared one bit. As competetive as I am...this is a milestone by itself. We had a great time yelling, cheering, and watching the "Jazz players" or "Basketballers" as Nolan calls them. We also love watching "Jazz Bear". One highlight of the night was when he did this...


I could not be more proud to be Nolan's father, we are best friends, and I look forward to many more games with him. Some pictures of our great night together...

Coldplay

We were able to go to the Coldplay concert the other night and it was awesome! They played some of our favorite songs, and put on a great show. Along with Weezer and Angels and Airwaves and now Coldplay, we've seen some or our favorite bands in concert this year. The only concert that would make our year complete, would be if U2 were touring. We're holding out hope (and saving our pennies) for next year...

Here's a sampling of the show...

Back Blogging

We have slacked off (been lazy) lately on our posts, so we have some catching up to do. On the last truly perfect weather day we took the boys to the zoo and we had lots of fun!

The next day was Halloween - Ryan was a conehead, Nolan was a fireman, Drew was a bear and Kaeson was a dragon. We had orange halloween pancakes, went to daddy's work and then off to Nana's work to trick-or-treat...along with C.J. and Olivia. Nolan has "issues" being in a costume and would take it off after 5 minutes wherever we were. Kaeson on the other hand, wanted to be a fireman. So you'll see the dragon turn into a fireman. We then partied at both Nana's house and had lots of yummy food to eat. Nolan got loads of candy and we (mom and dad) have been enjoying it immensely!

And finally a sampling of photos from the BYU football games this year...Go Cougars!

GOING PRIVATE!

So...we have once again succumbed to the peer pressures of the blogging world. Plus, "Dini" Wimmer's report on KSL this week about the dangers of blogging scared the bejeebies out of us. Ok, not really, but we've been thinking about doing it for a while now. So, if you'd like to continue blog-stalking us, feel free, but at least now we'll know who is doing it...Or, if you just want to see what the Thurstons are up to, that's fine too.

Leave us your email and we'll add you...It's an open invitation to all friends, and friends of friends.

(For those of you "facebookers", you can leave us your email address there too.)

From the Accounting Firm of Ernst & Young...

...The Results are in: the answers are listed next to the photos below. Apparently nobody was fooled by picture #12, you were all correct in noticing that this "oversized" baby is neither Nolan or Drew. So...after eliminating photo #12, the results are based on 11 possible correct answers.

Drumroll please...

The Final Standings are as follows:

Debbie - 10/11 (missed # 4)
Amy - 10/11 (missed # 6)
Ashlee - 10/11 (missed #6)
Leanne - 10/11 (missed #4)
Mom (Judith) - 9/11 (missed #6 and 11)
Jill - 9/11 (missed #6 and 7)
Sarah - 9/11 (missed #4 and 6)
Mom (Colleen) - 8/11 (missed #4,6,and 7)
Jen - 8/11 (missed #6,7,and 11)
Shanna - 5/11 (missed #4,6,7,8,9,10)

Congratulations to everyone, you all put forth a very fine effort.

To the co-winners Amy, Ashlee, and Leanne...because you know our children the best, you have won the right to start a college fund in Nolan and Drew's names. Congratulations!

Name That Baby

It's game time. We were looking at some old pictures of Nolan as a baby the other day and, not to our surprise, he looked remarkably like Drew. If it weren't for the dates on the pictures we may not have known. So, we figured we would put you all to the test. This may be easier for some than for others, but post a comment with your answers and see if you know if the pictures below are either Nolan or Drew. Good Luck. There will be a prize for the winner.

1 Drew

2 Nolan

3 Drew

4 Drew

5 Nolan

6 "Google Baby"...Not Nolan...Not Drew

7 Nolan

8 Drew

9 Nolan

10 Drew

11 Nolan

12 Jackie Chan


Disclaimer: there's not really a prize.

Contagious Laughter

Drew has always been very aware of his surroundings, and mostly conscious of what his older brother is doing. We've often joked that Drew has one eye on Nolan at all times...mostly out of fear of what may happen if he doesn't pay attention. Lately though, Drew is still concerned with what Nolan is doing - but now it's for his entertainment. We can see already that he adores his older brother, and loves to be around him...as long as it's at arm's length.

Tonight, as Drew was eating dinner, Nolan had starting dumping ice water from one cup to another... and hilarity ensued for Drew. Here is the result...my favorite is at about 1:50.

