12.02.2009

Christmas Tree Adventure

This year we decided to go up to the woods and cut down our very own Christmas Tree. Brad had done this as a child, but I've never had the experience of it all. So we headed up White Pass and started on our adventure of finding a tree. There was some snow up there, but it wasn't consistent. There was no snow in places, a little snow in other places, and plenty of snow where we were. We left the house at about 9:30, and it was a perfectly sunny day to find a Christmas Tree.
So we get up there, drive around for a little bit and then decide to get out and walk around to see what we could find. Maddie was fearless in the snow on the hills and Josh couldn't stop smiling that we were actually walking around in the snow. Oh, to be a kid again. It was pretty cold, but the kids had boots, hats, and their winter coats. We walked around for quite a while, which wasn't how I thought it was going to be. Maybe in my head I had been imagining that it was going to be like "Christmas Vacation" where there was that "awwwwww" moment with the heavens shining down a light onto our Christmas Tree. But no...it wasn't like that at all, darn it!
At one point, I was carrying Maddie because we were going down a hill in the snow over a tree that had fallen over. It had been there a while because some of the branches had snapped off, so there were only the sharp, broken down to the tree trunk branches left. As I was trying to maneuver over this tree, I slipped and fell right on top of 2 of the broken limbs. And since I was holding Maddie, I could not break my fall. I was in so much pain and Maddie did a face plant onto the tree itself (I'm shuddering just thinking about it, we definitely had a guardian angel watching over us, because it could have been a lot worse, A LOT worse). She cried for a little while, but no bruises, cuts, or scrapes even. But I did escape unwounded. When we got home, I went to look in the mirror and what did I find a huge, black and purple bruise on my upper thigh, with another smaller (and not so ugly looking) bruise further down my thigh. It was so bad that I still haven't been able to sleep on my right side yet. But walking around is much easier now, although driving still hurts a little. Let's just say it was a nice souvenir.
But, I digress, we did find a Christmas tree. It started out at 13 feet, Brad had to cut 2 feet off of it so that we could get it on top of the Tahoe. Which was quite comical at the time. We got home around 2:30, with everyone cold and exhausted. Brad ended up having to cut 2 more feet off of the tree so that it would fit where we had planned. So now it's still a whopping 9 feet tall, and it might not be the best looking tree - but it was a great experience (except for that slight mishap).
We will definitely be doing this again next year and we will make sure to have a better plan! Needed: more snacks for the kids, hot cocoa, lunch, boots for me, and then we can make a day of it. Enjoy the pictures.
This is what it looks like now.

This was the day that it happened.

2 comments:

Missa said...

nice bruise! sheesh! I've done the cutting down your own thing once - on Thanksgiving day. I was pregnant with Finn and trying to walk through snow that was up to my waist. but it was fun. We finally settled on our tree (no heavenly light - choirs singing for us either). we just settled because we had been at it for hours.
it was the ugliest charlie-brown tree I've ever had. ha ha ha

Dawnell said...

Wow! What a neat experience. I was thinking about Christmas Vacation before I even finished reading your entry. How nice that you have a perfect spot for a tree in your new house!