The Tree.....

Today was a memorable day for our family. We drove to a tree farm and picked out our very first "real" Christmas tree. Yes you heard me right. Jared had a real tree growing up as a kid, and loved the experience of going and picking it out. I grew up with an artificial tree, and have had one every year until this year.

I just can't tell you how excited our lovies have been this past week, knowing that we were going to pick out our tree on Thursday. To them Thursday couldn't come soon enough!

So we get to this really beautiful tree farm and after Jared talks to the "tree man" about the different types and such we are on our way.  The following is basically a photo documentary of our time at the farm and bringing the tree home, with some comments here and there from me. There are alot of photos....but.....I knew this was a day that I wanted to capture some memories. We are going to look back one day with  smiles on our faces remembering what a special day it was for our family....then laugh out loud when we think of our first "real Christmas tree".....and you'll see why.

Jared is talking to the "tree man" about pines, spruces and firs.....and Lauren is very bored as you can see.

I loved the atmosphere of this place. There were so many sweet holiday touches I noticed when we first arrived.....thought that I would add these photos so you could get a feel of the place.

This very well may be one of my all time favorite photos of Noah and Luke together. Although I do prefer the candid photos overall....I have to say that this one is pretty special.

We head out in the old front wheel drive sleigh, then park and walk around the farm to find the "perfect" tree for our family.  It was a gorgeous day....a little chilly, but we were glad to be out there. 

We were at the right place at the right time. I couldn't help notice our shadows as we walked along....of course I made everyone stop. 

There were some muddy areas.....and Luke just couldn't resist. And I stood there like a good mama taking pictures of him as I watch him step in the mud.....hey these are some of those sweet moments I love to capture.....even if it is a bit messy.

So after looking around for a good 45 minutes or so....we find "the one."  We knew that we didn't want a really large tree, so we were trying to be cautious of the height. Even though we have 8 ft. ceilings, we wanted to make sure that there would be enough room for a star....Noah really wanted to put a star on the top this year. (I usually have a big red ribbon up there.)

So we get the thumbs up from Noah that this is indeed "the tree." All the kids love it....and that's good because we are tired of walking and our some of our feet are wet!

In order to make this a true Griswald family Christmas....it was imperative that Jared saw down the tree himself.

This is the nice "tree man" who takes our tree back to the loading area. We need to meet him there where they will prepare our tree for travel.

Of course Noah is in the lead. I like taking up the rear.....I so enjoy taking photos of my most five favorite people as they walk a head of me.  And I was thanking God for them today.

So back at the loading area they cut off any dead limbs and try to get it looking nice. They put it on this one machine where it shakes all of the loose needles off, so you don't have a big mess to deal with. Well, Nate thought that this shaking machine was the coolest thing ever.  Look at that smile on his face. He was bummed when we told him that he couldn't sit on the machine and be shook. 

Lauren and Luke were just confused about what in the world these people were doing to a tree. It was funny to see their expressions.  These next few photos were neat to me because I have never seen how a tree is bound up before....and because I am easily amused and so are my children. 

Ok, so I know what you're thinking....this tree looks kind of...um...small. Yea, I thought the same thing, but I kept that little thought to myself.  After Jared attached "the tree" to the hood of our big bad mini van we were invited inside for some hot cocoa and popcorn.....I had four very happy little lovies at that moment. And a happy husband too, because they were also serving hot cider and he loves popcorn just as much as the kids.

We get "the tree" home and Jared gets some muscle from the big boys to carry it in the house.

Please be sure to wipe your feet....come on in!

Ok...so apparently we cut down a dwarf tree. Jared and I couldn't stop laughing after we first put it up.....(we tried to be careful not to make the kids feel bad about the mini tree), we said that we really liked it....but it was just a little shorter than what we are used to.....and that my friends is an understatement. (We even tried putting the thing on an end table to give it some height.....but then it just made it look like a little tree sitting on an end table....so we took it down and came to embrace the fact that we have a dwarf tree.....and that's ok....because kids love their tree!)

They helped their Daddy string the lights.....and Noah was excited to put the star on the top of the tree.....which  there was plenty of room for.

We will finish decorating "the tree" tomorrow. We put one bulb on it this evening, and Luke took it off, through it across the room and shattered it.....good times!!