Christmas in Arizona 2005 Our 2005 holiday season was slightly different and strange experience. We drove the Jeep two hours from Virgin, Utah to Las Vegas, Nevada to catch cheap flights to visit Tucson (Green Valley), Arizona and Dallas (Richardson), Texas. We flew into Tucson on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and drove our rental car to Green Valley . We stayed with Allison (Annette's sister) and her dog Wilma in their new house. Annette's parents had driven from Emporia, Kansas and arrived the day before. On the trip to Arizona, Annette's dad (Bill) became ill. He spent the next several days in bed with a high temperature and was having difficulty breathing. Knowing that Kansas was one of the early-hit "flu" states this season seemed to confirm his illness, but we hoped that he would begin feeling better soon and get to enjoy the holidays.
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Having Wilma involved with unwrapping gifts was a fun experience. She particularly liked a large orange stuffed animal that made noises when it was squeezed.
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Larry's favorite Christmas give was clearly the new, wooden, heavy-duty back scratcher from Annette's mom. He also enjoyed a number of new CDs and books.
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We also got a new color Garmin GPS to replace our aging model. |
 A few days after Christmas, Annette's parents decided to start on the 2-day drive to Texas. Nancy drove while Bill tried to relax and rest in the passenger seat. When they arrived at Annette's sister's (Arrion) house in Richardson, they decided it was time for Bill to go to the Emergency Room. He was diagnosed with severe bronchitis along with early stages of pneumonia and admitted to the hospital for a three day stay. |
Meantime Annette and Larry flew back to Las Vegas, then switched to a Dallas flight, and arrived at Arrion's house a few minutes after Bill had left for the emergency room. Nancy (Annette's mother) and Arrion had driven Bill leaving Ben (brother-in-law) and Alex (nephew) at home to greet us. We relaxed a little knowing that dad would get needed treatment and rest in the hospital. We filled in the time waiting from their return, visiting and catching up on the family news with Ben and enjoyed playing with Alex, who is at a delightful age.
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Go to Lamb & Johnson Menu
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As the days passed, we became increasingly concerned about Bill's health. However he wanted us to have a good time, so we went ahead and unwrapped gifts and went to a couple movies (Narnia and The Family Stone).
Annette unwrapped her gifts while wearing reindeer antlers. She got books, CDs, and new Treo cell phone and hand held Palm computer.