CHRISTMAS in AZ

David, Malia and I took off Friday the 21st to drive down to Arizona to spend Christmas with David's family in Phoenix. It should be about a 12 hour drive. We left at night so that Malia would be asleep for most of the trip. As you can see, she didn't always cooperate!



We finally got there Saturday around noon. David's dad, Gabriel, goes all out on the Christmas yard decorating. The decorations on the roof played Christmas music and lit up alternately. He made a stream running through the yard so that the moving deer bent down to drink from it! Very creative! Although, I must admit my favorite part of the yard is the flowers. They have lots of flowers planted and even shapes his bushes into animals! The roses are especially pretty.

It was great to spend time with his family. It took Malia awhile to warm up to everyone. Once she did, she had a blast. Her cousin, Gabriel (or Gabrielito as they all call him), was born two weeks after Malia. The two of them found all kinds of trouble to get into. They were particularly fond of screeching at each other.

Malia is very into playing with babies right now. Jocy (David's sister, Gabrielito's mom) just had twin boys on the 16th and 17th of August. Malia was fascinated with them. Even more enticing was their bottles, emptying their diaper bag, and disassembling their car seats.

The twins are named Alex and Tony. You can tell them apart because Alex has a mole on his forehead. So I think that is Tony laying on Jocy's lap. David's mom, Cirenia, is in the white sweater holding Alex, I think!

Here's David pushing Malia in the car. The family hangs out in the backyard a lot. They have a large covered patio and just got the swing. Pancho and Elizabeth are sitting on the swing with Gabrielito, Malia, and one of the twins. Elizabeth is David's sister and Pancho is her husband. Pancho is the one holding Mali up the top right corner to look at the birds. David's mom has lots of birds, including chickens and parakeets. In the bottom right corner in the background is Gabrielito standing next to his grandpa, Gabriel.

This is Malia dressed for church the Sunday before Christmas. She obviously had a very important phone call to make before we could leave! We went to my great-aunt Naomi's (my Grandpa LeVon's sister) ward. We were hoping to see her there but I think she must have went to one of her children's wards. I guess it was her we should have called! We drove by her house but no one was home. Her family was having a Christmas celebration on the day after Christmas. However, we had to leave early that morning to get back to Utah. Sorry we missed it!

Present time! I guess the tradition is to take a picture holding up the money they get from their parents. There are five kids in David's family. Terry is the oldest and in the bottom right corner. Her daughter is Natali, in the bottom left corner. Next is Elizabeth in the top left corner. Her husband, Pancho, and his mom, visiting from Mexico, are in the photo below her. David, the middle child, is in the top right corner. Next is Jocy, her son Gabrielito, in the middle, held up her money. In the bottom middle photo is Hernan, the baby of the family.

We all got very spoiled. Here I am with the chess game that Jocy got me. Malia got lots of clothes. In the bottom right she is opening the puppy she got from her grandparents. She had just woken up from her nap so was still a bit grumpy. Amazing how presents can get her in a good mood so fast! She did lots of "ooh"ing as she opened up her presents. She especially loved the baby doll she got from her tio Hernan. Thank you everyone for everything. It was really good to see everyone and we hope we can make it back soon. We loved the food- pazole, abondigas, tamales! I especially enjoyed spending time with Cirenia getting recipes and some family history. The trip home took a little longer than we would have liked, but we made it safely and that's what counts. Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!