This is how we do it

Cutting the Perfect Tree!
As a kid, one of my fondest memories of Christmas is going to get our Christmas tree. I always thought you had to go into the woods and cut it down yourself. It wasn't until I was older that I discovered you could go to your nearest Wal-Mart or Albertson's parking lot and get one already cut and ready to go. And it wasn't until even later in my life that I discovered people actually decorate fake trees! What a sheltered life I led! Our first Christmas in California we went to a local tree lot to get a Christmas tree. We didn't have too much room in our apartment so we decided to get a small 4-5 foot tree. Much to our surprise, we paid over 60 dollars for this tree. I could have caught a bird in my wide open mouth as I gasped when he told us the price. I am not sure if we were still in shock or just too caught up in the Christmas spirit but we paid the man and took our wee little tree home. Now that we look back on it we can't believe we paid that much. However, I know it was probably just my sweet husband trying not to break my tradition of a real live tree. So, this year we wised up; we had my dad go and get tags from the state of Oregon so that we could go cut down our own tree just like the good ol' days. Friday morning we set off for the Ochoco National Forest, a mere 45 min. from my parents house, and cut our very own real live Oregon Christmas tree to bring home. It was such a fun experience and brought back many fond memories for me. I think Ronnie caught the drift too, he had a blast and realized why I won't settle for less than the best when it comes to getting a tree. It is a family tradition that we will continue each year that we can.

Most of the trees in the area we found were a little sparce but we picked a good one, and as Ronnie says, "it has character." Kellee and Robb took home a tree as well and we are happy to say that they both survived the long snowy, rainy drive back to California. Our house smells so wonderful and the tree looks just perfect smack in the middle of our tiny apartment living room!

Masion had a blast in the snow. She made a snowman and her first snow angel; heck, she actually even made her first yellow snow! I have to tell you, she was pretty excited by this, she returned from behind the tree and exclaimed "Auntie Kellee, I just went pee pee in the snow! That's so silly!" "So did I!" replied Auntie Kellee. Ha! Beckham on the other hand, did not enjoy the snow so much. He couldn't move under all the layers we had him in, as if restrained in a straight jacket, so he just stared at us all like we were crazy. True to Beckham's nature, he was still such a trooper even though we could all tell he was a bit uncomfortable.


Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention how LaVell, our new SUV, ( yes, Ronnie thought of that one) performed in the snow. It was his first outing offroad and Ronnie was quite pleased with LaVell's performance.

Sometimes I wonder why I ever left this beautiful place.