Christmas Southwestern Tour

For the Christmas break this year, our family was once again debating how we ought to spend our time off from school. The kids would have the standard two week break, and Theo would have his longest break of the year of four weeks. Then there was me at the new job. Only a week off for me between Christmas and the New Year. We decided that we would keep the plan in place to go to Durango first, then Salt Lake, and finally ending up in Page. Since I would have an abbreviated vacation, I would come home to Amarillo after the Salt Lake leg, and the family would continue on without me.

In the week leading up to Christmas, the boys (including Theo) ended their semester on Wednesday. The weather was nice, so Theo took the boys on another Palo Duro Canyon hike. This time they tackled the Lighthouse trail. I got to work Thursday, so I missed that one, but by Friday we were all officially on break together. In years past this would often be a very busy time of last minute shopping, parties, and family gatherings. Being here in Texas, we had our shopping done, and we were hanging out on our own. Kind of relaxing.

Christmas morning we had a snowy surprise. Although the forecast had called for sunshine and temps around 50, we woke up to snowfall which continued throughout the day. We are learning that a weather forecast here is not something you would want to bet money on. We did the usual gift opening and eating with plenty of time to get ready to go to church by 9am. Apparently our kids are not yet old enough to care about sleep more than gifts.

Christmas afternoon was devoted to packing our bags. Despite the dreadful weather, we had scheduled ourselves to leave for our big cross country trip. Monday morning, long before the sun came up, we loaded the kids and the dog into the SUV, put it into 4-wheel drive, and headed out into the frozen tundra. About 7 icy hours later, we arrived in Durango for a joyful reunion with the Gilleland clan. This was a quick one night only stop. We had originally planned to caravan to Salt Lake City together, but an unexpected surgery for John's mom required the Big G tribe to stay home to watch over their recovering grandma.

Once in Salt Lake we were able to spend several days with the Hannays and Grandma and Grandpa Ross. One evening we had a big family dinner at Kim's and we were joined by Weston (Debbie). You can read more about that here if you are not in the know. My parents had asked Theo and I ahead of time if we were okay with the kids hanging out with Weston. They have not seen him in about a year and a half. The physical changes would be obvious. We figured, no time like the present.

We had a very nice dinner, and once we had finished eating, many of us sat around playing card games. It was a fun filled and light hearted evening that passed without incident. In fact, it was probably the most enjoyable time I have had with Weston in a few years. A few hours later as we headed back to Grandma's to go to bed, Bowen asked Theo and I, "Who was that other person that was there?" I was pretty sure who he meant as we had all been playing together the last several hours. I played dumb and asked Bo who did he mean. He said, "The person at the table with the hat." With a sidelong glance to Theo I told him that person was Debbie. There was a pause. I went on to explain that Debbie wants to look like a boy and that she goes by a different name now. He and Rex asked several more questions, mostly related to how exactly a girl goes about growing facial hair. It was a bit awkward to say the least, but I think we handled it. Rex summed it up well when he said, "So it was like Debbie, in a disguise, like a Debbie disguise." Yeah, I don't even know what to do with that.

The following day, Theo, Drake, Corbin, and I got to go to the Jordan River temple with Nate to do baptisms. I couldn't believe how busy it was there! It was nice though. Even having to wait a long time, I liked having the quiet time to relax in the temple. That afternoon, Brad and Keryn came up with their brood and spent some time with us. Grandma was in and out since her mom was not doing very well. Altogether, it was a nice hang out together time.

The last thing on our agenda in Salt Lake was a visit to Temple Square to see the lights. This is something we have not done in many years. Brad and Keryn were going to come with us, but finally opted out. Luckily, it wasn't too cold, and we had a nice time cruising the grounds.

On the morning of New Years Eve, my boys loaded up and headed off to Page. I of course had to stay behind so I could catch a plane home on Sunday. I must say, I was very jealous that they were getting to go home to Page without me. I would like to say I had some great pictures that Theo took of all the merriment they made. That would work assuming Theo had taken any pictures! Oh well. The boys were able to reunite with friends and run around in their hometown.

I spent New Years Eve at Kim's with her and Steve and my parents. We played games and chatted. It was nice to be able to head to bed before midnight. I have really become fond of going to bed at an early hour. Late Sunday morning, Kim took me to the airport, and I got to fly home all by myself. It was weird getting back to our house and no one else being here.

I headed back to work Monday morning, and then later in the day I got a call from Theo. Rex and Bowen had both come down with stomach flu in the night. I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say, eventually all of the boys came down with it one at a time, they fell like dominoes. I felt a little guilty that Theo was on his own to deal with the plague, but not that bad. Sadly, with all of the germs abounding, there was a bit of a damper on the merry making. The rest of the boys' visit was spent quarantined at Grandma Martin's.

By the time they rolled back into Amarillo on Wednesday night, they had all pretty much recovered. I was so glad to have them back. Peace and solitude are only nice for so long! And so, another Christmas season has passed. We were so very fortunate to have seen so many of our loved ones. Happy New Year!