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.