Using Last Year's Christmas Presents

SNOWSHOEING NEAR HOME!!!

 Today Janene and I finally started using our Christmas presents from Santa last year. We took off this morning and went snowshoeing on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail near our home. While it was smoggy down in the valley, it was brightness and sunshine in the mountains. We saw a few people on the trail, but not as many as many as you might expect for being so close to home.

 Pretty soon, we were overlooking the Salt Lake Valley from high above the valley. We got to see a view of Salt Lake that you don't see everyday. It might have been a really good view if it had been a clear day, but we could pick out a few landmarks.

 We sat down for a while and had a lunch of oranges and hot water (we found that if you keep a bottle of water in your coat pocket, it will get very warm) just below the radio and microwave towers. I learned how to take a picture of ourselves with a cell phone just like all the tourists do.

The view on the way back was outstanding! We passed a few springs where animals hung out even in the winter. We had a great time and enjoyed the freedom of being able to get out of doors on a cold wintery day. We will be doing this again. Next time, I will bring the good camera and tripod. We may even try this on a moonlit night.

A Phillips Family Christmas

The sounds of our unique version of the 12 Days of Christmas can only mean one thing. It must be Christmas Eve again in the Phillips home. I used to think that the children only "tolerated" this tradition as a necessary means to an end - that end being the trip downstairs to open presents. I think they all actually enjoy this version of the song my mother wrote that we sing every Christmas Eve.

 Of course, we always get to have a light meal together (love that Morton Family chip dip) and get to spend a little time together before the festivities start

 I am always amazed at how much our girls (we have so few of them) enjoy just being together. Lily looks up to and admires Elsie. Isabel and Laura just carry on where they left off as school classmates. They always seem to have some kind of inside joke or story going on that only they understand.

 The boys, on the other hand, are always just a wee bit on the rambunctious side. Caleb and Ben were so excited that they could hardly stand still.

 But stand still they did when it was time to read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. My father used to be the one to read from the Bible. Now that torch has passed on to me and it is a great honor to fill my father's shoes. This was the first year that I was able to do so without a few tears. We turned out the lights, lit the Christmas candles, and symbolically let the Light of Christ into our lives, as we sang Christmas hymns and ended with Silent Night.

 We all enjoyed that precious moment as we pondered the Son of God coming to earth, bringing the great gift of the Atonement and Resurrection. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16) Our family has been greatly blessed by the peace our understanding of that greatest of all gifts brings to our lives.

 And then .... The next day was Christmas Day! Among all the craziness were Belgian Waffles, the Christmas ham, stockings, and goodies and more gifts. By the time the whole family left to return to their own homes, we were just stuffed. Stuffed with good food, good cheer, great joy and tender memories.

Every year, Janene and I usually run so hard and do so much that we don't even get to sit down and enjoy the lights of the Christmas tree. This year, with my surgery, I couldn't run so hard. It may be that it was worse this year having to watch my bride struggle with all the things I usually do. Things like putting up the tree (she did it with Chelanes's help), tearing it down again to fix the lights, then putting it back up again with the help of other children. Things like baking bread and goodies for all our friends and family (well to be truthful, I'm not usually much help there), and things like putting up the decorations and shoveling snow (Janene now runs a mean snowblower). Some of our neighbors call our house "The Christmas House". We like to think of it as a home that is just stuffed with life and love. Truly, as the inscription reads at our front door, the Good Lord has blessed all who enter our home.

Service Night 2012

 Angie invited our whole family to a night of service at her happy Christmas home in the mountains. As snow fell silently outside, we enjoyed a fun dinner and then got to work preparing missionary packages for Tiffany, Mary and our friend Judy. Every child made something special for all our girls serving across the country.

 We also prepared a gift basket for a family in need. Janene and I waited at the Post Office early this morning (only the busiest day of the year). Actually, I sat in the car while Janene jockeyed for the first place in line. Look at who is on her way to being a teenager!

 No more baby bellies here! Instead, the twins from different mothers (not really so different) had fun together. It looks like next year we may have two more babies to show off that will be about the same age. One of the moms was not able to be with us because of morning, noon and night sickness. We all missed Shon & Mel and their family, but they had a company party the same night on top of pregnancy sickness. Get better! And of course, Chelane had to work with her week on - week off schedule.

 Holiday hat night as the kids gathered around the TV to watch a Christmas show. For some reason, the biggest kid would not wear a silly hat.

