Getting ready to travel with the whole family

Mom broke the idea to me one afternoon last year while we were in Florida. It was about taking all of us (Terry, me, our daughters Holly and Heather, their husbands Aaron and Keith, and our granddaughter Stella to Europe. She wasn't sure where she wanted to go; that would be left up to us. Of course, we polled everyone, and we all had different ideas, but since this was especially for Mom, and we knew she liked mountains and water, we narrowed it down, after several weeks to northern Italy. Then we began the process of airline reservations, rental cars, hotel reservations, and renting a villa for 8. After much time on the computer mostly by Terry, we got the itinerary down with special regard for professional travel planners.
We will spend the first 5 days in and around Milan; then we'll move to Bellagio on Lake Como for a week. We hope to be able to make day trips to Verona, Bergamo, and the overlooked area of Emilia-Romagna which contains some familiar-sounding cities like Parma (Parmesan cheese), Bologna, and Moderna (balsamic vinegar). We expect to eat well.
So, I have been reading all the information I can find with suggestions from friends, imagining my suitcase with a minimum of clothing that hopefully can be interchanged with each other, thinking about what is necessary to ready the house for our absence, and getting mail and bills in order; Terry is taking the lead on the last two items. The two of us will stay on in Italy for another week then go to France for 3 more weeks.
So, one more week and we are off with all of us meeting in Milan. It will be an exciting adventure to travel with four generations, visit famous duomos, see fantastic art and architecture, and eat our way altogether through the smorgasbord that is Italy. Our mouths are watering already.