Holidays with Phil's Family

We spent the week between Christmas and New Year's visiting Phil's family in Joplin, Missouri. Unfortunately due to a couple of hospitalizations, we weren't all in the same room at the same time. So, it was a bit of an unusual visit. Luckily, everyone is doing fine now.

The Shilane Chanukkah gift exchange would not be complete without a bit of humor.

Dave with all of the unopened gifts


Phil's Mom


Phil's Mom with a marionette that we bought in Prague during the summer


Phil & Julie


Phil's Dad got a Snuggie!

A few traditions have been started in the last few years. The first is that Dave and Phil continue to exchange the same Dave Chappelle DVDs over and over again.

Surprise, Phil!

The second tradition is the exchange of mystery gifts. At this point, the only rules of mystery gifts seem to be that the rules are still unknown. The point is just to give silly gifts not necessarily to the person they are intended for and then have fun or swap.

This year, Amy gave Nerf guns to the guys so that they could have a war.

Dave and his mystery gun

Phil and Brent with their guns and the aftermath of the gift exchange. Phil appears to be plotting his next move against Brent.

More of the mystery gift exchange. Amy got Canasta cards, which were meant for Brent.

While we were in Joplin, we were able to get together with a couple of Phil's good friends from high school: Ryan Pierce, who was a groomsman in our wedding, and Eric, Carry, Eli, and Wyatt DeGruson. We spent New Year's Eve with Eric and his family, but unfortunately, we didn't take any photos.

Phil, Julie, & Ryan

Happy Holidays from the Shilanes!