O Christmas Tree...

This year we finally did something we talk about each year...go and cut down our own Christmas tree somewhere out in the woods. I don't know if all states have this, but in Washington, you can pay $5 and then go out in certain areas and cut down any tree that meets the requirements (not over 15 feet, not within 150 feet of water, and maybe something else). You would think that should be rather easy as WA has lots of trees, but all the good ones seem to be close to water. :) Dave thought we'd better head out early before lots of snow came so it was easy trudge around...however, you always have to keep in mind that however far you go into the woods, you have to bring a heavy tree back out. 

So after wandering here and there, we found a spot with some good trees. We evaluated a handful and finally decided on one. It was particularly great to choose one that didn't have a trunk a half foot across...this one was actually quite slender...which also made for a lighter tree. :)

Our tree choice

kids and hubby on tree attack

Josh found some cool stumps with lots of ice crystals on them

After the not too long walk back to the car...with one of us having our face buried in tree and stumbling along, we loaded up and headed home. I know people always say that trees look a lot smaller in the forest than they do and home...and it's true! The height was just about perfect for the house, but we hadn't realized the diameter of the branches at the bottom was probably about 6-8 feet...way too big. 

So trim, trim, trim we went...now it looks much more reasonable

And, after much Christmas music, light fiascos, ornament choices,
and glasses of egg nog, the tree was finally up. (sorry about the quality of this pic...)

This tree is definitely different from the super full and lush trees we normally get from the tree lot, but I like that it has it's own character. Also since it's more sparse, you can see all the ornaments a bit better...we did have to pare down our ornament choices though...see how many are still left in the boxes!??! 

Hope you all are enjoying this most wonderful time of the year...