JUST KEEPING OUR HEADS ABOVE WATER!!

THE SUN FINALLY CAME OUT AND DRIED EVERYTHING UP. I HAD SCHEDULED MORE HELP FOR THE WEEKEND, IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH! WE SOLD 305 TREES FROM FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY!

THE YOUNG MEN WE HIRED TO HELP US WERE AWESOME! A FEW STARTED GETTING SICK, FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS AND THEY STARTED PASSING IT AROUND. IT FINALLY WAS MY TURN......EVEN THOUGH I HAD A FLU SHOT IN SEPTEMBER, I WAS IN BED FOR TWO DAYS WITH THE FLU.
BY THE 11TH OF DECEMBER WE HAD SOLD  $60,000 IN TREES!  I FINALLY DUG OUT MY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AND FINISHED MY PUMPKIN SNOWMEN. THEY REALLY TURNED OUT CUTE, I THOUGHT!

AND THEN A SECOND STORM CAME...... DOUG CALLED AND TOLD US TO TAKE THE SIDE FLAPS DOWN ON  BOTH THE TENTS. .IT RAINED HARD ALL NIGHT  AND THE WIND BLEW HARD..........THIS IS WHAT WE WOKE UP TO.

TREES BLOWN OVER INSIDE AND OUT, WATER AND MUD EVERYWHERE!

 BUT THE BIGGEST  PROBLEM WE HAD WAS THIS BIG  BULDGE  IN THE TENT ROOF!

DOUG CALLED EARLY THAT MORNING  TO SEE IF HIS TENT WAS STILL STANDING....HE WAS RELIEVED TO HEAR IT WAS. ALL THE TENTS HAD MADE IT! I TOLD HIM ABOUT THE ROOF AND SENT HIM A PICTURE. HE SENT ABLE OVER TO HELP DARRELL.

THEY HAD TO TAKE ONE OF THE POSTS OUT, BUT FINALLY THEY WERE ABLE TO DRAIN THE WATER.

EVEN THOUGH  WE HAD TIED ALL THE BIG TREES OUTSIDE  TO THE TENT, WE STILL HAD BIG TREES DOWN.

DOUG CAME OVER LATER TO CHECK ON EVERYTHING....HE SAID IN ALL THE YEARS HE HAS BEEN DOING THIS.......NEVER HAD THE WIND BLEW THAT HARD AND RAINED THAT HARD  AT THE SAME TIME. WE FELT FORTUNATE THAT WE HAD COME THROUGH THIS STORM WITHOUT ANY MORE DAMAGE THAN  WHAT WE HAD.   THE BIGGEST WEEKEND WAS  COMING UP....I WAS DREADING IT! WE WERE  PROJECTED TO SELL 175 TREES ON SATURDAY AND 161 ON SUNDAY.  WE DIDN'T MAKE OUR PROJECTIONS....WE SOLD 106  ON SATURDAY AND 128 ON SUNDAY. BUT,  WE WERE  VERY BUSY!

WE HAD MADE IT THROUGH THE BUSIEST WEEKEND! IT SLOWED DOWN QUITE A BIT THAT NEXT WEEK. WE FINALLY HAD TIME TO TAKE OUR CHRISTMAS PICTURES. 

AND MAGGIE AND MARLEE IN THEIR CHRISTMAS HATS!

AFTER THE WEEKEND OUR TENT WAS STARTING TO LOOK EMPTY!

DOUG'S CREW CAME AND PICKED UP ALL OUR LARGE TREES THAT WERE OUTSIDE. WE WERE STARTING TO CUT BIG  TREES DOWN AND SOME WE WERE THROWING AWAY. ONE SLOW EVENING THE GUYS GOT TOGETHER AND DUG ONE OF THE LARGE TREES OUT OF THE GARBAGE AND CREATED THIS!

WE PUT IT OUT ON THE FLOOR TO SELL....IT SOLD WITHIN THE DAY!

SO, THEY STARTED CREATED ANOTHER ONE....

WE CALLED IT........NOBEL FIR........CALIFORNIA STYLE!!!!

WE SOLD IT TOO!! OUR CUSTOMERS  LOVED THEM!!!
WE HEADED INTO THE LAST WEEKEND,  FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, WE SOLD 31, SATURDAY 35, SUNDAY 29, IT HAD DEFINITELY SLOWED DOWN!!
SUNDAY WAS THE LAST DAY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. WE WERE HOPING TO SELL OUT SUNDAY, WE ALL TRIED HARD, BUT BY SUNDAY EVENING WE STILL  HAD 29 TREES LEFT. ON MONDAY MORNING, WE JUST GOT OPENED AND GREG CAME WITH A TRAILER LOAD OF TREES. COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS HAD CLOSED THEIR LOT AND WE WERE  GETTING  ALL THEIR TREES!  DARRELL TRIED TO TELL GREG THAT WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO GET THE WHOLE TRAILER LOAD, THAT DOUG SAID WE WERE SHARING THE LOAD WITH STEVENSON RANCH LOT. HE SAID, NO, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET THE WHOLE LOAD.

DARRELL WAS UPSET!! WE HAD A FULL TENT AGAIN!  WITHIN THE HOUR, GREG WAS BACK AND TOOK HALF THE LOAD TO STEVENSON RANCH......WE SOLD 21 TREES ON MONDAY.

 DARRELL SET UP THE DRIVEWAY ALERTS AND WE SPENT SOME TIME IN THE RV FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS....WE CLOSED AT NOON ON THE 24TH  WITH 10 TREES LEFT.