I love all the seasons, but Fall on the Ranch is my clear favorite. The weather is still nice, but the crowds have gone and it can sometimes feel like you have the place to yourself. There are so many activities you can do and the Glaze Meadow gaming courts allows for a bunch at once: Pickleball, Horse shoes, Boules, and Bump (we have all the equipment in the garage). Nothing like some good old competition to get people bought in!
Walk your group from our house past Glaze Meadow pool to the courts on the other side of the golf course. Divide into equal pairings and declare that the Family Olympics have begun (a little Rocky themed music doesn’t hurt). Let’s say you had 8 people (4 pairs). You could do a round robin, where two pairs play against each other while the other two pairs play on the other court. Winners then play winners and losers play losers and scoring goes 4 for 1st place, 3 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd, 1 for 4th. Do this for pickleball, boules and horse shoes. The nice thing is that they are pretty easy games that use different skills and likely the same teams won’t win all contests. Then after you tally those scores, you can give an arbitrary # of points for the winner of “Bump” on the basketball court that allows even the lowest team to still have a chance to win (NOT FAIR!). There are double courts of everything so no one is sitting around and the games are quick. (Even a sullen teenager will often find life when there’s competition and a nominal prize on the line!)
For added fun you could bring colored flagging tape for each team (I usually keep some hidden on the top shelf in the garage… go for it) and have them “wrap up” with matching creative outfits (think headbands, neckties, suspenders, you get the idea). Buy a bowling trophy at Goodwill, take photos, and enjoy the losers explaining how they got robbed as you make your way back to the house for celebratory drinks! Keep the trophy for next year… nothing like a good family tradition!
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