Christmas Tree Hunt 2013

The hunt took place on Saturday, November 30th.  It never actually takes that long.  I'm not picky and none of us are really outdoor folks.  We squeezed it in between Erik's lecture prep and the college football. (BAMA LOST!!!)  Oh, dear.  I digress.  Let's go to the pictures, shall we?

 Hats on and ready to go to the tree farm!

There was a noticeable difference to me this year.  After we got out of the car, both boys went running through the tree farm, pointing at trees and making a big ruckus about which one they wanted.  They were actually just joking around.  They both know that Mommy picks the tree.  ;-)  It actually made me super happy that I didn't have to shush them and tell them to slow down.  Walking feet and inside voices aren't necessary on a tree farm!  YAY!

Here's the tree the boys picked:

 I think they are hilarious.

Here's the tree Mommy picked:

 It's a little more realistic for our living room, right?

 Luke helps with the process, pushing the tree so Daddy can get a better angle with the saw.  Luke is getting big.

 I think Paul is pointing back to the ginormous tree they had picked out.  He knows it won't work, but it tickles his funny bone to think of that tree in our house.

And then came the boys' reason for loving to pick the Christmas tree at this particular place:  The Toy Shed!

A free toy for every kid.  Don Schneider shops garage sales all summer to make this possible.  Luke went right for the Nerf blasters.  No surprise there.  Paul ended up with a pair of kid-sized binoculars for being a spy.  I love the way neither boy cares that these toys were pre-owned.  New to them is new!

The boys pose with Don Schneider, proprietor and all around awesome guy.