 This kind of thing reminds me of the times I used to spend on Christmas Eve with all my cousins. I love the bond that our grandkids all have with each other. Janene and I hope that they will always be close and share the love we have found in our family. I know the boys can't wait to get together and cause a little mayhem. Sometimes they get a little rough and one of them gets hurt, sometimes they even get their feelings hurt, but they always seem to get over it. Isabel and Laura have some of the same classes together in their junior high.
We all have our challenges, but I think our family is as close to perfect as they come!

Curiouser and Curiouser - Another Chapter in the Whodunit

EEEK!

OK, so I only do the laundry once in a whole week, and then, right before Janene comes home ( maybe she will sort and fold it that way) and what do I find? A surprise little critter! If it had died last Monday, we would have had a mess, but it turned out to be another prank from one of my offspring.

I have about narrowed it down now to one of Angie's family.The process of elimination leaves them as the only ones who could have had the opportunity. I still haven't figured out a motive, after all, why would they treat us so cruelly when we have been so loving and caring - even giving away our pumpkins to support their family night of carving.

I hope they feel guilty enough to confess and begin the path to repentance.

Oh, and just one more thing....

There is just one more thing, 

 Which one of my posterity was the one who left this present on my nightstand? I think it's going to take some real deductive powers to figure this one out.

Seventeen Spooks at our Home Tonight

 I got a fun surprise tonight as seventeen spooky grandkids showed up with their friend Kevin. They sent Kevin to the front door first. "Trick or Treat" I heard on the other side of the door. I opened the door, but the door hit Kevin (in a Darth Vader costume) in the hand and he fell over backwards, hitting his head on our concrete porch. It took me a little bit to figure out that Kevin was a dummy. Then, suddenly there were seventeen little ones who looked vaguely familiar filling our home.

 We all then headed over to my Dad & Mom's house where we found another ghoulish visitor. He almost looked like he could be Jake's older brother.

 He grabbed Elsie and I thought she was doomed, but it turned out he just wanted to dance.

 Pretty soon Elsie just melted into his animatronic arms. In the end, she figured out he didn't have a heart.

 Sam become his little little buddy after that.

Here is a group photo I was able to get of all of them. Ryan David had a Boy Wonder costume (dear to my heart. You can see all the others in their costumes. This may be the first time I have been able to get a picture of all of our grandkids at the same time. What a happy evening for a lonely dad.

Handcart Days 2012

 OK! So it is almost Halloween now. It is high time I posted the pictures of Handcart Days. Last year we went down and ran into Shon's and Heather's families. This year we ran into Brooke and her extended family.Here are Stephen and Brooke's kiddies with all their cousins. (in case you cannot tell, ours are the cute ones.)

 Steve's mom got this primo spot right in front of City Hall to watch the parade. We turned around after seeing our grandkids and saw our best friends, the Gerbers. They really did it up big with drinks and BBQ going. I didn't know people did things like that. No wonder I always thought parades were boring.When my dad worked at the main post office in downtown Salt Lake, he got us special seats on the window ledges for the Days of '47 Parade. That was pretty cool.

 Little Ryan David wasn't too impressed by the parade. He would have been content to sleep right through the whole thing, but Grandma had to keep waking him up . He is cute when he is asleep, but he is a lot more fun when he is awake and laughing.

 Then we were surprised to see all our neighbors playing in the Wasatch and District Pipe Band. Many of these neighbors are descended from members of the pipe band that used to play at our family reunions in Midway. They are one of the best bands in the world and have brought great acclaim to our little area.

 Wow! Mikey couldn't believe his eyes! Right here in Bountiful was Spidey and Johnny Depp . Both of them straight from films that his dad had worked on. I am not sure what that princess was doing in there.

 We love your guts? Come on guys, is that the best slogan you could come up with? These are same guys who were so surprised when they found out that they didn't have me fully sedated during my last colonoscopy. They didn't really believe I was awake until I reminded the nurse about the story she told the doctor during the colonoscopy. It seems no one is interested in dating here once they find our what she does for a living. What a bummer!

Finally, the highlight of the parade. Two thousand stripling warriors (well some were not so stripling) straight out of The Book of Mormon. It was a pretty impressive sight. We saw lots of young men we know. Two thousand boys is a lot of boys. All in all, it was a great time in our small town parade. We felt a lot of pride in our community - and our  family.

