Merry Christmas To All...

It has finally arrived...Christmas Eve.  Still to this day one of the hardest days for me to get through because I am so excited for Christmas.  Every year, and again tomorrow, no matter what I do, I will be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5:00am (that's being generous) ready to peak around the corner to see what Santa brought.

I hope that even though it seems right now like Colin doesn't really care about much, that some of the things we do as traditions will carry with him and he will look forward to every year.

Farewell Phillip.  We had a great time and will miss you.  I hope to see you again next year and I'm sure Colin feels the same way!

Merry Christmas!

Hold On Tight

I would hold on tight too if I got to ride on the back of RoboCop, a.k.a. Joel Kinnaman.  That would be one exciting joy ride :)

That's A Wrap

Well, not quite!  Phillip was ready to help Nana do some wrapping but didn't realize it was time to go back home.  Colin was very worried that Phillip didn't make it, but rest assured, he did.
Thank you Nana and Papa for such a fun weekend.  Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Quite the Bookworm

Nana and Papa read a lot of books, so Phillip decided to do some hide-and-seek in the book pile.  This was a good one because he hid so well, it caught people off guard when they finally noticed him.

The Write Stuff

Phillip did make his way to Idaho and Nana and Papa's house!  And mom got behind on her posts.  I think everyone had a fun time over the weekend and is just a little bit sad to be back home.  However...there is no place like home for Christmas!

Hi-Ho T-Rex, Away

I never knew Phillip was such a good dinosaur rider.  And who knew there were still dino's around to ride?  Colin was impressed that he again was wearing jammies that matched the antics of Phillip.

Now it's off to Idaho.  Will Phillip follow us?  More than likely he will and Nana and Papa's house is always a fun place to play at!

Frosty The Snowman

I don't know where the heck Phillip got his snow to make snowmen, but it certainly wasn't here!  What a terrible December for snow!  I hate these warm temperatures and sunshine.  Bring on the the gray clouds and snow.  Lots of it.  And cold temps so I can bundle up in coats and scarfs and gloves.

Anyway, good job Phillip.  All you are really missing for your snowman is a hat.  Now lets see if you follow us to Idaho....

It Must Be Italian!

Ladies and Gentlemen...Phillip has returned!  Mostly because mom is having too much fun.  Colin still really didn't care if he came back or not.  And look at those jammies.  If they were pink, with ears, he would be the cutest little bunny on the block!

And if you are in the market for a leg lamp...there is no need to find a plastic leg, wrap it with nylon stockings, paint the shoe black, and a button for the base and with paper and wire, construct a lampshade...because Target and Shopko have a damn leg lamp ornament!  Oh well, mine was made with love.  And lots of swear words :)

Glad to have you back Phillip.  I know that I enjoy you.  And isn't that all that matters?

Will We Ever See You Again?

Well, Sunday night welcomed the unfortunate event of Colin playing with Phillip.  Of course when you touch the elf, he loses his powers and can never return.  So, for now we are done with Phillip.  I would however try and come up with some clever excuse as to why he returned and how he got his magic back, but sadly Colin cared less whether Phillip came back or not.  And if our elf is not appreciated, I see no reason to continue his antics.  There might be 1 or 2 returns of Phillip due to the fact that I worked really hard on some of his props and I would hate to see them go to waste.  So we shall see what the upcoming days bring.

Anchors Away

A day late, but on Sunday Phillip tried to help us by boating in some supplies we needed to fix a whole in the wall caused by a weak towel bar and a strong 5 year old.  I sure hope that over the next couple of days the bathroom gets back to normal and we never have a gymnastic moment like that again!  Colin is VERY lucky that Santa had such amazing composure to this little incident.

I Always Feel Like, Somebody's Watching Me

Ok Phillip, now you have gone and gotten creepy on us!

Colin thought Phillip was trying to make himself some friends this morning.  I think the two bananas are Phillip's geriatric acquaintances. And I mean really mom...can you take a few minutes and clean up the counters and the sink?!  How embarrassing.

Phillip Goes To The Vet

Well, kind of.  We took our cat Loki to the vet for her shots and Phillip decided to hop into the cage.  Apparently he wasn't watching what he was doing and the door closed behind him.  Maybe while he's in there he should go and get his shots too.

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Rice Crispies.

I just love how Colin's reaction goes from amusement to pure confusion!  How did Phillip get on the box and where is all the cereal?  I'm more concerned about my ability to do dishes before I start taking pictures!!

And why does that wine rack in the background only filled with two bottles?!

Better Call Saul

Do I secretly hope this will get me a date with Mr. Aaron Paul? "But Shannon...he's married"  Ahhh, technicalities!!  You get several free passes in life, don't you?!

Hand-stitched hazmat suit...check! Blue meth and lots of cash...check!  Confusing your five year old...check!  This one was more for mom and dad.  When you have done several Elf ideas, you start finding creative ways to stay different.  Again, Mr. Paul would find this creative and worthy of his time, right?  Colin thought Phillip was really funny, and asked, "what's he doing?" He's baking honey.  "What's the blue stuff?"  Candy honey, candy!

Even though dad took a little wind out my sails (he didn't know what the theme was), I like it and I'm proud of the time and thought I put into it, so there!

Here's hoping Phillip doesn't knock on your door :)

Yo Ho Matey's Away

Yah hey no way Phillip J! Jake and his crew was taken over by Phillip this morning. Not sure how everyone feels about that, especially Jake, but as long as his intentions are foiling Captain Hook's devious plans, I'm sure everything will be forgiven.

