This is another video made by Devon, Sydney and Logan. We were spending the night at Aunt Sydney's. Enjoy!!
Love, Logan
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Because One Is Never Enough...
That and I need to get my money's worth out of this stinkin' subscription! I rather like this one though. Especially Aimee. ESPECIALLY Aimee!
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December Dates- I Need Your Help People!
Okay, here is what I have for December. I KNOW there are a lot more so help please!!!!
December 5- Paul Riley Fairbanks (Nathan's son)
December 6- Jason & Sarah's Anniversary
December 10- Charlie Fairbanks (Stephen Randall's brand new little girl)
December 11- Eddie Risser
December 12- Floyd Rosenau (RIP- we love you Floyd!)
December 14- Amanda Fairbanks Woods; Gordon & Cherryl's anniversary
December 18- Kristy Risser
December 21- Jacob Ashley; Great Grandma Doan's birthday (VaNile's mom)
December 22- Sarah Risser
December 27- Jennifer Benson Baxter;
December 29- Nena Grace Fairbanks
December 31- Jason Wood (amanda's son)
Thanksgiving Day Wrap-up
Well, here are the T-Day pixs. Could these two get any cuter? Devon was good enough to take my camera and be the official photographer for the event, except of course for this one that I took of her and Logan. They are growing too fast- Devon sweetheart, you may be the family baby but you are so not a baby any more. Would you please slow down?!?!
Besides the missionaries, Adam, Kyle, and Gordon was there as well. Always lookin' good bro... NOT! I have seen better shots of you Gordon, but this was the only one Devie got.
And here's Gordon's better looking half; really true in this case.
Oh, and Otto Von Risser was there as well... always looking for anything edible dropped on the floor.
Jeff and I talked Politics.....
But kissed and made up before the evening was over....
And a good time was had by all....
Guess Who's Coming to Dessert?
Why Doug Chabries and family! For those of you who don't know, Doug is our second cousin; his mother, Maxine, was our dad's cousin. This is the family that as kids, we always made the trek to Bountiful, Utah to visit (growing up I thought Bountiful WAS Utah). Well, the always clever Michele conspired with Doug's daughter, Rachel, to bring us all together for dessert after our respective Thanksgiving meals. It was a surprise to both of us.
Fun With Whip Cream... Not What You Think
Devon may have found her niche as an independent and persistent film maker. Following dinner food games were played and recorded by Devon. Not surprisingly, this game involved whip cream (see last years Thanksgiving blog post). This time Devon was behind the camera.
Risser World Takeover Update
Well since Gordon made the announcement official, yes, GK and Susanna are expecting twins in May 2010. And here are all the rest of the newest little ones coming up. Perhaps that entry title should have been "Fairbanks World Takeover".. here we go...
Carlie and Joey: A little girl, Raiha Lane Bainbridge, shown here all tuckered out after a birthing day (imagine how Carlie feels?!?)
born November 20 (same day as Anita's BD); 8lb 6oz 20 inches long.
Nathan and Suzanne Fairbanks: had a little girl, and here she is...
Eva Grace, born September 25, 6 lbs 8oz (exact opposite of Carlie's)
Stephen Randall and Kristin Fairbanks are expecting a girl in January 2010
Paul and Anita Fairbanks are also expecting a little bundle in May 2010 as well.
Did I forget anyone? Even if I didn't, I'm sure there will be new add on's before the May babies are here.
New additions
Hate to sound like a One-Upper, but GK and Susanna announced today that they are expecting twins!!!! We'll let GK or Susanna fill you in on the details on their blog.
November Birthdays
Please fill in missing.
November 03: Scarlett Bainbridge (Carly)
November 04: Leigh Ashley-Limone
November 05: Mike Jennings
November 06: Jeff Risser
November 12: Jason Risser
November 16: Aimee and Chris Mahana's Party Day
November 17: Elliot Ashely (#1 yeah!!!)
November 18: Michael Fairbanks
November 20: Anita Fairbanks (Paul's wife); Raihna Lane Bainbridge
November 29: VaNile Risser; Suzanne Fairbanks (Nathan's wife)
Now How Fun Was That?
