The Adventures of Gene and JoAnn: December 2011

Monday, December 5, 2011

DeAnne's 70th Surprise Birthday Celebration & Thanksgiving at The Wilson's Home (Nov. 18 - Nov. 28, 2011)

This time, our adventure takes us first to Taylor, Az where Gene's sister, DeAnne is being surprised by her children for her 70th birthday. It was great to see DeAnne and her children, & their children. For an added bonus, 2 of Gene's other sisters, Norma & Vickie, drove down from Utah for the surprise. The four of us stayed at the only motel in Taylor. It actually was pretty nice, basic and very clean and the price was right! We stayed 2 nights, attending church on Sunday at DeAnne's ward. Monday afternoon, we had a leisurely drive north skirting the east side of Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, stopping for the night at Jacob Lake Inn. Jacob Lake Inn was really darling complete with a inviting fire in the fireplace as we checked in that evening. Great dinner in the Inn's restaurant (It's a good thing too, because there was no other place to eat for 30 miles!) and in talking to our waitress, found out that the Inn was owned by an LDS family....90% of the employees are Mormon :-) They hire lots of college students, especially in the summer months.

The next day, we had a very easy drive to Hurricane to Loni's for a 6 night stay! At Loni's we slept, ate, visited, watched Christmas Hallmark movies, slept, ate, visited, shopped, read books, ate, slept. . . . . .etc....etc.. . .a very relaxing and fun time. I really slipped up on this visit and didn't snap any photos of Emily or Kayley. They are both so grown up! Emily just celebrated her sweet 16 birthday, is driving and has a cell phone. Emily gave the greatest talk at church on Sunday. She is quite the public speaker! Kayley is 13 and is about an inch shorter than I am! That height thing works for Kayley since she is a volleyball player....and an awesome one for sure!

The Snowflake, Az LDS Temple

This quilt has the handprints of all DeAnne's grandchildren!

DeAnne is on the far left.

The birthday cake made by DeAnne's daughter, Julie

Norma & Vicki enjoying the party!

Vermillion Cliffs, Az

(3 photos above)

Jacob Lake Inn and grounds

Aiden

Our adorable great-grandson

Our pretty granddaughter, Rachel and her boy!

The green couch lives on!

Loni's clever Thanksgiving Table

Regan's ready!

Beautiful Zion!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

10/31/11 "Choo-Choo Ride to Santa Barbara"

About 2 weeks prior to our trip, we received such great news from Dr. Smith, Gene's radiation oncologist. Gene's brain tumor had shrunk to the size of a dime! Before his "cyber knife" treatment, the tumor was about 2 inches in diameter! Dr. Smith had told us to expect no more than a 10% shrinkage, if any at all. He was as surprised as we were!

To celebrate the great news, we decided to take a little train trip to Santa Barbara. Several years ago, Gene and I rode the train to Santa Barbara and stayed in a bed and breakfast just about a block away from the main drag in downtown Santa Barbara. For this trip, we booked a room near the beach/pier in a little "Inn" just steps from the beach. We left from Oceanside at about 10 am, parking our car for free in an adjacent lot near the train station. The train made many stops (only about 1 minute) along the coast and inland, stopping at the L.A. station & then up the coast to beautiful Santa Barbara. (It's been 36 1/2 years since giving birth to my precious daughter Riley Ann in Goleta, a town adjacent to Santa Barbara. Memories :-) It took us about 4 1/2 hours to reach the Santa Barbara station. We both enjoyed the scenery, the rest and a great opportunity to read our books.

The weather was lovely, cool in the morning with the typical fog until about 10 am. Afternoons were sunny. We had a relaxing time strolling the pier, eating a fish dinner, browsing the maritime museum, walking along the boardwalk & the beach, watching a movie at the local theatre ("Moneyball'- good movie) and of course, people watching which I love to do!