LOGISTICS OF...AND COUNTDOWN TIL CHRISTMAS....TICK, TICK, TICK

It all started sooner, but the next few posts will be about the preparations being made now, for having the time of our lives at Christmas this year.

It's really special to us as this is the first Christmas that ALL FOUR of my Adult Children (with the Grandkids in tow, of course ranging in ages 3 mos. to 19 years) will ALL be together with us for Christmas since FOUR YEARS AGO.

It will also be OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS at the ranch, and little Benjamin's FIRST CHRISTMAS AS WELL. It may also be Aunt FAYE's last Christmas as she turns "95" in January...and I can barely recall ever NOT having Aunt Faye with me for Christmas during my whole life, which will bounce to 60 years old in 2006. EGADS!

FIVE DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS our youngest son Joey (who is Graduating from College in Long Beach almost any minute now....) is getting married to NICOLE TIETSORT (a Biola University Grad since last May...) in Caldwell, Idaho where they will settle for now, so this will be the LAST CHRISTMAS Joey will be a single man.

Allen will be flying down to John Wayne Airport to collect Joey and all his musical equipment and stuff worth taking from his poor starving college student days on December 14th. William will leave from here to meet them in Visalia to pick up some pretty cool 'hand me downs' from Jim and Lindsay for he and Nicole's 'first little nest", then the three of them will drive to Idaho to drop off all the stuff...and Will and Allen will be heading home as fast as they can.


Joey will fly into Portland from Boise, Idaho on the 23rd at dark 30 am, while Gramma Roach will fly in from San Jose on the same morning, and we'll drive 3 hours there and 3 hours back to fetch him and Gramma (who has not had Christmas with us in 13 years!).

Jim and Lindsay will be coming up in a Motor Coach from Visalia around the 23rd (maybe sooner?) while David and Sierra will fly up late Christmas Day, so we'll again drive to Portland to fetch them as well.

DECEMBER 26TH is the ONE DAY that all of them will be here at the same time, as Joey has to be taken to the Portland Airport on the 27th (*sigh) so he can start getting things together for his wedding. On the 29th, we'll be dropping Faye off at Aunt Opal's while we go to the wedding as it would just be too much for her to do more. Then, Gramma Roach (back to San Jose), David and Sierra (back to Visalia since David is in the Police Academy there now), and Allen and I (to Boise) will all be departing from Portland at various times of the morning and early afternoon.

Jim and Lindsay and their boys, and Wendy and Will and their girls, will be driving to Caldwell either on the 28th or 29th...depending on weather, and we'll all meet there for the Rehersal Dinner on the 29th of December.

The "Wedding" will be on the 30th, and Wendy and Will and the Girls will head back to Toledo, OR...Jim and Lindsay and the Boys will meander a new way back to Visalia...and Linda and Allen will fly out of Boise on the 31st to LAS VEGAS...to participate in the big Annual New Year's Eve Party at Harrahs. Yeah Baby!

On January 3rd, we'll fly home exhausted (but multi millionaires...Ok Ok...kidding), pick up Faye at Aunt Opals...and head home to our normal lives in the wilderness. We'll start working to get the Ranch ready for the summer Guests who will come and go at various times during the summer....which is really cool!

So for us, the 26th of December will be the BIG CHIRSTMAS DAY...but what a day it will be!
The Kids will get up early (as always) and go out with whatever 'parents' are game, and find the "special Christmas Tree" on our Ranch and cut it down, bring it home, stand it up and decorate it.

I'll have most of the "feast" already prepared or close to it way before that day, and Mrs. Santa's "Helpers", Wendy and Will are going to cook the Turkey and make the Dressing...while some of the Elves here will be setting up the Long Tables and putting out the 'pretty' place settings and Serving Dishes.

