The Mother Of All Christmas Trees

We bit off more than we could chew this year! And it wasn't just in the selection of the tree. The whole trip didn't go according to plan! I had planned on the family going up into the woods (where we have cut trees before) to find a perfect tree. It could be tall this year. Maybe 10 feet even. We have a nice new living room with vaulted ceilings and beautiful windows to show it off in. Then we would sled with the sleds I bought a month ago when I first saw them. I learned my lesson last year about waiting until it snowed. BE PREPARED. I pictured the kids and Meghan playing in the snow. Dad throwing snowballs. Me getting some good pictures and then best of all the traditional donuts and hot chocolate when all the fun was done to warm up all the cold little bodies.


Obstacle number one. We couldn't get our dumb van up to the "tree-cut" area. We have done it before, with way more snow on the roads. But something was just right about the way the snow was packed in. Maybe it is because we waited so late and there weren't any other cars on the road to help plow a way through. We got so close. All of us took turns trying to push the car up the dumb hill. We hardly would move an inch. It was miserable. So we gave up getting to the correct destination. We were less than 1/2 a mile away. And I know this might make some of you strictly follow the rule types gasp, but I told Dave we were going home with a tree. Even if it meant cutting down one right where we were. So we walked around until we came to this beauty.
It looked like the best one available. All the others were either way bigger, missing a ton of branches or just little babies. So Dave broke out the saw and down she went. We knew the tree would be a little big, so once we got to the car we took of another 2 feet or so.

Obstacle number two was the lack of snow. I had promised the kids sledding and there wasn't going to be any. Just enough snow to keep us from getting to where we needed to be and just not enough to sled. They were bummed. So the poor kids trying to keep their spirits high made a few shallow snow angles, threw a few snowballs and ate an icicle or two.


Obstacle number three was getting the tree to fit in the house. We cut some more off of it after getting it down off the car. Thinking to ourselves that the tree was now the perfect size and was going to look so awesome we brought it into the house. (or rather Dave my totally buff hubby did) As he was straightening it I shout, "It's going to hit the fan!" Dave was incredulous. After all the trimming we had a;ready done he couldn't believe it was still too big. So a few more feet came off the tree. And even then it went all the way up to the fan.

Obstacle number four decorating our beast of a tree. We inherited an extension ladder with the house thank goodness. But even with it we were really having to reach. If we were swearing people we would have been raising a ruckus. I know for myself that I felt like the Dad on "Christmas Story" who is swearing up a storm while trying to fix the heater. I am not afraid of heights, but having to reach and twist and do all sorts of acrobatics was totally taking years off my life. And all I did was the very ugly ribbon job. Poor Dave had to do the lights. Suffice it to say that next year we are buying a prelit fake Christmas tree. Maybe we'll get a small live one for downstairs.

The kids thought everything was super cool. They were all to happy to climb on ladders to put up ornaments. And Sara thought the evening was a total success as she modeled for my friend Judy as seen in this picture. As a matter-of-fact Judy took all of the pictures. And a good thing too. I was so stressed out there is no way I would have thought to pick up my camera.

Well this is the final product. After trying to push our car up a snowy hill, illegal cutting down a tree, trying to bring a monster of a tree into our poor house, climbing extension ladders to decorate and lots of NEVER AGAIN OATHS....

This was this years tree. Huge, with Charlie Brown ribbon and very sparse ornaments (I have tons but they didn't go very far). All 18 feet (after all the cutting down) of it!