The Great Christmas Tree Adventure

Growing up my family always headed to the mountains to cut a real Christmas tree. Those trips are some of my favorite childhood memories. So this year I insisted we cut down a nice, tall tree so the kids could experience the joy of an imperfect tree hunted in the snow. It wasn't the picture perfect day I remembered from my childhood, but it was an amazing adventure that we'll never forget.

Orson:
"Well.... we cut down a tree, and then Mommy and Daddy couldn't get it on the top of the Suburban. And we also got stuck. And we finally got home. It was bumpy, and it was really deep snow. That was fun! And we got home, and it was almost time for bed. I like our tree. I would do it again next year."

Lenora:
"We went on a tree hunt. The snow was about a foot deep! I forgot my snow boots, so I had to wear my cowgirl boots. It was REALLY fun! Well some parts were fun and some weren't.  One part that wasn't fun was when Daddy went off the road, and we got stuck! We said a prayer then we got out. It was fun. We were going to get a little one, but we decided to get a big one. But it was too heavy. It was about 100 pounds. But it was still fun. It took forever to get on the roof. The end."

Eliza:

"This Friday we went to cut our Christmas tree. When we got there we started searching for our tree.
We found one, but Mommy wanted a bigger one. We found a bigger one, and cut it down, but then we realized that it weighed two hundred pounds. So Daddy tried to drive the suburban to the tree. It was a really bumpy ride. Then, Daddy almost drove into a tree and got stuck! After that Mommy and Hazel tried to push the car out, but they couldn't. So we said a prayer, and we got out.

After that, we got the tree, but then we couldn't get it on the roof. It took 20 minutes to get on the roof! On the way out, it was still a bumpy ride, but we didn't get stuck. I liked hunting for our Christmas tree. I think I'm going to do it again next year. Mommy says she will agree to a smaller tree, and Daddy promises to stay on the road."

 Hazel:
"On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we went to cut a Christmas tree. We drove about an hour to cut our tree. When we got there, we put our snow pants on and started to look for a tree. We found the perfect tree, so we cut it down. Then we realized it weighed about 200 pounds!

So we had to figure out a way to drag our 200 pound tree through a foot of snow back to the Suburban then hall it on the roof. Daddy decided to drive up to the tree. We got stuck! We couldn't go forward because we were driving uphill and our front tire was stuck. Did I mention there was a foot of snow? We also couldn't go backward because there was a tree behind us. So we said a prayer, and then we were able to drive up the hill!

Daddy, Mommy, and I had to find a way to get the tree on the roof of the car. After multiple unsuccessful tries, we figured out how to put the trunk on the ground and flip part of the tree on the roof, then pull the rest of the tree onto the roof of the car. It was a lot harder than it sounds! We tied the tree to the car and started to head home. Conrad, Orson, Lenora, Eliza, and I all fell asleep in the car, and when we woke up we were home.

After that we watched The Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, and Charlie Brown Christmas."

Haley: "I played in the snow. I ran and ran and ran. I love tree hunting!"

I for one loved our adventure. It was so much like life - fun, difficult, unexpected, blessed by prayer, and perfectly imperfect.

Our tree turned out magical, and our house smells amazing! 

Five for Friday: Finally Caught Up!!!

- 1 -

Lenora lost her first tooth! 

She looks adorable, but it make me sad that by baby girl is old enough to lose teeth.

- 2- 

Michael's Trip to Rochester

Michael was able to attend a conference in Rochester with several of his co-workers. He said it was a great conference, and they even had time to catch Niagara Falls and a few of his favorite eats.  While he was there, he also learned that he was accepted as a presenter at the big Deaf Education conference in February. He will be wonderful I'm sure! 

 Meanwhile at home, Conrad chose that week to keep me on my toes! At least he enjoys cleaning the messes he helps create.

- 3 - 

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

The kids and I got to celebrate my Dad's birthday with him with a fun walk along the Provo River to Bridal Veil Falls (ending with ice cream!). It has been SO much fun to be close to family again so we can do the little things with them. My dad also started helping the boys build a train track to appease Conrad's train obsession. 

Where's Hazel? 

  

 - 4 -

Grandma and Grandpa Visit! 

We've been enjoying an amazing visit from Teri and Tony this past week. They are here from California and we've just been trying to squeeze in all the fun we can. Tony has been designing an amazing chicken coop for the kids and started building it this week. It is going to be huge and incredible! 

 We also got to enjoy a day of skating with Teri. These kids are so lucky to have a grandma (and an aunt) that coach skating!  It was both Orson and Conrad's first time skating but they did an amazing job. The girls picked up where they left off and even learned a few tricks this time around. Such a fun day! 

 - 5 - 

Thanksgiving! 

We were so blessed to have both sets of grandparents join us for Thanksgiving this year! It was the first time we've ever hosted family in our home for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful. TJ and Michael did a fabulous job with most of the cooking, planning, and organizing. In addition to all the grandparents, TJ, Alicia, Angel, Matt, and our good friend Judy joined us for dinner. We managed to fit all 12 adults (well 11 plus Hazel) around a huge table in the kitchen. I loved seeing it so full of so many we love. We are blessed! 

 Michael tried a panoramic shot. It's not bad, but check out the tiny stick ghost I became haha!

And with that I'm FINALLY caught up on our blog for the first time this year!

A Cold Halloween

The week before Halloween we got our first snow! The kids were so excited since we had almost no snow all winter last year. It snowed a few more inches and stuck around for a few days.

Halloween was so much fun this year, especially Conrad's excitement over trick-or-treat or "wick-oo-wheat" as he calls it.

Hazel and Eliza really wanted to be princesses with their bows from Heroic Youth. Of course they needed capes to complete the look. I loved how they turned out! They decided they were Susan and Lucy Pevensie from Chronicles of Narnia. 

Orson of course wore his beloved cop costume! Lenora was Cinderella, and Conrad was a WWII bomber.

The day after Halloween we were invited to celebrate Dio de los Muertos with our friends. It was such a wonderful evening. I love this Mexican holiday and the way it honors families present and those who have passed on. The kids wanted traditional face makeup for the party. It turned out so well!