Halloween at Gordons'... he'd always told me how big his neighborhood did it up but I think he undersold it! It was like an old fashioned Halloween festival. I got to his house before the sun was down and there wasn't any parking left on the street. Almost every house had tables set up front, over-the-top decorations and crowds, crowds, crowds. Kristy, Jeremy and the girls came as Jeff and his 3 youngest. I'm sure Gordon will have some good pictures to post as well.
But first, for those of you who have trouble getting onto Jenni's blog, I pinched this from her. It's Aaron as a monkey, Avalon as a banana and Jenni wore a shirt that said zoo keeper. Cute huh? For those of you who don't know, Daniel is off on a 7 month assignment to we don't know where. Jenni's basically a single mom for the next 209 remaining days (but who's counting right Jen?) so keep all of them in your thoughts, well wishes and prayers.
Now, back to Gordon's. Here's Devon as the cutest Twister Sister I've seen. Actually, she was quite a hit. People kept commenting on her costume. She had the twister spin board on her head as a hat but in this picture she pinched Logan's mime hat. It was just too cute to not post.
Gordon with his little fairy Cali. You can't see her wings in this picture but she was adorable.
This was Cali coming face to face with the dogs. For some reason the blog cropped the dogs when it posted the picture.
This was my favorite part. After strolling the neighborhood, we sat on Gordon's lawn to watch the rest of the parade go by.
Devon (with her twister hat) and Logan the mime.
The quintessential Creepy Clown. Like the hitch hiker he is, we kept running into him. The first time I got a picture with him- because everyone knows how much I hate clowns. The second time with Devon, Logan and Sydney
This was the cutest little ghost that one of the neighbors had set up. It would slowly flap it's arms and fly across the driveway.
Mom and Jeremy. Is that the best face makeup! Kristy is doing all our makeup for next years Dia de los Muertos!
Kristy and Cali on the move.
Sade about to get decapitated in one of the neighbors halloween setup.
Nyah and Sade. It's hard to see Nyah's makeup in this. Sade was Thumbalina. Gordon and I sang the Thumbalina song to her. Strange how you can remember a song from your early childhood but can't remember what you had for breakfast. Go figure.
Kyle the giver of candy. They had a huge (and I mean HUGE) stockpile of candy but still ran out, that's how big the crowds were.
Gordon with his little fairy Cali. You can't see her wings in this picture but she was adorable.
This was Cali coming face to face with the dogs. For some reason the blog cropped the dogs when it posted the picture.
This was my favorite part. After strolling the neighborhood, we sat on Gordon's lawn to watch the rest of the parade go by.
Devon (with her twister hat) and Logan the mime.
The quintessential Creepy Clown. Like the hitch hiker he is, we kept running into him. The first time I got a picture with him- because everyone knows how much I hate clowns. The second time with Devon, Logan and Sydney
This was the cutest little ghost that one of the neighbors had set up. It would slowly flap it's arms and fly across the driveway.
Mom and Jeremy. Is that the best face makeup! Kristy is doing all our makeup for next years Dia de los Muertos!
Kristy and Cali on the move.
Sade about to get decapitated in one of the neighbors halloween setup.
Nyah and Sade. It's hard to see Nyah's makeup in this. Sade was Thumbalina. Gordon and I sang the Thumbalina song to her. Strange how you can remember a song from your early childhood but can't remember what you had for breakfast. Go figure.
Kyle the giver of candy. They had a huge (and I mean HUGE) stockpile of candy but still ran out, that's how big the crowds were.
I'm having trouble getting the pictures to load. I'll try later. Dad Risser
Encore Performance... sorta.
I've gone a little overboard with this jibjab halloween thing but it's just so fun. So I did another Monster Mash using Jenni and family; a different card for Rheanna/Doug and Jacob/Sara/Elliot. Who knows who'll pop up next?!?!
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More Halloween fun.
Now, we all know Doug wouldn't use the "em effer" word but it is cut off after all. Still makes me laugh.
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Jason asked that I put this on the family blog for all to see.
Dad Risser
MOVEMBER is coming!!
