Christmas Tree Shopping

We have had a busy Christmas season, probably like many of you. :) I was hoping to get our tree early this year, but that didn't happen, mainly for two reason, first, Mike worked until it was dark everyday and our favorite tree place to cut our tree down closes once it is dark (it wouldn't be much fun or very safe to try to cut a tree down in the dark after all), and second, it was far too rainy. We actually had plans three different times to get our tree and had to cancel due to work related issues, the dark, or the weather. These pictures were taken in the van on our first attempt to get a tree. I hate using my flash with my camera, but for a dark night sitting in the car it was either the flash or no photos that we could see the kids in.

Here they are snuggled together while we were waiting for Daddy to come get in the car.

D was not a fan of the flash!

J sitting in the back seat stretching tall so that his head was above S's seat.

He looks a bit giraffe-ish here. :)

A grinning and being a happy girl!

She is turning into a quite the sweet helpful mature girl these days.

S with a tired grin.

She was very excited to get the tree, "but was just SO tired!"

D didn't get a nap this day, so he was ready to snooze on the drive out to the tree farm.

He actually fell asleep after the dejected return treeless!!

Eventually, a few days after these pictures, we drove to the tree farm on the Saturday before Christmas and bundled everyone up and tromped through the tree farm amid the rain and the mud. This kids didn't mind much; I think they have acclimated fairly well to our WA mist. The only thing that I don't like about the rain/drizzle/constant mist is that it limits my ability to cart around my camera, so I was unable to snap any pics that day. We ended up with a HUGE tree. Mike, J, and A all selected a different tree and then played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide whose tree was the winner. J's tree one, and it was the hugest one. It was a beautiful tree, it just took up a large space in our living room, and we could barely fit our star on the top.

We have a practical jokester in our midsts...

We untied the tree from the top of our van and Mike and I were shaking the tree out to shake of some of the rain, and some of the loose pine needles. Moments after we shook it out and went inside, J, who was outside moving some sticks, came running in screaming, "There was a mouse in our tree!! There was a mouse in our tree!! It fell out while you guys were shaking it. I saw it run over into the bushes." I sort of started freaking out, worrying that I might have just brought a tree full of mice into my home, which after our mice infestation in our TX apt complex (only 5-7 mice in our actual apt, but MANY more in the apt next to ours--it was SO SO gross!!) was SO NOT OK!!!! Mike had J show him where the mice ran, Mike even went to look for it, and then J cracked. He could not keep a straight face any longer. J thought he was hilarious. I was not entertained, still worried that maybe I still brought a tree full of mice into my home, even though J didn't actual see one (because I am sort of irrational like that). In the end I loved that he got Mike and I. It was fun to see him pulling his Daddy's leg like his Dad pulls his SO many times before.

There is still plenty I could share about our Christmas, but I am hitting the hay for now. :) TTFN!!