Happy Holidays!

We were lucky enough this Christmas season to spend time with 4 of our kids in Salt Lake, Phoenix, Tucson and Houston!

But, first we had our own early celebration in Idaho...

The next day (Dec. 17) we embarked on our journey toward Arizona. Along the way we were able to visit with many relatives and in-laws. It was nice to hand deliver gifts and visit with everybody in-person this year.

Of course, our favorite stop in Salt Lake is at Ryan and Heather's house, where we were treated to a special musical concert from the whole family!

Then we got to have an early Christmas with Marissa, Mallory and Nathan. It was so much fun!

Once we arrived in Arizona, we spent a few days with Ricky's family. We celebrated Christmas and Ricky's birthday on Dec. 23--an old Savage family tradition. Ricky was excited to get a rare replica of the original Book of Mormon. That night we watched a documentary on the recreation of the book that was.... less than exciting (in Nat's opinion).

You know you're a Dad when.... you decide to celebrate your 30-something birthday by taking your kids to Chuck E. Cheese.

We flew to Houston on Dec. 24th and were treated to a lovely Christmas Eve dinner prepared for us by Annie. She had put a lot of work in and it showed--the dinner was delicious! They downloaded a "fireplace" app on their iphone and projected it onto their TV screen so it would look like a real fireplace. Very cute. Bright and early the next morning we celebrated Christmas Day... on Christmas Day!

Esme got lots of cute clothes, books and toys. She also got one of the newest Baby Banana Brush products.... the Baby Sharky Brush. She was a great model for us!

We also did a really great job of convincing Esme that she is related to Santa Clause.

We were in Houston for a whole week! During this time we ate excellent food (seriously, the BEST steak dinner of our lives), poor Esme didn't get to eat any!

We also went to the place that answers the phone when the astronauts call and say "Houston, we have a problem". Even though they don't actually send rockets out from this place, its still a part of NASA. It was pretty cool.

The best part of the week was hanging out with this smiley little wiggle worm.

After Houston, we flew back to Phoenix and spent New Years with Ricky and Nancee's families. Lincoln and Erica thought it would be really funny to attack Aunt Natalee with their light sabers. It wasn't.

After the violence, it was time for dancing. This is Erica's "arabesque". She already knows way more about dancing than Nancee or Natalee ever did.

Phoenix was having record lows while we were there. Everyone said we brought the bad weather with us. Notice the beanies and gloves??

Then we all went on babysitting duty. Which consisted of fun stuff like....

Wrestling w/ Papa Tutu

Getting haircuts & Playing Outside

Bubbles!

Laughing

Feet??

And riding bikes! Go Lincoln!

After all this running around.... we thought it would be a good time to make a quick trip to Hawaii! We spent the second week of January in Kauai. Pictures are downloading now...

Time Flies

You know how they say "time flies when you're having fun"... well, we must have been having a whole lot of fun because our poor blog has been neglected for over a year! So much has happened since our last entry that it was overwhelming to think about going back in time and blogging every little thing. Instead, I will focus on the 4 most important things that have happened since I last logged in.

#1) Logan Spencer Phillips (born Nov. 3, 2009 to Ricky & Eden)

#2) Sadie Jane Tegeder (born Feb. 26, 2010 to Troy & Nancee)

#3) Esme Lorraine Phillips (born June 29, 2010 to Roo & Annie)

#4) Lea Elle Phillips (born Aug. 3, 2010 to Spencer & Kristin)

And everything else that happened in 2010 just isn't as important as these 4 special babies!

We can't wait for J.J. and Jennifer's little boy to join the group in May 2011!

Mom and Erica Jumping on the Trampoline

Welcome Logan!!

Logan Spencer Phillips was born on November 3rd in Phoenix. He is 9 pounds and 5 ounces and 20 inches long. Eden and Ricky are excited that he wasn't born on Halloween! Family is resting and doing well now. Eden's mom is at home with Lincoln, and they will both meet the new baby when they come home from the hospital. We are so happy to have grandbaby #13 join the family! Also, Nancee confirmed today that grandbaby #14 will be a girl, so our numbers continue to be even. :)

October Updates

Mom and Dad were able to attend Brayden's baptism in Temecula a few weeks ago. Congratulations on your big day Brayden!

Mom and Dad also spent some time in Arizona to tend Erica while her parents went on a cruise. They picked a great time to go... right during our first snowstorm of the season! Erica had lots of fun playing with her cousin Lincoln.

Following their time down south, Mom and Dad then went to help Ryan and Heather to move into their new house in Herriman, UT. It is really pretty and open feeling. The kids have a huge basement to play in too! Heather has decorated the kids rooms really cute too.

HOUSE UPDATE (for all those of you who have been asking)

This is the west facing side of the house, with the exterior stone and siding in place. Notice the red trim-- Moms idea.

This is how the kitchen looks when you walk in the front door. They just finished putting up the drywall this week. Now all we are waiting for is flooring and cabinets.

This is the east side of the house, notice that the cement has been poured, the siding is up, and the garage doors are in. The lights outside actually work now too! Very exciting.