New Traditions

A couple of weeks ago I asked my kids to sit down and write a list of what kinds of activities we should do as a family around the holidays. I got the normal "family game night", "family movie night"...even a "family snowball fight", which I'm taking under consideration..but not until I get a pair of gloves :) The one that ALL of my kids put down was "cut down our own Christmas tree". I remember going with my family when I was Tryphon's age and traipsing through the woods for HOURS until my Mom found a 200 ft (OK, maybe it was only 20ft) pine tree to cut down and take the top off of...meanwhile I was frozen...and hungry...and sure we were never going to see civilization again. I know it sounds like it was a miserable experience, and maybe it was at the time..but you know what? Its the ONLY memory I have of how we got any of our trees....so it's special....Not so special that I want to relive hiking 20 miles into the woods with three complaining children though...so, when we saw that Smith's tree farm lets people come down, pick out a tree..and cut it down themselves...I was ALLLLL over it!

We left at about 11..braving the road into town... can you say "salt reduction area" :P

We do a little celebratory dance every time we make it to the bottom without crashing into the trees...of course we had to listen to the boys talk about how "this hill is just like a Calvin and Hobbes sledding hill!". So reassuring.

Once we were in town we looked for the signs for the Smith Farm in Cabot..yes..Cabot..where Cabot cheese is made :)

Which is probably why these people painted their cow barn like...a cow!


Speaking of cheese...here's the creamery...I love Cabot cheese...I would marry the vintage cheddar if it were legal....soooooo good....

After driving 5 miles up a hill..on back roads..we saw the sign..pointing us up Smith Road...how appropriate!


The roads just keep getting better and better! Ha!



Is there an END?!?!?! I was getting worried that we'd get there and never get back out! lol


Finally we came around a corner and saw this! Yay!



Down we headed, hacksaw in hand, looking for "the" tree. And there were A LOT to choose from.



I spyed this one from the path and waded through 15 feet of snow..barefoot and naked to get to it...The kids checked it all out and searched it thoroughly for squirrels hoping one was hibernating inside. My kids should be medicated. :P

The boy running the tree stand offered to cut down the tree for us...I told him No! WE'D do it...don't you love how WE are laying on the ground cutting down this tree?? I love it too...:P Hey...I waded through the snow to FIND the tree..its only fair my loving husband get a job too...He has to have his part in this tradition.

Dragging the tree up the hill. Mike went into a tirade on the ride home about how the farm should be at the BOTTOM of the hill so people could drag their trees down..instead of up...pfft..the big baby..how hard could it be? The kids were running to keep up!


The boy took pity on us and brought it to our van with the tractor...what a good boy taking pity on my old decrepit husband.

And there it is...our very first freshly cut ourselves Christmas tree. Pictures of how FREAKY HUGE it is in the corner of my living room to come later... :)