Dec. 22-30, 2020 Christmas Fun in Tucson

We had a wonderful reunion over the Christmas holiday!

Camille and Bryan arrived the evening of Dec. 21st, and the rest of the family came on the 22nd and 23rd.  Tytan, as president of TBTI Inc., handed out the latest in TBTI branded products: white monogrammed towels and face masks.  

On Dec. 23rd we put two courses of block on the trampoline pit retaining wall.  We filled the cells with caliche, wet it down, and compacted it so it would act as a natural cement after it dried. It only took a couple of hours with everyone working together.  Once the trampoline was installed, Ty, Ben, and Craig showed us some great moves!  

Following our tradition (since Nathan and Megan gave us the green journal way back in 2013), many wrote about their favorite reunion activities and how they saw family members helping each other.  Olivia wrote, "I helped babies cross rocks to the trampoline."

Christmas Eve began with an invigorating High Fitness class lead by Michelle and Camille in the back yard. They were perfectly synchronized and tough to keep up with.

We loved playing games--badminton, cross net, and a variety of card games, including Magic and Monopoly Deal, and decorating gingerbread men. Ava wrote, "I liked playing games and swimming. It was super fun!"

Tytan wrote, "I was very grateful that Uncle Craig got me about 230 Magic cards when he didn't have to."  Craig responded, "I have also enjoyed playing and teaching how to play Magic: The Gathering, and building decks together."

Brie and Olivia wrote a note to Santa and left him a snack.  They found a thank you note from Santa the next morning.

Camille and Bryan fixed a delicious meal of ham, potatoes, rolls, and a spinach salad. (In fact, we had delicious meals throughout the week!) We set the tables with paper plates (for James and Miles, plus Ava, who was gracious to sit with them), white china, and Grandpa Scott's china and "crystal" goblets from the discount store. Uncle Craig showed Ava, Tytan, Aubrie, and Olivia how to fold the napkins in a fancy way. This dinner was one of Grandma's favorite memories because it reminded her of Great Grandma and Grandpa Scott and how Grandpa always loved being with our family--and because Ken and his friend Amber joined us from Mesa!

After dinner we gathered in the family room and watched the beautiful church video "The Christ Child." Then we went into the living room enjoyed piano performances and singing.  

Michelle wrote, "Enjoyed listening to Kaitlyn, Ali, Max, Tytan, Ava, and Ben play the piano.  Immensely enjoyed everyone singing Christmas songs on Christmas Eve (specifically Megan rockin' out to Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas' and fan girling when Kaitlyn and Max rapped Justin Beiber's 'Drummer Boy'." 

Tytan's "Tips" cup is just out of view.

All the grandkids showed great restraint on Christmas morning, waiting patiently while watching "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" until 8 a.m. to open presents.  As Nathan said, it was great to see how excited all the kids were on Christmas morning.

There were many wonderful gifts exchanged, including an original song, "Come Closer to God," by Ben for Grandpa, and a self-portrait by Grandpa for Grandma!

One of the most popular gifts was a light saber for each of the grandkids.

We enjoyed a visit from our special family friend, Paula Carlson.  Grandpa was thrilled that Michelle asked him to cut her hair--just like old times when she was in high school. 

Michelle wrote about "James being in his diaper practically 24/7."

We had great weather the whole week. It was a little chilly for swimming in the pond, but Brie, Miles, and Ethan braved it. Most everyone enjoyed swimming in the heated outdoor pool at Ventana Vista where we own a couple of condos.

Michelle mentioned a highlight was Ethan LOVING his paint by sticker book.

The hot tub and pickle ball courts were also popular throughout the week.  A highlight for Grandma was when Miles got out of the hot tub to give her a hug--seven times in a row :).  Josh mentioned that he enjoyed playing "shark" in the pool.  

Highlights on Sunday were visiting the temple grounds and having sacrament meeting as a family in the back yard.

We loved being together to celebrate Kate's 16th birthday!!!

A major endeavor was taking the family photo.  After the first attempt didn't yield the best results, we called Nathan out of his Zoom meeting to rejoin the family for another try. In the end, we got a great photo--worth all the effort! 

Highlights on Monday were a family hike in Sabino Canyon in the morning and horseback riding for the kids in the afternoon. 

The photo bomber gleefully prepares to make her move....

Nathan mentioned a highlight was going to the dam--"but the dam was only holding back sand."

The long-awaited, quadrennial family golf tournament took place on Tuesday, Dec. 29th, the last full day of our reunion.  

 A little prep work before the big game.

Nathan wrote that a highlight was "going golfing--and coming home with more golf balls than we went with, and taking two times as long to complete nine holes as expected."

While some got lots of great exercise battling it out on the greens at Ventana, the rest of us had a great time chatting, playing games, and making cookies and popcorn at home.  

Note the clever arcade game complete with joy stick! Both Michelle and Josh mentioned that a highlight for them was seeing Ben, Brie, and Olivia make and "sell" activity books.

Miles duet with his mom was another highlight of the reunion!

Craig summed up the day in our family journal: "A group of 8 of us when golfing today and had a blast.  Now it is time for the Call Family Game Night!" Michelle mentioned some of the family favorites: "Skull King, Chameleon, Balderdash, Monopoly Deal, and War." 

Everyone was up, packed, and ready to go early on Dec. 30th.  Before leaving, the kids choose coins from Grandma and Grandpa's travels to start their own collections.  There were coins from Africa, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Grandma loved that Ben thought of collecting money to help poor people.

About five minutes before leaving, Kate and Ava discovered slides. Grandma has lots--thousands--from Grandpa Scott's collection.  Come back and help me sort through them!

Our week was filled with lots of fun, love, and kindness.  Our family is truly TBTI!

Kate wrote: "I noticed Tytan helping his siblings and putting them to bed." 

Ava: "I noticed Ethan and Ben helping James." Later she wrote, "I noticed Kate played with the babies and they learned to do the Russian dolls." 

Ethan told his mom: "I love Ava."

Max did a great job of summing up the reunion: "I loved so many things about this reunion.  Just a few are jumping on the trampoline, golfing, playing games, playing with cousins, learning new games, swimming, hiking, eating lots of junk food, and lots more. I am so grateful for all my family and for everything we were able to do."  We agree!