'Twas the Night Before Christmas....

....darn near it, anyway. Well, we finally got enough of the hunting seasons quieted down so we could get down to gettin' ready for the holidays. Last weekend, we trekked to Elk Mountain in search of the first-ever "Treyson" Family Christmas Tree. Actually, turned out to not be much of a trek, as Al Gore's "Global Warming" has left the forest lacking the snow depth necessary for an authentic snowshoe hunt for a Christmas Tree.

Anyway, we met with my parents and drove the pickup all the way to the ceremonial Christmas Tree Hunting Grounds. After watching Tillie race around in the snow and enjoying the quiet serenity for awhile (interrupted only slightly by the shrieking sounds of Trey getting some snow in her boots), we got down to the business of finding a good tree.

Okay, maybe it wasn't quite that simple. . . As Trey had never harvested a live Christmas Tree before, she had to be "schooled" on the proper tree-selection techniques. There was also some time spent watching Dad as he tried to use his GPS unit to figure out where we were (luckily, we weren't far from the road and the instrument was able to confirm our location only a short time after we returned to the pickup).







Then, in the midst of all of this entertainment, Trey and I found THE tree. NO, we did not misjudge our ceiling height--my folks needed some boughs to finish their decorations, so we were looking for a tree with a few extra limbs. Despite Dad's efforts to make "chainsaw sounds" the hand saw was a bit tiring. Luckily, Trey took her turn with the saw and we were able to get THE tree cut down. Funny, when we started carrying THE tree back to the pickup, Trey disappeared until we were nearly there. At least she got some good pictures. . .


So, we got THE tree cut down to size, installed in our family room, and it is now proudly wearing some of the thirty or so "S'More" ornaments that Trey has collected. Of course, the ornaments that we have picked up on our travels are finally on display as well. Several strings of lights adorn the garage and porch and we're both ready for ol' Saint Nick to show up.

Between hunting seasons and the decorating, gift wrapping, and trips to the Post Office, its starting to look like time to lay down for a long winters' nap. Well, as soon as I can shut down that clatter out on the lawn. . . .