Gene Honored as Holland Club Member

You can take the sailor away from the sea, but you can't take the sea away from the sailor! As a member of the Phoenix "Perch Base" of the United State Submarine Veterans, Gene is once again connected to his Navy buddies.

At a recent banquet, the United States Submarine Veterans welcomed Gene as a new member of the Holland Club. Named after the USS Holland, the Navy's first submarine, the club honors veterans who qualified in subs over 50 years ago.

Qualifying on a submarine was no easy task. For officers, it took up to a year of study in every aspect of running a submarine. After graduating from sub school in Groton, Connecticut, Gene was assigned to the USS Catfish, SS 339, in San Diego. In order to qualify, he had to be recommended by his commanding officer to the squadron commander and then reviewed by a board consisting of a division commander and two other commanders. Tests included a sea trial and in port examinations. Officers and enlisted men alike were required to know all submarine systems, including engines, water, electrical, air, hydraulics, torpedoes, etc. Once qualified, a submariner was allowed to proudly wear the dolphin pin on his lapel.

Imagine 72 men and 8 officers aboard a submarine, all cross-trained to do each others jobs. The men relied on each other and their thorough knowledge of operating the submarine to run it safely and efficiently.

Congratulations, Commander Crabb. Job well done!

Telluride Winter Wonderland

Scott getting ready to launch the toboggan.


Relaxing in the hot tub after a day on the slopes.


View from the condo.


Phil and Joan below the condo.

Thanks to generous donors of Friends of the Orphans, a group of family members purchased a week in Telluride at the October fundraiser. The timing was right . . . sunny skies almost every day . . . perfect for skiing, tobogganing and snowmobiling. The skiers hit the slopes almost daily, and the non-skiers found virgin slopes to slide down. Carol and Sue almost crashed into some pine trees on one run, but managed to bail out into the powdery white stuff at the last minute.

Snowmobiling through the pines, across frozen creeks and up to a mining ghost town bundled in snowsuits was a unique experience. The balance of the time was spent eating delicious meals, playing Scrabble and Upwords, and putting together picture puzzles. Quality time, for sure!

Crabb Christmas in California

Santa brought Nanaette a castle!


Courtney was all smiles.


Terri opening her new deep fryer.


Robin and Ralph


Becky and Angela


Gene, Rena and Pradeep


Stacey, Buddy and his wife


Josie and family


Stacey, Dick, Jane, Louise, Sue and Gene

Christmas in California was twofold. First, we enjoyed Christmas dinner at Terri's home. She made prime rib, Yorkshire pudding and her terrific gravy. We opened gifts and ate too much!

The Sunday after Christmas was the Crabb family gathering. This year three of Jacque's children joined us as we celebrated John's life, got reacquainted, shared a pot luck meal and had a gift exchange. John's friend Charles Jimenez and his mom also joined us for many happy memories of John. It was a great send off by John's California family.

Year of the Cookie

Nikki and Ariel at the cookie bake.


Riley busy decorating.


Araby concentrates on decorating a cookie.


The green icing bag burst and Emilio ended up with a mess!


Emilio and Anthony with two plates of decorated cookies.

Cookie baking was a great distraction this year. Lori and I made batches of dough when Gene and I were in Norfolk in December. We took the dough to Lincoln for a cookie bake with Crystal and the Taylor extended family. Dozens of cookies were baked and exchanged.

Once we got to Arizona, Paula and her family made cut out cookies that the kids decorated. We missed having Shawnda and Janet with us this year and didn't get quite as many made as the year before when they were home.

Browner Christmas Eve in Arizona

Joseph and Mary searching for a place to give birth.


Emilio, Alana and Kylie with the new puppy.


Zach and the little lamb puppet.



Lauren with the cow whose breath kept Jesus warm.


Even Santa made an appearance. He looked alot like Uncle Jack!

Christmas Eve in Arizona was packed with all of our traditional celebrations. Scott and Kendis hosted the evening at their home and cooked lamb, chicken and prime rib on the grill. After the "First Christmas" puppet show, Santa made an appearance. We showed two videos, one of Christmases past and one of Shawnda, Janet and baby Jack. Gifts and hugs were exchanged and we all left filled with holiday spirit.

Blue Moon Rising

The light next to the blue moon is an airplane.

Every 2.7 years (according to an article in our local paper) an "extra" moon appears in a month. Called a blue moon, the term is traced back to 1528 England when William Barlow, the bishop of Chichester, wrote: "Yf they saye the mone is belewe, We must believe that it is true."

The blue moon captured from our back yard on New Year's Eve is even more of a rarity. The next blue moon scheduled to appear on New Year's Eve won't happen until 2028.