The following is the post-Christmas synopsis that my dad has written for the Ulrich family archives. It sounds too awful to be true..........but it is. In fact, he actually spared us some of the goriest details. Amazingly, we always have a great time in spite of the circumstances. My brothers, my sister in laws and my nieces and nephews are real blessings here on Earth. And last but not least..............my mom and dad ROCK!!!











A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER
2008
By Grandpa JayBird

Gramps and Granny planned and worked for a month to make sure everything was just right for our big Christmas holiday with all of our kids and grandkids.


The night before Tim and Stephanie’s arrival Grandpa hurts his back bending over to open a sliding door. This actually ended up being good timing because of weather events looming in the background.


The garage door opener broke and the vintage Ford Explorer starter motor quit working just before the big day. Attempts by Mr. Backyard Mechanic failed to remedy these small, but annoying, problems.


The weather turned ugly making travel for our family members a trip to remember. More to come regarding mother natures’ cruelty.


Tim, Stephanie and baby Brock arrived on the 22nd and the little one was sick. They had had to delay their departure leaving Seattle, see comment regarding Mother Nature above.


Matt, Lucy and the girls arrived from Arizona on the 23rd after backtracking in Utah due to snow conditions via the "shortcut". Further delays were the result of some "unexplained forces of nature" in which their travel bag was torn from the roof top carrier of the Denali. It was way too heavy to have been blown off the roof even though it was not fastened as is customary practice by utilizing tie-downs, ropes, and/or bungee cords. Hmm………..Matt, care to explain?


Boise State promptly lost their bowl game that night. They got a whipping by a bunch of Christians from Texas. Very bad Karma for Grandpa, not the Christian part, just the loss by Big Blue to a bunch of Righteous Texans! (which is an oxymoron in my book).


Uncle Brock arrived on Christmas Eve and brought with him the snow storm of the century! The great expectation was of course the Powder Day of the Century at the "Rock" (Pebble Creek) which also proved to be a series of dashed hopes and dreams.


We plowed snow all day Christmas Day while the rest of the family began to come down with the viral flu that baby Brock brought along to share with everyone. I can blame him since he is too little to defend himself although I think Sidney Marie (AKA Typhoid Sidney) may have been the actual culprit.


Grandma cooked continuously and had her first victim to care for…..


Sidney got sick and passed along the bug to anyone within a mile of 1750 West Portneuf Road.
The storm continued on Christmas Day and despite well intentioned advice due to road conditions and an epidemic at Grandma’s house, Amy and Brian left from Boise to join the big party and enjoy the holiday viral incubator experience; "the more the merrier" is the virus love mantra.


Abbey and Sam came out. Abbey lost her dog and had a melt down. After a frantic search by the entire clan Cub is found hanging out in Grandma’s laundry room. Nice and quiet and warm in there.


Amy, Brian and kids crashed on the way and spent Christmas night in Burley, a Mecca for stranded motorists.


Great Grandma, Carly, Jay, Lucy, Matt, Tim, Stephanie, and the stray cats all came down with the flu which made the food last a lot longer but didn’t deter Amy from arriving on the day after Christmas.


Brock and Hunter went boarding on the day after Christmas, awesome powder day, sunny, no wind, and the *!@$**!!! ski lift broke! Not to worry, gramps’ snow plow and snow blower also broke down. Things are beginning to get pretty sketchy.


We have our annual gift exchange and everyone gets something they don’t want, except me, I got the BSU coffee mug and key chain.


Right on cue we got more snow so now things are looking a little bleak in terms of getting the heck out of the Petri dish and up and down the lane. No problem, Jeremy showed up to the rescue with his (our) four wheeler (the one with four wheel drive and some horsepower) and promptly got his pickup stuck in the middle of the lane. Matt worked to the point of total exhaustion shoveling snow in an attempt to get the truck out. I’m not sure what everyone else was doing, maybe watching Matt dig or having snowball fights.


More fun at Pebble Creek on Saturday. Two good runs until Brock did an endo going Mach III and landed clumsily on a boulder the size of a V.W. This ended another day of potentially fabulous snowboarding fun due to Brock being placed on the injured/reserved list. Isaac and Hunter were able to carry the day however without any serious mishaps…. more good news!


Meantime, Matt and Lucy left in a snowstorm to go to Rexburg and visit Lucy’s mom. No problems, wow….. our luck must be changing!


Brock is injured and is now coming down with Montezuma’s revenge. He just wants to go home to Sun Valley, especially after being made to sleep in the man cave with only a wood burning stove, cheap sleeping bag, and a sagging hideaway bed. He did have his own satellite T.V. with TIVO and a fridge .


It’s Sunday now, Brock leaves and as always, forgets to take about half of his belongings with him. He does manage however to make an attempt at using his Fred Meyer Gift Card on the way out of town, however; only manages to puke and SHP’s in the parking lot. Decides to drive home with a nice warm fuzzy feeling in the seat of his pants.


Isaac gets sick so Amy and Brian leave him with his Grandparents to tend for the night and head out for a nice cozy overnight stay in town. No idiots there.


Adri continues to take care of the wounded throughout all of this, what an angel.


Matt, Tim and their families get out while the getting’s good and arrive uneventfully at their destinations. Things are beginning to look pretty good!


Amy and Brian made it back to Boise a day late with Claire and Dylan barfing the whole way home into Ziplock baggies. But, they managed not to crash, a huge bonus for the end of our holiday.


Grandpa, Grandma and Great-Grandma B. took a nap.


Now Jeremy, Gina and their kids are sick………Happy New Year!!!



Boy I can’t wait for next year.
I think we should have Brian get us rooms at the Hampton Inn. It’s close to Portneuf Medical Center, the city keeps the streets plowed, and a hot breakfast is served daily.