The Hunt

I grew up with a real Christmas tree.

Every winter we would bundle up in long johns and hats and gloves and snowsuit and brave the Minnesota Wind Chills to find the perfect tree.

Naturally, I expected this tradition to seamlessly carry itself into my married life.

Unfortunately, Andrew was a little less of a stickler for traditions and after procrastinating the first 24 days of our first married December, he waltz through the door on Christmas Eve with the most Charlie Brown looking tree I've ever seen.

Crooked, brown, barely any branches.

I cried a lot that night.  Partly out of sadness that we didn't have an amazing tree, partly because I was laughing so hard at how pitiful the ugly thing was.

The next year, we got ourselves a fake tree.

And I liked it.

The day after Thanksgiving became our tree day.  No need to bundle up and go out to find a tree.  Just pop up to the attic and bring that baby down.

But last year when we hauled the 5 sections down from the attic, Josie asked Andrew (with big tear-filled eyes), "Daddy, that's not a tree.  Where's our real tree?"

So I wasn't all that surprised when he announced that this year, we are going all natural.

The Brown's Tree Farm doesn't open until next weekend, but Farmer Brown understood the need of squeezing in some extra holiday cheer and let us have first pick.

Watching Josie run through the trees was one of those awesome mom moments.

"Here is ours!"  

"Ohhhh, this is THE one!"

I'm not sure what it was about this one, but it was THE one.

Awkward Family Picture:

Moving right along...

We have never done this before and that was painfully obvious as we stared at each other and asked how to cut it down and get it home.

I'm sure Farmer Brown was laughing out his window!

We figured it out and drove home very slowly, cause you know we didn't bring any string to tie this baby down.

And just like that, a new Pope Family Tradition was born.

Let the Holly Jolly begin!