Today we went on the annual tree adventure. This pregnancy has really been kicking my butt, so my energy levels for long treks for the perfect tree seemed more like a torture trip than a joyous tradition.
So after some internet research on local cut-your-own locations I chose a family owned tree farm not too far away. I dressed the kids in coordinating festive attire hoping to sneak in a few photographs with a background of evergreens (lined with long johns to make the experience enjoyable). As we pulled into the tree farm is started to snow! The perfect day for photos… er.. I mean to pick a tree. We all unloaded; hats, scarves, gloves, and boots. I snapped a few pics of the kids running around as the tree farmer explained the field layouts to us. As we start walking through a fir field (I’m a sucker for the smell and the fact that they hold needles well is a bonus) I go to take a photo on my phone…but I’m out of storage space, I grab the digital HDR… 3 photos later….out of battery, I borrow Kevin’s phone snap 5 photos… it turns off… too cold to function. Alas, there were no adorable posed photos of the cute (I’m allowed to be bias) trio of kids in lined bib overalls and red striped pants, no attempts at a holiday card photo, just a few candids… mostly blurrry. But we DID find the perfect tree. The big kids agreed on a short stout fir tree. They helped cut the trunk, helped carry it out of the field and warmed their hands with hot cocoa as the farmer and Kevin tied the tree to van roof.
It wasn’t quite the tree expedition I had envisioned as I dressed the kids this morning, but it was exactly the trip we needed.
The tree is in the house, in the stand and watered…. but the lights will need to wait until tomorrow.
