Christmas Tree

We ventured out to get our tree today. Noting the forecasted freezing rain and snow mixture, we decided not to return to the u-cut farm we visited last winter. Much as we loved it, it sits atop a hill up a winding road, and is about a 30-minute drive from our house. We decided that a tree farm probably wasn't going to happen this year, and we would buy a precut tree instead. However, traipsing down to the pavement-and-chain-link-fence setup at the local grocery store didn't feel festive enough. Instead, we visited a nearby high school that was selling trees as a fundraiser. It was a great middle ground, and while I hope we can return to the u-cut experience next year, I also wouldn't hesitate to go this route again. We were home in under an hour with no potential frostbite or muddy boots, and everyone was happy with the tree we chose, a ~6.5 foot tall noble fir. A actually found it first, and the rest of us happily agreed that it was a perfect tree. Now it's set up in our living room and we enjoyed decorating together, holiday music on Pandora and a fire blazing.

Of course, the entire experience wasn't without its fair share of normal family craziness, despite the rosy picture I describe. For example, literally the moment we all got strapped into the car, before we had even pulled out of our own driveway, E whined from the backseat, "But when will we BE there?!" And, when about half of the ornaments we own adorned the tree, both A & E flopped onto the couch and announced that they were just exhausted and could not possibly continue! Ben and I added a few more ornaments, then boxed the rest up and called it good. Not to worry, the kids seemed to get a second wind when Ben suggested baking Christmas cookies.

P.S. So far, we've seen none of the expected winter precipitation.