Chapter 50

"I am SO glad that Harriett called and told you about the coin toss all those years ago!"

"So am I, Sarah. Do you think over the years we've thanked her enough for that?"

Laughing, Mac answered, "Yes I think so…the last time I mentioned it to her she sighed and said that I sounded like a broken record."

AJ laughed with her and asked, "Do you think it had something to do with the CD recording from 'Oliver' that we sent her on our last anniversary?"

"Oh I don't know…just because the song went on, 'Thank you very much, thank you very much…That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me'!?"

"Okay, so maybe we have," he responded.

They arrived home at just before the bus that dropped the younger children off from school, the four teens were already home and had come out on the porch in anticipation of the treat dad had promised them that afternoon. Mac smiled as they hardly waited for her to exit from the Escalade before they were piling in. Waving them off she promised that she would have pizza waiting for them when they returned from their adventure. AJ had let the Baxter's know that they were coming out to the property so they didn't worry when they saw the gang of them trooping through the woods behind the house. It took them over two hours to choose just the right tree, with seven opinions to consider at each choice that was pointed out, AJ wondered if this had been such a good idea after all, but finally the perfect one was picked out and they watched as he chopped it down.

Steven begged to be allowed to be the one to chop the one down for the next year and AJ, with an indulgent grin, promised that he would be able to. Marta was getting tired and whiney by the time they finished so AJ suggested that she ride on the tree on the way back. The two seven year old boys thought that looked like a lot of fun and wanted to as well, but AJ told them that this year it was Marta's treat. He let the older kids think that they were helping him to drag the tree to the Escalade, but, in truth, they were more of a hindrance that help, but they were having fun, so he didn't want to spoil it.

Their arrival at home was met with a gasp from Mac when she saw the size of the tree, and she called out, "How in the world do you think you are going to get that into this house, AJ Chegwidden!?"

The kids stood there laughing as he explained they were now going to have a 'Tree-Pull' party.

"What is that?" she demanded.

Tumbling over themselves to explain, what their father had already told them about on the ride home, the kids watched their mom's face as she eyed the tree and the front door they were going to try and pull the tree through.

"It's never going to fit!" she insisted.

"Oh ye of little faith!" her husband chided.

Twenty minutes later, and a lot of healthy sweat; the tree was standing in the front room. When AJ stood it up they realized that they were going to have to trim about a foot off of it. The point was bent over that far from touching the ceiling!

To be continued….