Good Greif Charlie Brown

This year, for the first time ever, Taylor and I decided we were going to go out and chop down our very own Christmas tree. We obtained a permit in October, and this past weekend trekked the entire family out into the woods to find us "the perfect tree."  When we got there, we all got out of the car and began hiking to find the best one in Prescott National Forrest (aka: the pine-less forest.)

A few minutes into walking, Lucy had to go to the bathroom. I tried to help her pee in a squat, but she refused. She kept telling me, "No, I go in the Potty!" until she had an accident in her pants. So Taylor and the kids trudged ahead, looking for the perfect tree. Lucy and I returned to the warm car where she could play naked. A few minutes after being in the car, Abby emerged of the woods. Her feet were too cold to keep going. (She has outgrown her boots, and I refuse to get another pair until after Christmas. Her tennis shoes were not cutting it in the snow. :) Maybe 10 minutes after that Parker ran out of the woods.

"Parker," I asked, "did you find a tree?" "Not yet," he replied. "It was getting too steep for me. So I came back." So Parker climbed in the car with us. The kids played in the warm car, while I tried to get Christmas music to come through on my phone---to no avail.

Some time after that, I decided I probably should go out and look for Taylor. What if he needed help. So I left the car, locked the kids in, and started trudging to see what was going on. As I did, I found Taylor hauling this god-awful tree behind him. "It was the best there was," he said. One whole side of the tree was bare. "I figured we could put the bare side against the wall, and maybe no one will notice." We both started laughing and hauled it to the car.

Once decorated, it was apparent how bare the poor tree really was. The star hangs off to one side, and the ornaments look like a really bad attempt to make our tree look pretty. Taylor and I discussed whether or not we will do this again. I think we decided that we will. It was fun, and besides, a Charlie B. tree fits our little family quite well. Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!