An unexpected weekend in Palm Springs

  In mid-December, Larry had meetings in Dallas that were not anticipated. Because his meetings were done on Thursday evening & it would essentially take him most of the day Friday to fly home, he decided to make a little detour to Palm Springs for the weekend. He kindly invited me to join him, which of course, I quickly accepted!
  We golfed at the Classic, a beautiful, relatively new golf course. The huge, yellow clubhouse is identifiable from a long distance away.
 
 

It was a blue sky, green grass, almost dead calm, Palm Springs day. Ahhhh!

The Classic

  The Classic is one of the most beautiful courses in the Coachella Valley. It's where the Bob Hope Classic was played in January 2007 & where it will again be played in January 2008.
 
 
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A very different kind of tree decorated for Christmas! With no snow or cold weather, Christmas in Palm Springs just feels very strange

Larry's mom's 95th birthday celebration

  On November 25th we celebrated Larry's Mom's 95th birthday. The actual day was November 13th. We had a wonderful time in spite of the weather being such that some were unable to attend.
  These are the sisters & sisters-in-law who came to help celebrate.
  Mom with her children - Abe, Ed & Larry, Mary & Marge.
  Siblings & spouses.

Meet Sadie Smith!

 

When our friends kids have babies, we are excited along with them! This is Paul & Beth's second granddaughter, born to Steve & Julie.

 

Grandmas admiring the new baby.

 

This is Grandma Beth. It's so nice that there are a few grandchildren around, even though they are not ours! That way we can get our "grandparent fix"!

 

Mama Julie holding her first baby! So sweet!

Remembrance Day weekend in the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennesse

 

We had a special iniviation to visit Gerry & Jackie Kendall in their new home in the Great Smokey Mountains. They own a beatiful lodge that has an incredible view of the valley and the mountains. Gerry is a consultant at Decor & we have become good friends over the past three years.

 

We enjoyed relaxing on their back deck the day we arrived. We flew into Knoxville and drove about an hour and a half or longer, to their beautiful home.

 

 

The fall colors were a little past their prime, but still gorgeous. This was the view from the balcony of our condo.

Out on the town

  We had dinner at this rustic restaurant where the ambience was relaxed & the food was great.
  Our attentive hosts, Gerry & Jackie.
 
  Abe & Susan

Hiking in the beautiful Smoky Mountains

  Starting out on our hike.
  It was a relaxing & beautiful afternoon - calm and cool, but not cold, just the right temperature for a hike.
  The natural rough-hewn log & scenic background just begged for a shot!
  Stan & Connie

Taking time for a few scenic and personal shots

 

Walking alongside a creek where the fall colors must have been at their zenith just a week or so ago.

 

 

Stan & Connie

 

Exploring on an abandoned farmstead

  As we continued our hike, we came across this big old barn. We had a fun time exploring inside. One of us even climbed up into the hayloft!
  Feeling a little like hillbillies!
  I think this was the ice shack or something. We did a photo shoot here - this is Abe & Susan.
  Gerry & Jackie.

Time with my grandbabies!

Jonas loves books & since this was a new one, we had to read it.


Taking a break.






Cuddling with Elliot.

Because his hair is so short & kind of rough & kinky, we're thinking he may have curly hair like Jonas.

Happy Little Boy!