December 2022

December was a busy and fun month, with lots to report. We had one decent blanket of snow that mostly melted before Christmas, and some very cold weather that we missed because we were in Arizona, and then finished the year with some warmer weather when we got back. Here are all of our photos and videos.

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

Rob: To get into the Christmas spirit, we visited the arboretum lights and also the lights/decor at the Watt Farm drive through. We did both last year, so they are becoming tradition. Holiday gatherings are another good way to capture the Christmas spirit. We enjoyed hosting a small gathering of a few people from our ward in which we had a white elephant gift exchange and baked cinnamon rolls along with other snacks, drinks, and music.  We also enjoyed the ward Christmas activity that featured a dinner, desserts, an open mic musical talent show, and a live nativity put on by the children. I contributed a jazzy beat poetry reading to the open mic portion, and some ginger ale egg nog to the food portion.

Arizona Christmas

Rob: We flew to Tucson a few days before Christmas to spend the holiday with Becky's family in Sierra Vista, AZ and Tucson. It was a multi-stage travel process that involved driving an hour to the Newark airport, flying 4 hours to Phoenix, flying another hour to Tucson, staying with Becky's brother's family in Tucson, and then driving an hour to Sierra Vista. There was a lot of other travel during our stay, including between Sierra Vista and Tucson. Alex was a very good traveler through almost  all of it. 

The weather was sunny and in the 60s while we were there, and we enjoyed doing lots of stuff with Becky's family. We spent a lot of time just visiting at Becky's mom's house in Sierra Vista, and Alex enjoyed exploring the new surroundings including the trampoline in the backyard. We visited with Becky's brother Sean there and his son, but unfortunately didn't get to see Becky's brother Nate whose flight out of Provo was cancelled due to weather like many others. We did a short hike around the hummingbird preserve outside of Sierra Vista. We did some shopping around Sierra Vista and visited all the main things there to entertain Alex, including the parks, the mall, and the Peter Piper Pizza arcade games. We took a trip to Tombstone with Becky's mom and did some of the touristy things there, including a carriage ride/history tour, and eating lunch there. We made a couple trips up to Tucson, visiting with Becky's brother Dave and his family, hanging out at Reid Park, and visiting Becky's dad. During this past year or so, Becky's dad has had a rapid decline in Alzheimer's/dementia.  Just recently, they were able to get him into a care facility in Tucson near where her brother lives, so it was really good that during this trip Becky was able to be there to see the care facility and spend time with him. 

Alex was around a lot of dogs and a cat during this trip, but learned to get along with them. He was constantly saying "dog" as they wandered around him, which has been a favorte word of his lately.

We traveled home on Dec. 27, and it was a long day but it went really well. It was really great to have extended family to spend the holiday with this year, and also to be somewhere warm to thaw out for a bit. Becky and Alex have been back to Arizona a couple times before, but for me it was my first visit back since we moved to NY. Hopefully we'll be able to come back again soon, and hopefully be able to spend some time in Phoenix to see old friends there.

New Year's Eve

Rob: Since NYE was on a Saturday this year, it mostly just felt like a regular Saturday. Still recovering from holiday travel, we got a lot of cleaning done around the house, and that evening we took Alex to Bounce in Poughkeepsie, a place for kids with a bunch of trampolines and foam blocks. Alex got a solid 30 minutes of play in there before he found their arcade games over in the corner and then wanted to do that. We rang out the old year with some wings and appetizers at home, and then rang in the new year the next day with some ham, cheesy potatoes, and brussels sprouts.

Lost Baby Teeth

Rob: Right on schedule, Alex's bottom teeth started to move and become loose after he turned six last month. He has always been very sensitive about anyone touching his mouth except for brushing teeth, so it's been hard to see what's going on in there. But his first bottom tooth came out probably around Christmas eve, and then his other bottom tooth came out on New Year's Eve. We don't know where either went, meaning he probably swallowed them while eating chicken nuggets.

New and Favorite Things

Rob: I always enjoy digging into humanity's vast catalog of Christmas songs each year and finding new ones. "I Believe in Father Christmas" originally by Emmerson Lake and Palmer is old, but new to me this year that I liked.

Alex: The Pixar movie Cars 3 has been too traumatic for Alex to watch since he was 2 or 3. But now at age six he has decided he can handle seeing Lightning McQueen lose to Jackson Storm. So that has been his favorite movie lately. He enjoyed watching it on our flights to and from Arizona so we have Lightning and friends to thank for smooth travel. Alex's other favorite thing is his new red sled, seen in a photo above. He just loves being pulled around on it and is looking forward to the next snowfall.

Becky:  My favorite thing would have to be getting to see my family.  Lots of emotions this year with having to see my dad in assisted living.  Sometimes he recognizes me and sometimes he doesn't.  Just a few months ago, he was talking to me on the phone, like he always has, and was doing pretty well so the rapid decline has been a bit hard to handle.  But my brother, David and his wife, who live in Tucson, found a place for him close to where they live and have been working constantly to get his finances in order and to move him into his new place.  I really would like to be back in Arizona for the sake of visiting him as often as possible, but we're just too locked into keeping Alex where he is in his Autism program.  We do really enjoy living in New York, but I know my dad would really benefit from my visits, so it's a tough situation.  So glad I got to see him and also my mom.  Rob, Alex, and I had the best time staying with her.  Glad I got to see my brothers (with the exception of Nate who had to stay in Utah).  I am especially grateful to Dave and Stacey (my older brother and sister-in-law).  They've been helping my dad on pretty much a daily basis and are always upbeat about it.  I've probably talked more to my brother, Dave, this last month than I have in the last few years combined just because we had a lot to figure out with helping my dad.  It's been nice to have quality brother time.  It will be an interesting new year without my dad to talk to like I'm used to.  And I worry a lot about how he's doing.  But I feel lucky/blessed to have such a great family to fall back on.  And family time is, by far, the best way to spend the holidays:)