DECORATIONS-INSIDE AND OUT

I was able to use many decorations that we've had for years, so it seems more like home than the RV did. The plant shelves came in handy.
The crib at the corner was made by my grandfather before I was born. It seems right to use it again. The little tree down th shelf holds the ornaments from my mother's tree when she was a little girl. Colette should notice the "big" snowman amd snowwoman she made me before she learned what the word "small" meant. I'm sure glad I kept them.

I put loads of ornaments in the auction, but I seemed to have kept just the right amount for our new tree. The ornaments are all antiques from my father's family and the tree skirt was made by Don's mother. I bought the angel when the kids were little because I thought she looked perfect for our family-she has green hair and is cross-eyed!

We put a few lights outside-on the front of our home and on the shed.

Next year maybe we'll join the neighbors in the Griswold contest. We'll have to think about it.

THE POINSETTIA QUEEN

For those of you who know the story, it continues yet today, since we have new people who now know about it. It happened by mistake. Jerry and Dana were given a huge poinsettia plant, but they already had one-so they gave it to me. It had a few spots on it, but looked good. By morning it had lost a large amount of leaves and really looked sick. I knew they'd feel bad about it, so I decided to tell them that it was a terrible thing to do to "the queen". You should have heard them laugh when we told them the story. A couple nights later they insisted we tell Larry and Joanie, who of course laughed just as much. Larry especially liked the part about the nurse giving Kris the plant wrapped in a blanket instead of her new baby. Anyway, when we were leaving Francisco, Larry swears a poinsettia just happened to fall near his feet, so he could give it to me. I'm not sure that's how it happened, and God knows his witnesses can't be trusted. Here it is.
The guy in the red shirt is Larry. Would you trust him?

I was just thinking that it probably is about time to thank Marvin for all the smiles and laughter that he's caused throughout the years. (since the 1980's) On second thought, it's probably too soon!

CHRISTMAS CONT.

We ate at the Francisco buffet which was amazing. Everything tasted good.

Our waitress took pictures from both ends for me.

Outside at the fountain with full bellies and smiles.

It was a great place to eat-this may be the beginning of a tradition!

CHRISTMAS DAY

On Christmas Day, twelve of us went to the Francisco Grande Hotel and Resort, which used to be where the San Francisco Giants used to have their spring training. They eventually moved to Phoenix because the players weren't able to get enough night life. There are still pictures around as reminders.

It's hard to see in this picture, but the pool is in the shape of a baseball bat, and the hottub is shaped like a baseball.

The hotel has outdoor steps that resemble those in a baseball stadium.
The bar is named after John Wayne who had a ranch in the area. It was known for having Hollywood stars visit like Dale Robertson and Pat Boone.

The Giants were here for twenty years, followed by the Angels who stayed two years. Now it's fields are used by several types of sports for training and some buildings as rehab facilities.

CHRISTMAS EVE LUMINARIES

On Christmas eve morning, a lot of us gathered to prepare 4000 luminaries to light the way for the Christ Child and Mary and Joseph to find lodging, a Southwest tradition. We folded the bags, put in the sand, loaded them on trucks and distributed them around the park. Two women went on each truck to add the candles as the men placed them along the streets.

When Santa came, we served doughnuts and coffee to the workers.

This is how our corner looked.

Very impressive!

PARADE BEGINS

We gathered at the La Casa and were fortunate to be right behind the parks float from the town parade. It was a winner as usual. This years theme was "Out of This World -thus the Star Wars Theme. Our parade around the park took a little over an hour and a half-we listened to the Star Wars theme music almost all that time. Thank God it stopped toward the end! It was a cool float though, especially when the smoke came out of the flying saucer.

It looked much better lit up, but the battery on my camera died.


Guess who was in the last cart.

It was a cool evening, but lots of fun.

GOLF CART PARADE

I guess I have to interupt our Kentucky trip to take care of Christmas. Right now we're babysitting a golf cart, so Don suddenly decided we should be in the parade. As a joke, we took Blossom along. Here she is with her own little tree on the back.

Our sign was on the front.

Don rigged up the inverter to our battery charger and we had light.
The elf was ready to drive!

FAMILY FUN

We had a couple serious (?) Texas Hold-em players.

In case you have dirty thoughts-his shirt says Kentucky!

There were also serious ping pong players.

There were lots of gin rummy games which I won and I even beat a few of them at Scrabble. Grandma hasn't lost it yet!

THANKSGIVING

Scott and Jeff flew in on Wednesday night and were there until late Saturday. We had the typical huge meal on Thanksgiving, which was delicious. Jenna helped with some of the preperation, including making Christmas cookies. One of her friends helped too.

Lining up to fill our plates.
Enjoying the meal.
Watching football, some with their eyes closed after dinner.

Yet another wonderful feast!

JAKE'S HOME AT U OF K

Jake is a freshman at the University of Kentucky and seems to be doing very well. It's a pretty campus, even on a rainy day.

This is the dormitory area.

The football stadium is nearby, although they're known for their basketball team.

So, where do the years go? It seems like yesterday that Jake was a cute little blond haired boy who argued with me from the moment he could talk. (He still does!) Now he's making mature decisions and starting his life. Russ and Carrie did a good job preparing him for his future. They're soon to have five teenagers this year-five reasons to be proud! (If any of you remember having teenagers, I'm sure a few prayers would be appreciated.) So far, they've made friends with great kids, done well in sports and have gotten great grades. It will be fun to see what the future holds for them.

HOME, CONT.

They have a nice living room.

And kitchen.

And dining room.

The kids are able to walk to the high school, Joe is bussed to the middle school and it's in a very nice neighborhood. They've all made friends already, like school and work, and seem to be doing very well.

RUSS AND CARRIE'S HOUSE

Since the kids moved to Kentucky and started work immediately, they still have some boxes to unpack, but have settled in quite well. Their house has 5 bedrooms, 31/2 bathrooms, and many other rooms. It also has a tricky driveway-it reminds me a little of Weenie's old one.

This is one direction looking from the patio at the back yard.

It has a large foyer and a loft/computer room at the top of the stairway.

KENTUCKY TRIP

Russ and family moved from Omaha right before school started, to Lexington, Kentucky. They invited us for Thanksgiving, so we flew there for ten days, and did some sightseeing while we were there. We visited the Mary Todd Lincoln house in downtown Lexington.

Mrs. Lincoln lived a very interesting life. She was raised in a prominent family and married Abe, who had no money. Even though she became a First Lady, she had a lot of tragedy in her life. She not only saw her husband shot and killed, but she lost several children also. Her son had her committed to a mental hospital in later years, but she was able to get out and live abroad. A very interesting lady!

It was a lovely house inside, although pictures weren't allowed-the gardens in the backyard were also pretty.