Great Adventures in Christmas Tree Gathering

We ventured out in the snow this weekend to find our Christmas tree. It's usually found by now, and up, but life has been hectic, so we set aside Saturday for our tree hunting adventure. I have to say adventure because I am very picky and it usually takes me hours to find a tree. I could write a book just on our Christmas tree gathering adventures!! When we left the house, there were light snow flurries, but as the day progressed, those snow flurries turned to huge, very heavy snowflakes, and by the time we left, there was at least four new inches of snow in places. It was a beautiful afternoon to be out in the woods. We took our trusty tree hunting dog with, as well. She loves the snow, go for rides, and be in the mountains, so she had a great day, as well.

We saw a cow moose during some of the heaviest snow.

We saw a couple trees that would work, but they weren't our favorites, so we drove around looking for more options. I spotted one across a meadow, and my hubby thought it was beautiful as well, so he trompsed across the deep snow to go check it out up close. My husband is 6'3" and as he stood next to this tree, he looked like a little boy. The tree was huge!!! It's funny how they never look that big out in the forest. He comes back to the truck all excited and says it's one of the prettiest trees he's ever seen, and we definitely should get it. I told him how the tree was at least three times his size but he thought it would fit in our house. 'Afterall, we do have vaulted ceilings!' I insisted it would not fit in our house, and that we needed to look for a smaller tree. After a little resistance, he agreed. We made a couple stops to check out trees, but none of them seemed just right. By this time, we have about 2o minutes before dark, so we are both starting to be concerned that we would not find a tree, and with 10-20 inches of snow in the forecast for overnight, we would not be able to get back up to get a tree. So, we started to diligently search. Finally, I spotted one that I think will work. I got out of the truck this time to go check it out, not realizing that the snow right out my door was knee deep! After getting out of that snow bank, I went to inspect the tree. I still thought it was pretty, but too big, but my hubby ensured me it would be just right after we cut off all the dead on the bottom. He cut it down and loaded in the truck, just as dusk was settling in. On the way down, he said this tree was much smaller than the original one he wanted to get so it would be just right for our house.

I had an afternoon meeting today, and on my way home I called to let my hubby know I was on my way. He started to laugh quite hard, and said it was a good thing we had a nice sized living room, and that we didn't get the other tree. I asked if there was any room for the furniture, or if it was all tree. He just continued to laugh. One year when we still lived in Sandpoint, we had to move all but two pieces of furniture out of our living room, and then the tree covered part of the couch, because the tree he got 'that wasn't too big' took over our living room. Granted, it was a much, much smaller space, but same idea. Well, most of the furniture still fits, but it is a large tree.

Remember how I said my hubby is 6'3"? Remember how I said we had vaulted ceilings?

Yes, that is a 6 foot ladder with a 6 foot man on top of it!

We are still in the process of decorating it. There are 600 lights on this tree, and we are working on getting the ornaments on it. It might take a couple days, but it will be pretty when it is finished. I am just thankful for one more adventure to add to our Christmas tree gathering memories!