O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

It's that time of year when our whole family crams into the big

 van in search of the perfect Christmas tree.

 

There's a whole lot of craziness and fun...

 

and a quick detour to check out Dan's dream truck.

 

 Some people are very thrilled to be out in the snow...

 

 and some refuse to dress appropriately for a winter adventure.

(Really people...tennis shoes?)

 

 Some people get down to business right away and

start campaigning  for their tree...

 

and some people get side-tracked with snowballs...

and SOME people are having a bad day.

 

 Only one minor injury!

 

By then Dan has arrived with the necessary power tool.

Andrew is into really, really big trees...

and Therese just loves the itty bitty baby trees.

 Whoa, everybody has to take a break and check out the deer tracks.

 

 Here's most of the crowd!

Marianna's not interested in the perfect Christmas tree,

she's too busy eating snow.

Gabriel wants in on the snowball fight with his ginormous snowball.

Johnny votes for the tall tree with ready made room for lots of presents...

while Gabriel insists on a "huggable" tree.

Like I said before, this guy is just happy to be outside!

 

Ha! Gotcha, Clare!

 Santa added a new elf and a couple of extra reindeer...

 

and Gabriel finds a friend when we break for hot chocolate.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Stephen poses as the official tree holder.

Let the decorating begin!

Or chili binging, whatever the case may be.

Every year, when all the work is done, we sit back and

enjoy our "perfect" Christmas tree.

Great job, everybody!