Pine Tree Fresh



I think James is bigger than this tree

I'm a little peacock -- see my feathers!

 That's crack-a-lackin' (as Marty from Madascar would say)!!  James wanted to try on a fresh Christmas tree this year.  We've had a fake tree (given to me by some Christmas angels the year I was a single mom) every year of our marriage.  I decided we needed something to shake up our tradition and bring a little joy, so off we went. In Utah, you can't really cut your own tree down.  We grow trees that are naturally Charlie Brown scrawny and mis-shapen.  Instead, we went to the grocery store.  (I don't know why this is, but this is where they are sold.)

The trees were piled up along the wall like a little forest (watch out for the metal spikes without a tree!) so Samuel and Gabriella went on a short explore while James and I turned trees around in an introduction, asking each if they would fit well in our home.  Eventually, we picked one.  James single-handedly carried it to the van and lassoed it down.  Then, he sawed off the bottom inch (for water intake).  Gabriella and Samuel made some of the branches into peacock feather tails and I used the rest to make my very first evergreen wreath (I wrapped them around a metal hanger using thread and a red ribbon bow.) 

We left the tree bare until another night when everyone would be home to decorate, but delighted in the sticky pine sap and needles stuck in the vacuum cleaner.