Lessons from an old screen door

My grandparents lived in an old bungalow home that they expanded by enclosing the front porch and creating a larger living room. The back door was at the bottom of a few stairs on the back porch. This door had an old wooden screen on it with a long spring that kept it closed. This was long before the days of hydraulic door closers, so if you weren't careful, the door would slam shut behind you.

When I stayed at their home, I would be excited to run outside after breakfast and explore the yard and neighborhood. Every time I ran out that door, it would slam shut. This was invariably followed by the booming voice of my grandfather saying "Don't slam the !#$@ door!". Every time that happened, I would vow that the next time I would be more careful. I would lie in bed at night and promise myself that I would do better the next day, but every day I would run out that door, usually remembering my promise just a split second before the door crashed shut. I never did learn to make sure that the door closed quietly no matter how hard I tried. The few times I did remember, my little brother would follow behind and I still earned the reprimand from my grandfather.

Today, I was released from my calling serving in the bishopric of our ward. I told the stake president that my time in this calling was a lot like my experience with that door. I never felt like I had mastered the ability to serve the way I felt like I had promised the Lord I would. I have loved serving our ward in this capacity. I have loved serving with two amazing men. There is something about counseling with them and being able to receive revelation together that forges a bond of love between us. I will miss the love and trust that I have felt from our ward members during the last 5 -1/2 years. I only hope that the Lord will forgive me for never learning how to keep that door from slamming, and will judge me instead on the intentions of my heart.

A Time For Moving On

The beginning of summer marks the end of the school year. The end of the school year means graduations to attend, congratulations to extend, and good-byes to be said.

 It all began with one our goofiest grandkids. (we have a few of them), Andrew, who graduated from pre-school. I like his graduation cap - and his enthusiasm.

 His teacher is going to miss this little guy. She told about one day when he was playing in the yard. She saw him stand up and suddenly run clear across the yard and into the bushes. She asked him what he was doing.
His answer? "I farted myself all the way across the yard". I think I have an idea who taught him that one, and it wasn't anyone in the Phillips family.

 Cy graduated to a new bedroom and a new basement playroom. No sad good-byes for him.

 It was a different story at the kindergarten graduation for Ping's first class at Muir Elementary. As Janene and I walk through the neighborhood, we see lots of six year old children who talk to us in Chinese. It is too bad that Ping won't be around to see the fruits of her labor.

Sad good-byes as Ping left her little college students and headed back to China and home. We sure miss her. The last time we talked on Skype, we all cried.

Joe graduated from Viewmont and a big chunk of Diane and Dan's family were on hand to celebrate this milestone. After earning his Eagle Scout award, this graduation ceremony at Weber State University was nice way to cap off his high school education. Now he is off to the working fields like the rest of us, before he heads off to college.

I always thought Dan was tall, but now both Mom and dad look up to their grown son

Laura and Isabelle both said good-bye to Valley View (Grandma's Alma Mater) as they graduated to junior high school. Janene and I never got to be in the same class with one of our cousins. These two young women  have been able to share that great blessing

Mom and Isabelle don't seem to have any regrets about moving on. My dad has something he says a lot. "onward and upward". I never really knew why he said that, but as I watch our children and grandchildren each pass these mile markers, I can't help but think about the final gatepost out there in the future. I hope and pray that it will be "onward and upward" for all of our family until that final day when we can all be together with no more sad good-byes.

What are you looking at?

During the recent annular solar eclipse, we traveled as a family to Ground Zero in the center of the path of the eclipse for a once in a lifetime glimpse of what the sun can look like.

 NASA set up some telescopes along with Southern Utah State University to get a better view. With this telescope, I was able to see solar flares and sunspots on the surface of the sun.

 We were only a few miles from Vikki's home in Kanarraville. Julia chose a spot close to the ambulance for her viewing spot. She doesn't look too worried. It was a kind of party atmosphere around here.

 Our first try at photographing this event was not too impressive. Should have brought the tripod.

 We got a little better, but not until after we had reached perfect alignment.

 We did have to wait around for a long time. Amazingly, there was still a wait for the facilities

 What a classic family photograph! It's a good thing they were wearing their glasses.

 They didn't really come prepared to see a half-moon!

 Like I said, a party atmosphere. or is it a carnival?

Once in a lifetime. We were glad we went, even though it took us about 7 hours to get home. Thanks Vikki!