Christmas Tree Farm

Last year, we purchased a Christmas tree from Lowes that probably had been chopped down in August. No seriously, the tree lost like hundreds of needles on a daily basis. Rachel was just a little over a year then (i.e. harder to keep out of the tree) and although we'd tell Puma (or Puna as Rachel calls him in a somewhat taunting voice) to not bat at an ornament, he'd still walk under the tree w/ his tail straight up in the air.....dumping pine needles not only on the floor but also on his back which were then distributed at random throughout the house. And I use the word "dumping" intentionally. The thing looked like a Charlie Brown tree about 2 days after being in the apartment.

Now, I can't knock on Lowes too much (especially b/c one of my brothers works there - lol!) since we have purchased some decent trees from Lowes at a decent price over the past 6 years. However, this year, we were ready for the real Christmas tree experience that reminded us of when we were kids. Plus, the Sunday we got home, Ben had to fly out to Orlando and it would be impossible to get a tree the following weekend due to all the activities we had going on. So, all the Hamiltons/Rennos got a Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Ben's parents got to benefit from their 3 kids and 2 older grandchildren decorating the tree for them (Anna, Dan, and I decided to sit on the sidelines for this event and laugh...I mean watch).

While some may have dreamed of snow for this Christmas tree event, I was okay w/ the weather.....any colder and I may have had to be a party pooper and sit in the car. Although, I must say, everyone was relatively decisive w/ their tree selections, so we weren't in the cold too long....after all, Ben and I technically live in the south now where it's at least 10 degrees warmer than PA.

Rachel watched Ben cut the tree down (sorry I forgot to fix your pants, Rachel....Daddy and I are usually watchful for any high water pants moments!)......

Thankfully, the fall of the tree didn't traumatize Rachel. For a second there, it looked like it could go either way. Then, she responded, "It fall DOWN!" We had to explain a few times at the house that the tree won't (hopefully) fall down anymore....since Rachel's first words upon seeing Grandma and Pah Pah's tree decorated were "It fall down!".....and then she said that about our tree too.
Uncle Joel put his moose, I mean dog (Dakota) to good use on the tree farm.