On the Hunt

It's becoming a tradition that when we spend Christmas with my parents, they wait to get a Christmas tree until we arrive. Sometimes, like this year, that means they don't get a tree until Christmas Eve. Sad for them, but fun for us! =0) We have a fake tree, so we miss out on all the fun of searching for one. I love that! Being outside, tromping through snow, and hunting... Can't be too tall, Can't be too bare, has to be just right. And inevitably when we get it home, it looks a lot bigger, or looks a lot smaller, and always, always looks more bare than it did in the woods! But the fun is not so much in the perfection of the tree, but the adventure of finding it. Sure it take a lot more maintenance than a fake tree, and it's messier than a fake tree, but nothing beats the smell of a fresh pine tree...

We have a family friend who owns tons of property, every year they invite us to come up and find a tree, and when we're done they warm us up with hot chocolate and cookies. Can't get much better than that! This year the snow was so deep we left Madelyn in the car, and took the older two kids with us to begin the hunt. In the past, it's been a fun "family" event, but about 5 minutes into it, both Brad and I were wishing we would have left them ALL in the car, and done it ourselves! The snow was so deep, they both kept falling, and whining about how hard it was to walk. We ended up carrying them most of the trip! And at one point, after we found the tree, Brad was carrying Josiah on his shoulders, pulling the tree behind him, and trying to trudge through 2 feet of snow! Incredible Hulk! I had a hard time just carrying Reagan and walking in the snow! But we found a great little Christmas tree, and created fun memories in the meantime! =0)