Our Yearly Christmas Tree Escapade

Today we ventured out to get our live Christmas tree.  No fake things for us, though I secretly think that would save me a ton of work.  Tradition is tradition.  Every year we go to the local tree farm and pick a tree.  We used to cut it ourselves, but decided that just picking a pre-cut one with little kids was easier.

The search usually includes the children and husband examining every tree on the lot.  Bald spots and severely curved trunks means instant disqualification.

 The opportunity to take pictures is priceless.  Earlier this morning it snowed.  It was beautiful.  The trees were perfectly covered with a picturesque covering of snow on the branches.

Seemed like each child had their favorite tree.

We easily spent forty minutes choosing between two or three trees.

While I am usually not in many of the pictures, this one was one of those self-portrait things with me and my Tasha.

Megan was the only one that didn't have a favorite tree.  She just went around cleaning the snow off of as many trees as she could. 

Finding the perfect tree means considering what felt like each and every tree.  Fun for the kids... and dad, exhausting for mom.

I did get some beautiful shots of my girls.  My camera has been broke for months, leaving me with only my cell phone camera.  However, I borrowed a camera from a friend just for the opportunity to take some great shots.

Great shots were a snap with the sun shining, the snow glistening, and the smiles on the kids.

Of course, Megan usually doesn't cooperate with pictures.

My older girls had no trouble hamming it up for me, though.

By the time we actually left, I think we had officially become frozen popsicles. 

Getting cold didn't stop Megan from playing in the snow.  She just couldn't help herself. 

All in all, our yearly Christmas Tree hunt was a huge success and a lot of fun.  Though sometimes I think an artificial tree would be simpler, every year is an adventure searching for a tree to bring in our home and decorate.  Every year we create memories that I wouldn't trade for anything.