Deck the Halls

It's always fun decorating the Christmas tree. The kids had been chomping at the bit to get to ours this year. I have to admit they were very good about all the postponements.
We always put Christmas carols on the radio or CD player and get to work. My job is to hand out the ornaments to the correct owners. The kids have been given a special ornament every year since they were born. We have quite the collection now! Dave's Dad always makes them a homemade ornament too, (They are awesome!), and my Mom usually picks one up for each of the kids. Dave & I have a few from our childhood. There are even a few for Rose Marie. I love how our Christmas tree is a reflection of all of us as a family.

Getting started

Mommy passes out the ornaments.

Mommy & Elvis

Daddy & Bugs

Cozy & Comfy

Sassy loved the ornaments.......

.......and the paper they were wrapped in.

Boo reaches high.

Bugs felt like a big boy on the step stool.

Love the face!

He was really into decorating this year.

A grinning Elvis

After we were finished with the ornaments I had the kids line up under the tree to pose for the yearly photos. Believe it or not I edited out quite a few. =)

My Favorite Shot

I can't help but smile when I look at this one.

Clowning Around for Mommy

This pose was Sweet Pea's idea.

And this pose was Daddy's idea.

Hanging out after all the fun & excitement.

Christmas Tree Farm

On Saturday we headed out to find our Christmas tree. We thought we'd have to buy one at Walmart or such but as luck would have it I spied an ad for a Christmas tree farm in a local magazine. Yay! It's been a tradition for us to find & cut our own & we were very happy to find that we can still carry on that tradition here in TN.
After a short drive we were there. There were lots of things to do once we arrived. First there was a hayride that took us on a ride around the farm. We all loved that! There was also free hot cocoa, a cute little gift cottage to browse, and of course lots of trees to tour & select from. We were impressed & pleased to find that the farm provided a saw to cut down the tree, a pole to measure the tree (We just used Dave as a guide since he's 6'2"), rope to tie it to the roof and mesh to bind it. All these were free! They even had guys that came and got your tree from you once you were in line. They would take them, put them on the shaker & then haul and tie them to the roof of your vechile. Amazing service! We were so impressed & had such a good time we are already planning to return next year.

Dave snapped this while I was getting ready.

A view of part of the farm from the back of the tractor ride.
Hayride!

Bugs excitedly pointed out everything along the way.

One of our favorite parts of the trip is touring all the trees.

Here' s another we considered. Aren't the needles wild? Much different than what we've had in the past but still very pretty. The kids called them "hairy" trees. LOL!

We found "The Tree"! Daddy begins to cut it down. He was thankful not to have to crawl around in the snow this year.

Growing Up

Elvis earned the privilege of carrying the saw this year. I was a little nervous but after carefully instructing him on how to hold it we were off. It also had a guard on it which made me feel safer. He did a great job and felt so grown up.

Sweet Pea & Daddy carry the tree.

Our crew. Just think! There will be one more next year. =)

Bugs was fun to watch this year. He was SO, SO excited!

He got a big kick out of Sweet Pea and Daddy carrying the tree. He followed behind them skipping, bouncing and laughing.

Sniffing the pine.

The guys put the trees on this and they shook like crazy. The machine made this loud noise that went to a rhythm.

The rhythm was catchy. Boo & Bugs danced along.

While we waited for Daddy to pay inside the cottage we took a quick picture in front of the tree farm. The guys tied our tree to the roof of our van while we waited for Daddy. It was all set when we arrived back at the van with our hot chocolate. Yum!