Christmas

Dave says: We had a pretty fun winter break with stops in Phoenix, the Grand Canyon, and Cedar City. On Christmas Eve we drove up to Phoenix and had dinner at Christine's. Her kids got pretty excited on Christmas morning and it was fun to see them open presents. They both got electric cars that they can ride in and they had a fun time driving them all around the neighborhood.

Christine played piano in the Christmas program in church and then we went to visit my uncle Jim's family before heading over to my parents house for dinner. As usual, there was a semi-successful reinactment of the Christmas story. This year there was also "Ogre magic" as I convinced Christine's kids that bottles of 7-Up labeled "Ogre magic potion" were in fact magic and that by putting magic beans (Mentos) in the magic potion, they would get a special surprise. I'm sure most people are now familiar with this trick which creates a 30 foot soda geyser but Christine's kids were especially impressed. Later I was asked by Kaylee if I could make her toy animals come to life.

The next morning we took a nice long bike ride on the northeast side of Phoenix. The weather was gorgeous and reminded me why I love Arizona. In the afternoon we played frisbee, croquet, and Halo (favorite setup: "Infection" with energy swords and shotguns). In the evening, we went to "Zoo Lights" (along with pretty much everyone else in Phoenix) which was pretty cool in spite of the crowds.

The next day it was time to head for the Grand Canyon. Once again Christine's girls got excited as we stopped in Williams to ride the "Polar Express" in which you ride an old train a few miles outside of town to a cardboard recreation of the "North Pole" featuring Santa who then hops aboard the train to say Hi. Although we didn't match the targeted demographic we still had a fun time.

The following day it was time to go hiking and we went with my parents and Daniel and Katie down the Grand View trail to Horseshoe Mesa for some variety. The most exciting part was going in the Cave of the Domes which is a cool cave about a 4 mile hike from the rim that is rarely visited and goes back for several rooms. The Grand View trail was steep and slick with lots of snow and we were definately sore from the downhill for the next several days (in contrast, the uphill wasn't nearly so painful). After one more day on the rim that was a bit more relaxing it was finally time to leave the Grand Canyon and head north to Cedar City to see Alisha's family.

Alisha says: Part three of the Christmas vacation included driving to Cedar to spend some time with the Bezanson crew. With all the siblings, spouses, and grandkids planning on being there we knew it would be a bit wild and fun. Dave and I had a great time being the cool Uncle and Aunt playing games with all of the kids and then handing them back to their parents when misbehaving, time for a nap, or smelling a little suspicious. Dave did some more "Ogre magic" for Brody, Quinn, and Arley who all loved it.

My parents are always great hosts. My mom is always cooking up something spectacular or planning fun activiites such as the candybar or Costco game. Dave spent a day skiing with his brother Daniel at Brian Head. It was fun to get everyone together to ring in the new year!!

 "Ogre Magic"

 Caving at Cave of the Domes

 Hiking on Horseshoe Mesa at the Grand Canyon

 More "Ogre Magic" and playing with the kids