O, Christmas Tree!

Today was packed with so many memorable things, I couldn't help but post something.  Although, I don't know how I'll ever forget that a child of mine forgot their underwear in a haste to get showered and out the door to get a Christmas tree! {insert major eye rolling and head shaking}

 

Ever since we bought this house, the Knight has wanted a tall Christmas tree to go in our cathedral-ceilinged livingroom (and yes I realize that's probably not a word).  Since we moved in December 17th last year, we were fortunate enough to even HAVE a Christmas tree last year (albeit an artificial tree set up by the kids and inlaws).  We usually go as a family to pick out a tree, but the 60 degree weather in December was enough to convince me to go with the kids while the Knight was at work.

 

This trip was nothing short of an adventure.  We attempted to find a tree in the front lot that was already cut down, but there weren't any that looked like the tree we thought the Knight would want.  So we decided to cut our own and asked for directions to the field where the douglas fir tree were.  I'll spare you the details, but our excursion involved large ruts, slippery mud, praying, driving off the beaten path and cheering when we finally arrived back on a main road.

 

Finally made it! -- in search of the perfect, tall tree.

The kids thought this tree looked like it came from Whoville.

Seeing these trees over the hill made it easy to explain a tree farm to the kids.

Here it is.  The perfect, tall tree.

Bud took a turn cutting down the tree.  He's got a couple more years and muscles to go before he's a real help.

So did Sparkle!  She was happy to see some sawdust fall down while she was cutting.

Everybody is ready to yell, "Timber!"

Dragging the tree back to our van.

We then drove back to the front lot with the tree partically hanging out the back to have the tree wrapped and to pay for it.  After it was wrapped, we did manage to get it loaded in the van.

Tree trunk at dashboard . . .

tree top smashed in the back.

The kids were excited to surprise the Knight with the tree we picked out.  After dinner he carried it in and placed it in the stand.

Bud is posing with tree before we took the twine off of it.

Our Christmas-exploded livingroom, the Knight trying to fix a string of lights and the girls are doing Christmas I Spy books.

We decided to go with a new way of hanging lights this year.  I saw the idea on Pinterest and can't remember if it was Martha Stewart or who, but they suggested you hang the lights vertically instead of wrapping them around and around the tree.  The only snag we found was the weight of the plugs, but we think it turned out nicely.

The official hanger of the lights doing his job.

A little hot chocolate and marshmallows before bed.

We didn't quite get to the decorating.  It's going to be a big job to cover all that tree!  We measured it at 11' tall.  It's actually a little taller than the Knight wanted, but not by much.

The glow of that many lights almost lights up the whole livingroom.

Can't wait until it's decorated!  Hope we have enough decorations!

 

Here's a short video of the kids pushing the tree over.  We had a great afternoon together.  One I'll cherish for a long time.