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!