O "Bushy" Christmas Tree

Due to my busy schedule the week of Thanksgiving Richard worked all week, except of course on Thanksgiving Day. On Friday afternoon Richard got off work early so we could go pick out a Christmas tree while it was still light outside. Originally we planned to drive to a tree farm about a half hour away, but with a tree lot only two blocks down the street we decided to stop and check out Bellefonte’s selection. After hearing the prices, we were ecstatic ($25, $35, & $45) and began roaming the tree lot. The $35 trees were beautiful and just what we were looking for. They had been chopped down only two days earlier and they were locally grown. It was difficult deciding among so many great trees. With the cold wind blowing and Richard indicating that perhaps we should go sit in the car and decide, I didn't want to delay the decision too long. So I am happy to report that we didn't have to sit in the car and I made my decision fairly quickly. While scoping out the trees Richard decided that he would just drag the tree home and avoid the mess and other complicated logistics associated with putting the tree on top of our car. So we quickly ran home to put on our more winterized coats, gloves, and scarves. In the meantime the nice tree-lot man set our tree aside and awaited our return. When we arrived at home Richard and I looked at the wonderful artificial Christmas tree we in our front window.

[Side Story: Our artificial tree was given to us after a few years of marriage by my aunt and uncle. It has been a great tree. In fact, I don’t even know if my aunt and uncle are aware that we have used the tree every year since this time—thank you John & Lucinda! I’ve never really been one for artificial trees as I love the real thing, but that little tree has saved us a lot of money over the years. In fact, the last time we had a real tree was back when we cut one down in Vernal, Utah, a number of years ago.]

Well, back at home, after looking at the tree, Richard indicated that he thought I might light a bushier tree than the one I picked out. After examining the tree in our front window I thought that perhaps he was right and I did need something bigger. So back at the tree lot we indicated that the tree we had chosen was not right for us and I needed to look at some other trees. At this time there was a tree that I began eyeing from the wrong side of the fence, so I decided to check out. Upon further inspection this new tree seemed much bushier than the other trees I had previously examined, and it looked great (okay, so ALL the trees looked amazing, if you can believe that, but this one was calling my name). Once I decided upon this tree the tree-lot man told Richard that this tree was a lot heavier than other tree we had chosen. After confirming that Richard was going to drag the tree home, and looking at him like he was crazy, the tree-lot man said he would wrap the tree to help protect it. But to our surprise my tree was way too big to fit through the thing they use to wrap the trees. So, Richard tied a strap to the tree and began dragging it home. The Smilebox scrapbook give you a glimpse of the adventures that ensued from here.

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As you can see from the pictures, the tree was much bushier and heavier than we expected. Richard was able to drag it almost one block until I brought the Jeep back and rescued him, and the tree. Luckily the tree didn’t lose any branches from this experience--whew! Once we got the tree home the next step was squeezing it through the door and then getting it to stand up without falling over. In attempting to help with this I tried tipping the tree while Richard placed the trunk in our stand. That didn't work very well because the tree is so heavy that I coudn't lift it very high. Oops, I guess the tree was a little too tall as well. So we trimmed both the bottom and top of the tree and then tried to get it to stand. In the process our tree stand broke and we weren’t able to get another one until the next morning. Alas our tree is standing, and it’s beautiful. I’ve never had such a big beautiful tree. It’s a tree that makes you want to sing songs, hold hands, and walk around it. Now our little artificial tree is in the front window and our bushy tree is in the back window. I love Christmas!

One Proud Aunt

For Halloween this year Richard threatened to shave his head, put a suit on, and call himself Daddy Warbucks. Minus the gobs dough that are NOT in our bank account he may have looked pretty convincing. He said my hair is red enough that I could curl it, put on a red dress and be Annie. In the end we didn’t dress up and Richard kept what’s left of his hair—whew! Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to our branch Halloween party Saturday night either. But on Friday we did get away and go to Washington D.C where we saw a mermaid, a lamb, a witch, and Darth Vader. My cousins were so cute all dressed up in their Halloween costumes. On Saturday we went to the Washington D.C. temple. As usual, it was beautiful.

But the real joy this Halloween came in seeing the pictures of my sister and her kids. She is the best mom. Who else would dress up as Velma, put her kids in a Scooby Doo and Shaggy costume, and then go trick or treating with them. She is so creative. I wish I had her talent. Below are some pictures from one proud aunt. My heart melts every time I see pictures of those kids. How does she do it?(FYI: If you click on the pictures they enlarge)