It makes me so happy, I'm giddy!

1. It's my Christmas present.
2. It's early.
3. It makes me want to jump up and down with joy.  (And yes, I have!)
4. It's today's P365 POTD.

Christmas Tree 09

We have been going up the the mountains out past Enumclaw on 410 to get our tree for quite a few years now. I love this tradition. I love that there is almost always snow there. I love that Aaron cuts it down himself. (He may not love that part.) I love most of all that it only costs $10! While we don't always have the most beautifully trimmed and shaped tree, I love that we can get a Noble for a small price and how it really doesn't end up mattering too much once we get all the lights and ornaments on.

This year we headed up Thanksgiving weekend with our friends, the Bachs.
The boys all enjoyed playing in the snow and sledding.


Here is our tree in it's natural state...


And here it is after we cut it down...
The boys always seem to get snow down their pants, shirts and boots despite my best efforts at keeping them bundled. Here is how I found Landon trying to thaw his feet when we got back to the car...

Boys will be boys. Some day I will learn this!

In all reality, I really should buy a fake tree since I am pretty ridiculously allergic to the tree, but I just can't do away with this tradition! (I will admit the idea of a pre-lit tree is very tempting, however! Our strands of lights were a superior pain in my rear this year...ughh.) But alas, I want our kids to have memories of mom and dad taking them up to the forest to cut down their tree. And so it will be me and the claritin and kleenex for a couple more weeks!

PS. I'm still on the search for a replacement star for the Pottery Barn one that we've had until now. It got a crack in it last year. :(

Finally, a mantel!

If you have known us for any length of time then you will know that we have lived in quite a few places. I believe this is our seventh place of residence. Yet, we have NEVER had a mantel! Every year at Christmas I find myself just wishing we had a mantel to decorate, to hang the stockings from and to have a cozy fire beneath. Well, while it may not have come through the means I would have preferred... we now have a mantel! So this year I was feeling particularly crafty and decided to make my own garland from clippings from our tree, our yard, and the holly bush at Amy's. Here is what it looked like when I finished.

And here's a view of the whole mantel.


The reason why I said, This is what it "looked" like, is because unfortunately it is not looking so hot these days. We use our stove for a main source of heat and as we have had to keep it pretty stoked lately with the 12 degree temps, the garland I worked so hard on is not fairing the heat too well and is getting a little brown, wilted and shriveled. Bummer! Well, at least it was free!