The last two years have brought great change and disruption to Gina Nolan's life. After nine years as a Spanish teacher at Geneva High School and the head girls varsity basketball coach of a winning team for seven years, Nolan had to leave all that behind to focus on a new challenge: breast cancer.

Two years after her diagnosis, Nolan is looking fit and healthy and, well, enjoying life.

While her attention was focused on more important things, her Geneva home had become somewhat neglected in sore need of a few repairs and weeds that overtook the yard like a jungle. 

That's when the Boosters stepped in during the sweltering heat of July to spruce things up a bit (see Patch article from July 12). With the help of a rototiller and plenty of rakes and shovels, coupled with a work force that included the cross-country team, girls basketball, boys football, baseball, girls soccer team, gymnastics team, some of Nolan's Spanish students, and numerous coaches of all these teams, her yard is now more like a Garden of Eden. 

This past weekend, Nolan invited anyone who helped transform her yard into such a tranquil place to stop by for a barbecue to enjoy it with her and say "thank you."