I REALLY wish that I could blog about what a fun, perfect day we had chopping down our Christmas tree. But, that would be a big ole fat lie. Even by looking at the pictures you would think we had a good time. But, it was horrible, beyond horrible really. Normally, we just take the kids to Houston Garden Center to pick out a tree each year, but I had been wanting to take them to a tree farm to chop down our own tree. I had done that a couple of times when I was a kid and always thought it was really cool. So, I decided this was the year they were old enough to enjoy it. Wrong. My kids screamed, whined, complained, cried & fought the entire time. I think everyone at the Tree farm probably burst into applause when our car finally exited the parking lot. First of all, it was hotter outside then the weather report said it was going to be. So, we were all dressed for cooler weather & we were sweating in our sweaters in the 80 degree weather. That was the first problem. The second problem was our timing. We arrived at the tree farm about an hour to lunch time. I thought the kiddos would be fine til after the tree chopping was done, and then we'd hit a restaurant on the way home. Nope, apparently they were completely starving & they acted like we had not fed them in weeks. The last problem was me. I mean the trees. No, really me. See, I LOVE picking out my Christmas tree, and I am just a tad particular about them. (I may have even gone to 6 different places one year to find the 'perfect' tree.) Well, this tree farm definitely did not have any trees that would even come close to what I would call a 'perfect' tree. The combo of all of this made for one of the worst days I've had since becoming a mom. As we were dragging the kiddos all over this place looking at one sad tree after another, Derek kept telling me if I didn't like any of them we should just go somewhere else. But, I was in the mode. Plus, we had already invested all this time dragging whiny kids around the farm....SURELY there was decent tree somewhere right???? I am not even sure how we got this many pictures where everyone looks happy, because they were very rare happy moments mixed into the horror.
The kids with the measuring stick that they fought over the entire time.
Kids with Dada
Alas, here is Derek with the kiddos chopping down the tree we picked. Okay, we didn't really pick it. It just happened to be the tree right next to me when the whiny kids pushed me right over the edge. It definitely had a Charlie Brown look to it, but at that point I could care less. I wanted to be anywhere but right there at that moment. Calgon take me away! Derek kept pointing out all the big bald spots on it & I kept saying angrily 'We'll just put that side to the back.' I can remember him muttering something like 'Well, we can't put every side of the tree to the back though.'
But look at this happy face jumping on hay bales!
Both of them jumping on the hay bales.
Dawson posing for a pic.
The second half of our day was completely turned around. We all ate lunch, watched a movie, took naps or just chilled out. But, by the time we started decorating the tree, everyone was very happy & agreeable. (Okay, Derek may have also gone to the store & brought back a bottle of my favorite wine to help out with the everyone being agreeable part. :-) We turned on our favorite Christmas music, the movie Elf soundtrack, and we all danced our way through decorating the tree. Seriously, if you don't own that cd, buy it. Best Christmas cd ever...the kiddos love it.
Posing with the decorated tree...which didn't end up looking THAT bad after we dressed it all up. (We did spend quite a bit of time though analyzing which part looked the worst & needed to face the wall.)
This was Dawson's idea for a good photo with the tree.
Dancin' with Dad
Dawson's favorite dance move since we got the tile! The slide!
Love this one, Andi dancin' with Dad.
And, TADA! All done with the Christmas tree saga. I was probably thinking right after this picture 'Yay, I can FINALLY put the kiddos to bed now!'
I REALLY wish that I could blog about what a fun, perfect day we had chopping down our Christmas tree. But, that would be a big ole fat lie. Even by looking at the pictures you would think we had a good time. But, it was horrible, beyond horrible really. Normally, we just take the kids to Houston Garden Center to pick out a tree each year, but I had been wanting to take them to a tree farm to chop down our own tree. I had done that a couple of times when I was a kid and always thought it was really cool. So, I decided this was the year they were old enough to enjoy it. Wrong. My kids screamed, whined, complained, cried & fought the entire time. I think everyone at the Tree farm probably burst into applause when our car finally exited the parking lot. First of all, it was hotter outside then the weather report said it was going to be. So, we were all dressed for cooler weather & we were sweating in our sweaters in the 80 degree weather. That was the first problem. The second problem was our timing. We arrived at the tree farm about an hour to lunch time. I thought the kiddos would be fine til after the tree chopping was done, and then we'd hit a restaurant on the way home. Nope, apparently they were completely starving & they acted like we had not fed them in weeks. The last problem was me. I mean the trees. No, really me. See, I LOVE picking out my Christmas tree, and I am just a tad particular about them. (I may have even gone to 6 different places one year to find the 'perfect' tree.) Well, this tree farm definitely did not have any trees that would even come close to what I would call a 'perfect' tree. The combo of all of this made for one of the worst days I've had since becoming a mom. As we were dragging the kiddos all over this place looking at one sad tree after another, Derek kept telling me if I didn't like any of them we should just go somewhere else. But, I was in the mode. Plus, we had already invested all this time dragging whiny kids around the farm....SURELY there was decent tree somewhere right???? I am not even sure how we got this many pictures where everyone looks happy, because they were very rare happy moments mixed into the horror.
The kids with the measuring stick that they fought over the entire time.
Kids with Dada
Alas, here is Derek with the kiddos chopping down the tree we picked. Okay, we didn't really pick it. It just happened to be the tree right next to me when the whiny kids pushed me right over the edge. It definitely had a Charlie Brown look to it, but at that point I could care less. I wanted to be anywhere but right there at that moment. Calgon take me away! Derek kept pointing out all the big bald spots on it & I kept saying angrily 'We'll just put that side to the back.' I can remember him muttering something like 'Well, we can't put every side of the tree to the back though.'
But look at this happy face jumping on hay bales!
Both of them jumping on the hay bales.
Dawson posing for a pic.
The second half of our day was completely turned around. We all ate lunch, watched a movie, took naps or just chilled out. But, by the time we started decorating the tree, everyone was very happy & agreeable. (Okay, Derek may have also gone to the store & brought back a bottle of my favorite wine to help out with the everyone being agreeable part. :-) We turned on our favorite Christmas music, the movie Elf soundtrack, and we all danced our way through decorating the tree. Seriously, if you don't own that cd, buy it. Best Christmas cd ever...the kiddos love it.
Posing with the decorated tree...which didn't end up looking THAT bad after we dressed it all up. (We did spend quite a bit of time though analyzing which part looked the worst & needed to face the wall.)
This was Dawson's idea for a good photo with the tree.
Dancin' with Dad
Dawson's favorite dance move since we got the tile! The slide!
Love this one, Andi dancin' with Dad.
And, TADA! All done with the Christmas tree saga. I was probably thinking right after this picture 'Yay, I can FINALLY put the kiddos to bed now!'
2 comments:
No, it's not that bad. Actually, the tree looks beautiful. I was shocked with the movie soundtrack. We also played that music last Christmas because the kids like it. Judging by the pictures, the kids seem to be getting along with each other now. They look so cute!
4141Well, not everything that’s beautiful came easy. It’ll also require a lot of hard work and patience. :) What’s important is that it went very well. Your Christmas tree looks very elegant and your kids look genuinely happy! :)
Tia Timoteo
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