And The Elf Ran Away With The Spoon

Although there wasn't too much creativity in Phillip's movements last night, he sure gave Colin a challenge in hide and seek! And without missing a beat, Colin pointed out that his pj's did not match the silverware drawer.  Well, I guess I would hope not.  Those wouldn't be very comfy jammies would they?

Ask And I Will Make It Happen

So Phillip deviated a little bit from some of his planned shenanigans.  Colin asked a few days ago, if he wore his Garfield shirt to bed, would Phillip do something with Garfield?  Ya know what...OF COURSE who doesn't love Garfield more than this mom, so let's see what we can do.  Just so happens I have a Garfield wreath hanging around the house.  Ha!  What do I NOT have that's Garfield hanging around the house?!

I think this was a good little stunt that Phillip pulled.  I know Colin was excited. He said, "see mom, I told you if I wore this shirt Philllip would do something with Garfield."  Glad to make it happen buddy-bear!

How May I Help You?

Phillip took a page from Lucy and the Peanut's gang and decided to offer some holiday help.  Thank God!!  I need a lot of help this year, and since it's only $.05, Phillip and I are going to become close friends.

This Is The Voice!

Next up, meet Phillip J.  He is a 25 year old aspiring singer who hails from the North Pole.  Give it up for Phillip J.!

"Mom...I think Phillip is in a competition."  You would be correct sir.  Good job figuring that out since you have never seen the show. I sure am glad that at least the superheros want to compete to have Phillip on their team.  Go team Vader!

Your first thought might be...wow...mom has a lot of time on her hands.  And maybe I do.  However, I made sure I had that time to hand craft the little chairs, make the stage and microphone (complete with Aerosmith scarfs), be aware that we need to have a glittery backdrop and yes...if you noticed the spotlight on Phillip...no details were spared. I have such a fun time doing stuff like this and hopefully it won't be wasted on Colin.  Hopefully years down the road he will say, "Mom, remember when you were a dork and made a complete Voice re-creation for Phillip?"  I sure do honey...now lets finish applying the black goo to your Helix costume for Comic-Con.  You don't want to disappoint anyone.  Maybe this becomes the point where people think the Elf is creepy?!  I'm still trying to figure that out.

May The Force Be With You

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Mr. Phillip decided last night he would become the captain of the Millennium Falcon and make Han Solo his co-pilot.  Ouch!!  I also noticed that Colin has kind of been sporting pj's that correspond to what Phillip has been doing.  Oh dear God...please let me not keep that up!  Especially for some of the up coming themes that are not quite appropriate for Colin at his age, not to mention the stress put upon myself to keep that up.

Oh well, I hope after tonight Han gets his ship back and can make his voyage to Tatooine or Alderaan.

Spider Elf, Spider Elf...

We had a little bit of super hero action going on this morning, and coincidentally Colin was wearing an appropriate shirt!

Not too much to be said of Phillip and his spidey senses today but Colin sure did think it was funny.

Connect 4!

One of my fondest memories of the game Connect 4 was sitting in Arby's with my best friend Wendy having Connect 4 tournaments.  We would sit there for what seemed like hours playing the game to see who would be the ultimate champion. We were good.  I mean REALLY good. Most of the games ended up in draws.  Ah...good times!

So when Colin received this game as a birthday gift, no one was more excited than me.  Granted playing with him is not as challenging, and I'm always reminding him the object of the game is to connect "4", not 3 or 2 or bingo. So I guess Phillip decided it was time for him to practice the game if not to play with Colin, but to play with a Connect 4 pro!

I wonder if there is a way to make money playing this game?!

He's Baaaack!!

It's that time of year again, and for all of you who think Elf on the Shelf is creepy...CLOWNS are creepy. China dolls in your grandma's doll case are creepy. Telling your kids an old, fat man who watches you every year and sneaks into your house and leaves you things...WTF?!
But stick with me!!  I promise a few surprises that will appeal to all the grown ups. After all, I wasn't planning on doing anything this year with Phillip, but for some reason I went all out. Let's just say there is a home made lamp and a hand stitched costume.

Anyway.  Colin LOVES his little elf Phillip, and that's all that matters to this mom. And boy did Phillip arrive this morning.  What do you get the kid that loves Legos, Star Wars and Christmas...A Lego Star Wars advent calendar of course.  Colin could not have been more surprised or excited to see this.  I'm not sure what Phillip was thinking giving this kid a present WAY before Christmas, but I think it will be fun for him.

So check back often for the daily hi-jinx of Phillip J. Elferson.  Let the holidays begin.

Happy 5th Birthday To Me!

This year for my birthday I went to Jump Around Utah.  It was SO much fun!!  They have lots of things to bounce on, they have a really cool "hurricane" machine and a jungle to climb around in.  I had so many of my friends show up to the party.  They are the best.  I had a Star Wars cake and ended up getting lots of Star Wars Legos, some really fun games and some remote control cars.  The first picture above is now a funny story for mom, but it didn't start out that way.  While she was getting my balloons out of the bag, she went to catch my Darth Vader balloon, and the rest of them got loose and floated to the top of the building.  Dad "MacGyvered" a broom handle and some tape and very carefully he was able to reach every balloon except one.  He saved the day and mom's sanity...as always.
Thank you mom and dad (and all my friends) for such a fun 5th birthday!