We'll be eating fairly early as we are going to have some "Reindeer Games"...which is sort of like an Easter Egg Hunt, but for teams. We'll have hidden water-proof 'Gift Bags' in the Forest around us, and as each person finds one, they can exchange the 'beg' for an unknown Gift on a Table...identified only as 'Small child', 'For the Home', 'Hers personal', 'His personal', or 'Child 8 - 12', or 'Teenager'....etc. so each 'Prize' will be a real surprise.

The teams can decide which "Gifts" they will choose (teams are in two's or three's depending on age). We've got so much room around our home, it is a great place to hide and seek...so we are going to 'Hide Presents" and watch them 'Seek". lol

Then between us and Wendy and Will, we have the two ATV's and lot's of trails to ride, one big dirt bike (500cc), and two little Trail bikes (110cc and a 90cc), 2 Mountain Bikes, a regulation horseshoe pit, maybe Mr. McGoo's golf cart, riding toys for the wee ones including a Motorcycle, and a Car and a Rocking Horse...and a toy box full of games and toys.

We also have a "Laser Tag" set for FOUR Players or Two Teams....which will be a hoot if played in the forest or in the barns and tack room area.

We just set up a new regulation "Pool Table", that reverses to become a regulation "Air Hockey" table, and we have a Chess Game Table with 4 1/2 inch chess pieces on it depicting the "King Arthur" Era. We have fishing poles and Bow and Arrows too. We were hoping to get the ATV and BMX Track in by Christmas, but we are running out of time so I think that will have to be a spring project...but it will have a FORT in the middle of the track and a 'Guide-wire" set up that the kids can ride from our side yard to the fort at a fairly low angel if they are old enough.

We'll have the 'Go Karts' by the time summer gets here...but don't think we'll have time to get them before that this year the way things are speeding up on us now.

We have a Electronic Dart Board that keeps score, and of course, there has to be the Nickles and Dimes 'Poker Tournament' of Champions... for a $5.00 'buy in" somewhere in the mix. Maybe we'll even have the basketball hoop set up by the time Christmas comes in the red barn.

Papa and Will have also been working on the "Park", where they cleared tons of berry bushes and created a 'switchback' trail down from our back yard to a fresh water pond surrounding an island. Then there will be the puppies and the minature goats for all to love on, or cry over, but we are teaching the older pups manners now in hopes that they won't jump up on the little ones by then.

Of course there is still the big screen Hanging on the Game Room - My Bedroom wall...and lots of Board Games as well....so there just isn't any way that there won't be enough entertainment for everyone to enjoy and enjoy themselves to the fullest.

We've got a lot of loads of gravel in for parking areas, have filled almost all the pot holes on the mile and a half gravel road leading in here, and Jim and Lindsay's Motor Coach can sit right next to the Log Home for Plug in. Wendy and Will are setting up their new 30' Travel Trailer as well for whoever wants that 'home' with all the pull outs close to where Jim and Lindsays Coach will be, so it will definately look like a family 'commune' and that is as it should be at Christmas time. Then we still have the extra bedroom for whoever wants it too.

The older Cousins will want to Camp out in Gramma's room I'm pretty sure so we have new sleeping bags for them.

When all of them are here, and either before or after dinner on the 26th, my cousin Bill is going to take a good FAMILY PICTURE of all of us...hopefully outside, but if not outside, we've got an alternative 'inside'...

The Logistics of it all are daunting, and trying to get everything done possible 'in advance' is really 'different' for me...but as the first 'bunch' rolls in, and until the last bunch leaves (and us with them) come hell or high water...Allen and I are not going to do a damned thing but enjoy their company and feed and entertain them in any way they want...even snuggle and play with the little one's so they can take an adventure run themselves around the ranch with each other.

So, that's the plan stan! Since I am the "biggest kid of all and always will be I fear" ...everyday the new morning comes, I feel a little more excited...the Halls are Decked with bows of holly, the yard ornaments are going up soon and they guys will be dangling from the roof getting the lights up next week. We're creating a 'Winter Wonderland" to Remember...

....and it is a work of love for us to do for those we hold dearest in our hearts.