Angels and Airwaves & Weezer Concert

Deb, her sister Leanne, and I were able to go to the Angels and Airwaves and Weezer concert this week at the E Center. I am a fan of both bands and was really looking forward to it. Debbie and Leanne were more excited for AVA, but agreed to have an open mind with Weezer. I think they both walked away as Weezer fans. I was a little concerned about AVA because the reviews I had read were less than positive. We were pleasantly surprised that they put on a good show. Weezer, on the other hand, was awesome! They put on a very entertaining and fun show. The sign of a good band, in my opinion, is if they sound as good or better live, than they do on their album. Good music...good times.
Angels and Airwaves
Weezer Here is a little video clip of the concert...not the best quality, but you get the idea...

Mysteries of God, Life, and a 3 year old mind...

WARNING: Serious Post

So...now would be an appropriate time to acknowledge that my sister Amy and her husband Casey are the coolest people we know, and we love and adore them very much. It goes without saying how much Nolan worships his Aunt Mamay and Uncle Casey. They've always seemed to have the perfect happy marriage, and had everything in life they needed to be completely happy....Unfortunately, there has been a large void in their lives that has been very difficult for them, and hard for us to see...a baby.

We are so excited for them that this void in their lives has been filled. They welcomed "Babes" into the family this past weekend, and she is completely adorable and fits perfectly into their family. Until they decide on a name, she has been called "Babes"...(eventhough she will probably still be called "Babes" for the rest of her life) What a blessing for them...they deserve it! After 7+ years of trying, and going through the adoption process, it has been a long time coming. They are going to be the greatest parents that "Babes" could ever hope for.

On a personal note, and as an explanation for the title of this post...

"Babes" is about 6 months old, and 10 days older than Drew. A few months ago, around the time of Drew's birth, Nolan was sitting next to Amy at some family function. Out of nowhere, he turns to Amy and innocently asks, "Mamay, where's your baby girl?" We were all a little shocked to have heard this question, but not completely surprised as we have been praying that "Mamay and Casey would get a baby" for a long time now. We didn't put much thought into it, but later on, Nolan repeated the same question. Once again, we played it off that Nolan was just being sweet and inquisitive.

After the events of this weekend, the mystery of why Nolan would ask this question are not so mysterious anymore. Looking back, we now realize that this happened at about the same time "Babes" was born! Nolan clearly has more faith, and is more in tune with the Spirit than we could have ever imagined. Why did Amy and Casey have to wait so long for a baby? Would their prayers be answered? Did God hear our prayers? When would they have a baby? These mysteries were somehow not a mystery to the faithful mind of our 3 year old son.

God does answer prayers, He is listening, He knows what we need and when we need it. And...never underestimate the faith of a 3 year old. These are the lessons we have learned the past few days.

Congratulations Amy, Casey, and "Babes"! We love you.

Lightning McQueen's Sickness

We had learned a long time ago that Nolan is watching and listening, especially when we think he is not. Last week, we had all stayed at home because of sickness. Nolan was playing with some of his cars and decided to draw our attention to this...


At first glance, it appeared that Lightning McQueen had been involved in a bad case of road rage. Nolan quickly pointed out that our friend Lightning was sick, and was getting a blessing from the green and purple cars! He explained that because they had the "Priesthood", they could give him a blessing. We started to explain to him that cars could not have the Priesthood, but quickly realized that he already understood more than we had given him credit for. He then gave us a demonstration of how Lightning had been healed...



Later that same day...Nolan was caring for his Build-A-Bear, appropriately named "Jasper the Jazz Bear". Logically, Jasper is a newborn bear and needed caring for just like his little brother Drew. Jasper was carefully nursed, burped...then potty trained by Nolan. If only the transition was that easy. We (including Drew) are glad that he's practicing his parenting skills on a teddy bear.





Nolan is a funny and smart kid, and we've got our work cut out for us, but we sure love him.

Rise and Shout!

Many of you know that Nolan is a big BYU fan. We bought him a season ticket of his own this year, and he loves to go and watch the "Cougar players", the band, the cheerleaders, and sing along with the "Cougar song". When he gets into one of his crazy moods he will sing "Rise and Shout" loud and nonstop. In honor of the big victory this past weekend, we thought we would share a recent rendition of the fight song by Nolan.