Missions & moving. We are on the brink of a new year.
Not to mention, the holidays are here!
Ryan and I started a new tradition today.
As I was feeding the baby her breakfast of fruit and cereal this morning (in my pajamas and my hair sticking up in every direction possible) Ryan came in and announced that he wanted to go get a Christmas tree. In the mountains. In the next few minutes.. Oy. Unexpected early starts aren't easy for me.
After I threw on a hoodie and tamed my hair we were off on our adventure. To hunt down and gather the perfect tree.
Now, this is something I've done with family on multiple occasions. It can be a long tedious process depending on the people you're with.
So I was open minded to the fact that this could be a long day. But it was Ryan's first time hiking a snowy mountain to find a tree so I wanted it to be a good experience.
We found an area that allowed the public to cut down trees and it looked pretty promising.
So we started our hike. It was icey, uphill and I was carrying a 17 pound baby. Ryan hiked behind me so he could push me along when I started sliding backwards.
We hiked for about 20 minutes. ( I made sure Ryan brought pepper spray and a knife because I'm a little paranoid about getting eaten by bears or mountain lions...) We wandered through twisty trails, in between trees trying to find the perfect tree. It's a good thing Ryan has an excellent sense of direction because I would probably be in Wyoming by now still trying to figure out where I am if not for him.
As time went on it got colder and colder. And the baby's little nose started getting red. So we had to decide fast. We weren't seeing anything beautiful so we were going to settle with a twiggy Charlie brown tree ( which I have no problem with, I love gimpy trees. Their adorable.)
But we spotted one. The perfect tree.
So Ryan got to work hacking it down (he let me try but... I failed miserably. So he took over again) with his saw.
Emma sat in the snow, as happy as could be. She loved touching the ice with her bare hands. So when I tried covering her hand she got a little sad.
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| her snow suit is twice her size. We could fit two of her in there. |
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| Sad day. Her hand is now imprisoned |
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| FAIL |
.
 |
| SUCCESS |
Before we knew it we were on our way back down the mountain towards the car.
We slid down half the mountain because of how icey it was, so the trip down was really fast (and fun!) 
We got to the car, strapped it to the roof and were on our way.
We sang Christmas songs on the way there and back and snacked on Tomato basil wheat thins.
Emma was so happy the whole day. I may be a little biased, but in all honesty, we have the perfect baby.
:)
:)
We came home, set up our lovely find in the stand and got our house ready for Christmas.
Before.
We have a big, beautiful, (VERY authentic looking...in fact it kind looks like we chopped off the top of a huge tree) in our house and it smells amazing.
After
Now we're home. Cozy and warm. It's been a great day.
