Christmas...Finally

December was a whirlwind of activity. I will try to capture a summary here without boring too many people. And if you do get bored, well, then just pass right on by and I won't be offended.

Christmas started early in Tucson. Erica received some gifts from her great aunts and I didn't want to wait until we got back from our trip to open them. Troy knows I can't wait, so we got to open them on the 18th. She got stacking blocks, books, a puzzle and a dolly. She loved them. She still hasn't grasped the concept of opening presents and the paper is usually more interesting than the gift.


On the 19th we headed to Utah. My mom put together a Phillips Family Reunion. She rented a home in South Salt Lake for a week where all 8 siblings, spouses and children could stay. It was a great set-up with a ping pong table, huge screen TV and lots of toys.

We also got some free babysitting so Troy and I were able to hit the slopes a few times. It was soooooo cold though. I actually ended up getting mild frostbite on the tip of my nose. It turned brown and peeled off like a sunburn. I tried to get a picture of it, but it ended up being a really unattractive close-up of my nose. Not something I wanted on the web.

My Papa (maternal grandfather) celebrated his 85th birthday and we were lucky enough to attend the party. For his present, I spent hours and hours putting together a slide show of his life. It was worth it when we got to show it at the party.


Santa Claus also showed up at the party. Erica was clawing and climbing up me like Santa was out to get her. I thought she would like him because she usually likes bearded men. Oh well.

My nieces and nephews acted out the nativity scene on Christmas Eve, complete with live dogs and stuffed monkeys.

Erica with Grandpa and Grandma Tutu on Christmas morning. Thanks for giving us such a fun week. It was great to see all my siblings and their kids. Some I haven't seen for more than 2 years. It was such a great week.

Erica's favorite present was a $3 cell phone from Target.

She also liked the big box.

So did her cousins Mary and Lincoln. I don't think she wanted to share.

After family week in Utah, we headed to Pocatello to see my parents new abode. Both weeks were full of storms, wind and unusually cold weather. I was happy to return to the Arizona sun at the end of the trip. It reminded me of why I put up with hot summers.

Erica enjoyed her ride on Grandpa Tutu's tractor.

So did Troy.

Lena, a girl who got baptized my first day in Ukraine, happens to live in Pocatello right now with her husband and son. I have not seen her since she was serving her mission in St. Petersburg about 7 1/2 years ago. It was great to visit her and eat some authentic Ukrainian food.

Had our trip gone as planned, we would have spent a few days in Pocatello and then returned to Utah to visit friends and family and to do some more snowboarding. However, we ended up getting really bad colds and stayed indoors in Pocatello until the day we left. Sorry to all those we were not able to see.

I guess if we had to be sick anywhere, it was nice to have my parents providing food and babysitting while we recovered. Grandpa Tutu was always a sucker to Erica's requests to watch trains on YouTube.