That's right I said MOvember. What is movember? Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health. I came across this organization about 8 months ago and decided "This was it!". I've been wanting to help with a charity for several years now but didn't know what to do or where to begin. I came across http://www.movember.com/ and realized quickly that this was the one. I even have the perfect wife for the fund raiser...she LOVES when I have a moustache! haha
I've joined a team to help raise awairness and funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. All proceeds will go to the PSF and to the Lance Armstrong foundation, LIVEStrong.
Some facts I think you should know about prostate cancer:
1 in 6 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer
Every 2.7 minutes a man is diagnosed with Prostate Cancer
Every 19 minutes a man dies from Prostate Cancer
And one of the hardest for me to believe but was on cancer.org is:
A man is 35% more likely to be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer than a woman is to be diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
The fact that really hit home with me is the first one I stated. Now I know that stats are just that and they don't mean that every 6th man you come across will have PC but it said to me that the odds may be against us.
There are six boys (men) in this great family of ours. As I said, stats are stats, but I want to do everything I can to prevent one of us from becoming a stat.
That first step is simple! We need to follow our sisters examples and simply get checked! The amount of deaths frrom Breast Cancer has gone down IMMENSLY since 1990 because women have taken that first step of getting checked so serious. Although only 1 in 10,000 under age 40 will be diagnosed, the rate shoots up to 1 in 38 for ages 40 to 59, and 1 in 15 for ages 60 to 69. In fact, more than 65% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65. If prostate cancer is caught in the first 5 years the chances of being cured are huge compared to several years further down the road. So please, if you know somone that hasn't had their exam and has any signs of PC or is within the more "dangerous" age groups, push them to get that exam.
The next step is what I am doing now. We need money to continue research and look for the cure! If all you can afford to donate is a dollar that's a dollar more than what they had before.
I'll be starting my "MO" (that what a moustache is called in Austrailia where the fundraiser began) on November 1st and growing it through the month. I'll be sure to post updates of how it's looking and if things are coming along with the fundraiser.
Finally, there are mutiple ways to donate but i think that the two most convienent are as follows:
My donation page: http://us.movember.com/mospace/102977
Check: Make payable to - MOVEMBER FOUNDATION and be sure to write my account number in the "memo" space. #102977
Send check to:
THE MOVEMBER FOUNDATION, PO BOX 2726, VENICE, CA 90294-2726
If you have any other questions please ask me or click the link to my donation page. Thank you all for any help you may give.
Love you all!
2009 Dia de los Muertos
Here are some pics from this years Day of the Dead celebration. Jeremy, Kristy (and girls), Gordon and Adam joined Mom, me and Jeff and his 3 youngest. Kristy once again demonstrated her creative and artistic skills and made up Nyah and Sade in traditional skull makeup. This was worth cutting my Cambria Girls Getaway Weekend short and coming home for. Gordon will have to post the actual event pictures because I accidently left my camera at home (thought it was in my purse). It was great to have them here.
A few pictures from my collection - Gordon
These are some of the figures put up near some of the shrines. Most of them were about 8' tall. Lots of craftwork
This is a live woman sitting behind the drap, made up to look like a portrait.
This was a large puppet with someone inside controlling the hands. 
These young women had the most , as Syd said, exquisite costumes that we had to get a picture of them. We kept running into them as we walked around. They never said a word and everyone was taking their picture.
If I remember right the Dia de los Muertos celebration is a mixture of Aztec and Catholic traditions. There were a number of people in Aztec costumes and most were very involved and very interesting. Look closly at the man above - zoom in and you'll see he has whte contacts so all you can see are his pupils. Kind of creepy, but really a good addition to the overall effect
Jeremy and Adam paying their respects at the tomb/grave of Johnny Ramone of The Ramones.
The entrance to the Mausoleum. These figures are about 9 to 10' tall. These were really professionally done and the smaller ones inside were works of art - see below. I think Sydney said Rudolph Valentino is buried in this one.
A sample of the crowds and the booths. 
Before we went Sydney served us a great dinner of custom pizzas, killer salads, eclectic soft drinks and a fantastic roasted pepper soup. We all had a great time. Thanks so much little Sis!!
