O Christmas Trees

We had a fun time at our squadron's Christmas tree cutting party this year.  We were a little late getting there (thanks to Reid's nap and getting a little lost because Phil and I both thought the other one knew where we were going), so it was kind of a quick trip, but it was fun to see everyone and we got two really nice trees.  It was pretty cold that day up in the mountains (about 20 degrees, I think), but the sun was out and it was a really pretty day.  I was kind of surprised at the amount of snow... we haven't had snow since November and I didn't think there would be much up there at all.  There was a lot more snow than I thought, but it was really hard and crunchy.  Here are some pics from when we first showed up.  There was a nice fire going and hot cocoa and treats!

Reid was all snuggly in his bear hat and front pack.  :)

Here's J trying to make and throw a snowball...

Heading off into the woods to find our trees...

J's hat is a little big and kept falling over his eyes!

The boys loved walking on the crunchy snow, but it was slow-going because every so often they would fall through and stumble.

So here's Dad trying to get them to walk in the tire tracks, which were hard-packed and much easier to walk in....

Guess who obeyed right away and who wanted to be a rebel?  Ha-ha!

We walked quite a ways up several hills looking for good trees.  I found one fairly early on but kept on trucking a little bit more.  Then I got tired from punching my feet through the crunchy snow (Reid was still in the front pack), so I stayed back by the tree I wanted and let Phil go on ahead to find another one. When he found it he yelled for me to come look at it, but I just didn't have the energy.  I just yelled back at him, "I trust your judgement!  Just cut the darn thing!"  :)  Here he is hauling our trees back down the hill...

Then we all trudged back to the campsite and hung out and chatted with everyone for a while.  Here are some of the squadron ladies that were there...

This is my friend Andrea who just had a baby girl a few weeks ago.  With all of our sicknesses and busy days I hadn't even seen her baby yet!  And I really couldn't see her very well that day because she was all bundled up in the cold.  But I have since been able to snuggle her and she is such a cutie!

And here are our trees at home all decked out in lights.  First is the one Phil picked.  It is a perfect shape and the needles are almost like rosemary.  Really cool.  Good choice, Phil!

And here is the one I picked.  Of course it is huge and way too big for our room.  We cut about two feet off of the bottom.  I really love how sparse and tall and skinny it is.

I still haven't put any ornaments on the trees, and to tell you the truth I think I'm going to be a big Scrooge this year and not decorate the trees.  With Christmas next weekend it just doesn't seem worth the effort!  I can't believe I just said that!  I think I burned myself out too early with the decorating this year.  I kind of want to pack it all away already.  What is wrong with me??  The trees look beautiful with just lights, though, and the boys don't miss the ornaments so I think it's all good.   :)