The best tree picking day...

We got a tree! We tried last weekend to go and cut down a tree, but the weather was just too bad. Today was cold, but at least it wasn't wet and cold.

Here is how our experience went....

First we took the Tractor ride out to the back of the property. Heath told me to be looking for what kind of tree we might want on the way. At first we just passed a bunch of trees that looked as though they may have been planted very recently. Josiah then tells me and my sister Angie, "We don't want to kill the baby trees, just the really big ones." Angie and I laughed that the big ones didn't have much more to live for anyway and that it was their time to go and be the Christmas Tree that they have waited their whole lives to be. Josiah also told me that last year we got the perfect tree but he didn't think that that tree would be there this year.

The first tree that Heath went to was big and full, but we had to laugh because the top of it was bent over and it looked like a whale in captivity. We moved on and saw several more trees that were big and not so full or very full but not so big. It was getting colder and Alyssa was not enjoying herself that much. We decided to go back to the area where we had been dropped off by the tractor. When we got back over there we picked out the perfect tree. It was very full and seemed tall enough. Yep, it was the first tree that we had looked at. We now call it our Shamu tree. Each of the boys took turns at the next stage of becoming a man, cutting down the Christmas tree. The boys loved that they were involved, but also loved that they only had to cut long enough for a picture and then they could go and play in the snow again. Karston cutting the tree down.Josiah cutting the tree down.Heath REALLY cutting the tree down while I pushed on it.
We pulled it over to the path to wait on the next tractor ride to come through and take us back to the barn. While we waited we threw snowballs at each other. The snow was very powder like and did not ball very well. Karston told us that the secret was to pack it tight and then hold it for 59 seconds. So Karston would pack snow into his gloved hands and then stand there and stare at you while he counted to 59. Josiah doesn't know how to count to 59 yet so he would just stand there for a very long time expressionless and wait until he thought maybe enough time had passed. Alyssa would pinch some snow with her little gloved hands and then she would throw it which to us just looked like she was waving bye bye. She loved playing in the snow. We were having so much fun that Heath got caught up in the moment and tackled me to the ground. We were all having a great time.Then it got colder once again. Alyssa became unhappy...

and the boys had to find a hole in a tree trunk just to keep warm.

We decided that it would be better to carry the tree back to the barn than to wait any longer on the tractor to come around. When they got done shaking it and put it through the netting, Karston was very concerned. He wanted to know why did they shrink our tree. We told him that they had to wrap it in the netting so that we could get it on top of the van and take it home. He felt much better when he found out that the tree would spring back when we took the netting off.

I have to say a very big Thank You to my sister Angie for helping us with the kids, the photography, and the memories of a perfect tree picking day.

We now have the tree in our house and in it's prospective tree stand. I have to wait 'till tomorrow to put the lights on so that we can tell if it is drinking water or if we need to cut the bottom again. Even though the tree is one of the older "really big ones," we do want it to stay alive through Christmas. Once we got home, away from the other trees, the tree that we picked seemed to be much bigger than we had anticipated. I may have to rearrange the dining room, but that is all for another day's blog.