Chopping Down the Candy Cane

I think that most people feel their Christmas season starts when they put up their Christmas tree.  Normally we go to our local tree farm and cut it down the weekend right after Thanksgiving.  Now under normal circumstances I would be a tree on the first weekend of December kind of gal, however around here the grandparents that aren't coming for Christmas are usually here for Thanksgiving and it is nice to include them in at least one Christmas activity.  However, this year we were in Austin TX for Thanksgiving and the kids and I got home Sunday and Raif went straight on to a business conference in Chicago and so we had to wait until the actual first week of December.

So for that whole week the kids were getting more excited each day as they saw more and more houses with lights and trees.  And each day Quinn would ask when we were going to cut down our tree and squeal with excitement as the day got closer and closer.

"Mommy, are we going to the Christmas tree farm on Saturday?!"

"Absolutely."

"I can't wait!!  Yay!!!!"

"I know, isn't it so fun to walk through the rows of trees and find your very own Christmas tree that is just perfect and then bring it home?"

"That's allright."

(Huh, she was bouncing out of her seat a minute ago and now has the excitement of receiving melba toast for breakfast.)

"I thought you were excited."

"Oh, I am!!"

"You don't sound excited anymore."

"I am not excited about the tree.  I am excited about the candy cane and the hot apple cider."

So there you have it.  For the last three years I have attempted to create this wonderful Walton-esque family memory about cutting down our own tree and what does my daughter remember and get excited about?  The $0.15 candy cane and the free watered down hot apple cider mix they give away at the farm.  Sigh.

But regardless of the lack of excitement of the actual purpose of the event, at least from Quinn, off we went and found the perfect tree.

 (Here the kids are enjoying their watered down apple cider on the porch waiting for Raif to have the tree trimmed and tied to the car. They actually didn't have candy canes this year, much to my daughter's dismay)

 (The required hanging the first ornaments on the tree pictures.)

Greyson's "sweet spot" for his ornaments.  I think he put about 5 right on the lowest branch all together.

And the finished product...Ta Dah.....

Christmas, here we come....