Xmas on the Ranch

Day after Christmas, and no one can be found anywhere! Highway 64/40 was deserted on my way to and from the gym this morning. Cars were absent from the parking lot at the Research Center, and there is absolutely NO ONE here at work. It is kind of nice, because I have a ton of reading (a 176 page manual!) and can completely concentrate on learning this new database.

Now let's talk about Christmas. It was the first Christmas the entire family has been together for two years I think, and it was also the first Christmas at the ranch. Now, the usual Christmas Eve festivities are rich in tradition ans is my favorite day of the entire year. Being 50 minutes away from church threw a small wrench in our regular schedule, but we managed.

We all gathered at the Ranch on Saturday for a big dinner, followed by the new tradition of Yankee Swap. I got a Zombie Survival Guide desk calendar. How appropriate!

Sunday we all hung out, played board games and the Wii, and visited the alpacas. A cold snowstorm had blown throw the night before bringing snow, sleet and ice. We went to the barn to check out the alpacas and see how they were dealing with the sudden cold spell. They didn't really seem to care so much, just didn't like it when Pops locked them all in the barn.


Pops still bottle feeds the newest cria (baby alpaca) Lee, who is so adorable.


We started Christmas Eve out by collecting all the luminarias for the church display. Every year since as long as I can really remember, we have placed luminarias in front of the church for Christmas Eve. We have 100 large glass jars that we must put sand and a candle in, before they get boxed up and we take them into town. It is always beautiful, and I am glad we do it. We have perfected it to a science, so it really doesn't take too much time anymore. This year was no different, the only change was we would need to leave for church much earlier in the day.


So once the luminarias were set up, we stayed for the early church service. The church was packed, which was nice, because I saw a ton of people I haven't seen for years! It was just great to chat with people (especially with my new job title to throw around), gossip and gasp at "how much the little kids have grown!" Yeah, I felt old.
But then we all got back to the Ranch for fajitas (yum!) and presents (double yum!). We all cleaned up pretty well in the gift department. I scored huge when I unwrapped a Print Gocco PG-5! That might not mean anything to you, but I will post pictures and explain this upcoming weekend.

Ahh, Christmas how I love thee. And now to that database manual...