Christmas tree hunting

This morning has finally brought the slightest dusting of snow to our neck of the woods. It is in stark contrast to the warm sunny day we enjoyed last weekend on our annual Christmas tree hunt.

This tradition has become one of our favorites. Especially watching our families grow and change. This year was, by far, the easiest, in terms of enjoying ourselves and being present enough to actually have adult conversation. We look forward to the day when we turn the saw over to the kids.

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2011

                           

The cabin

The last few weeks we spent with some friends who have been absent from our lives for four long years, as they took advantage of a fantastic opportunity to live and work in Europe. When they departed they had one young child; this visit has been dominated by the demands of our new lives with four children between us. They have two beautiful girls to complement our two boys. While we enjoyed the everyday activities of playdates in the woods, at the pool, and in the backyard ,we also relished the return to "the cabin". We spent many days and night here in our earlier days as friends, and were happy to return to this little spot in the woods. The zipline and deck are new, but otherwise it's the same as always. 

Christmas Tree Hunting 2013

A few years ago, with some friends, we started our own tradition of Christmas tree hunting. Our families have grown over the years and it just gets better and better.

 Over the years we tend to get large bushes trees that take up a lot of valuable square footage of our cozy little living room, so we were determined this year to not go too big. However I think we overcompensated and ended up with a rather sparse tree. It is tall and skinny, no doubt, and does fit perfectly into our living room, but it does resemble a certain Charlie Brown tree :)

We look forward to the day that we can send the kids off to hunt down the perfect tree while we adults sit back, relax and actually talk to one another for a change. Tailgating in the woods? Yes please! In the meantime we enjoy the process of schleping young ones.