Well, I wanted to do a big thankful list for Thanksgiving, but haven't had the chance. I've been tagged by 4 different friends to do a random list about me, and haven't gotten to it, and now we've had events that I want to post pics of! How to keep up with all of the sharing. I love blogs, and I get mad if my favorite blogs aren't updated. :)
So, I'll go with the fun family traditions post today. James and I decided our first year of marriage that we would chop our own tree every year. So, for 10 years, we've done that. In Utah, we go to Heber at 6 in the morning to freeze our patooties off for 2 hours in the cold, waiting in line for a tree permit. We then get our permit, go home, and then drive back up there the weekend after Christmas with our friends and drag kids and dogs through deep snow on the hunt for the "perfect" tree. Now, perfect means semi-even branches on one side of the tree, since most of them are too close to other trees and grow skeewampy. It backs to the wall, anyway, right? Anyway, they usually end up looking not much better than the Charlie Brown original, but we love it, we chop it, we drag it and the kids back out of the trees, and then we celebrate with hot cocoa and Heidi's cinnamon rolls.
The year before we left for Indiana, Heidi and I got lazy and found a tree farm, justifying it because it was still in the mountains, and we still had to hike around for the best tree and we still got to chop it. We just didn't have to make 2 trips, and we didn't have to hike around as far. That worked great!! New tradition!! Then we left to Indiana, with no mountains. We thought our tradition was over. Oh, no. I typed in "Chop Christmas Tree Indiana" in google and found a pluthera of tree farms! Yeah! So, we found this incredible farm that is so picturesque. You drive about an hour outside of town, and you get a tractor ride out to the tree fields, tons of beautiful, full, incredible trees, and they provide the dolly for the tree you pick and the saw. Then they give you hay ride back to the barn where they shake the dead needles out of your tree, drill the hole, wrap your tree and help you get it on your car. All the while they give the kiddos free hot cocoa, and this year Santa was there with candy canes and some helpers making Christmas ornaments for the kids to make and take home. All for only $30 bucks!!! I'm going to miss Indiana Christmas trees!
The family portrait in front of an old barn. (It was a freeze-your-tail-off day, fo' sho'!)
Hauling the kids out to the best spot for trees. It made me glad (for the bizillionth time) that I was not called to be a pioneer mother.
The chosen tree has been conquered by the powerful forces!
Hauling out the booty!
Abe couldn't take anymore adventure. He fell asleep in the backpack and drooled and snored the whole way back. That's my boy!
So, once we got back to the barn, we had to go see Santa. Abe kept saying "Ho, ho, ho". But once he got in, we couldn't get him close to Santa. Finally Santa bribed him with a candy cane, that he took hesitantly, a full arms length away.
I just love the look on E's face! Priceless. It probably seems weird to little kids that we spend 364 days a year telling them to not talk to strangers, or sit on strangers lap, etc., but at Christmas we practically throw them on some man they don't know. Silly grownups! (Santa has a perplexed look on his face, too. Probably because Eli asked for "dollies") ;)
Cutie-patootie Sam got shy. She couldn't think of what to ask Santa for. I'm sure she's thought of many things since then!
Cutie-patootie Sam got shy. She couldn't think of what to ask Santa for. I'm sure she's thought of many things since then!
Once we got home, it was time to set up and decorate the tree. We decided that the kids were old enough to string Cranberries and popcorn this year. What fun! Even Abe participated. And no lethal injuries. Woo Hoo!
You gotta peek up under the lights! And we can't help but peek at Sam's undies!
And our weary well-doers are finally done with the tree. Yeah!
What a wonderful tradition. We love it!
No comments:
Post a Comment