Christmas has come and gone and it is still a blur! I can't believe that we're almost done with December and that 2009 is right around the corner.
Our family actually did something really neat this year - we went to a "Hawaiian" Christmas Tree farm and cut our own tree down! (Rather, watched the workers cut it, haul it, and tie it to the roof of the van) I read about it in the paper before Thanksgiving and then we saw it on the news - I asked Lad, "Don't you think that would be a good experience for the boys? Can we do that?" He grudgingly said "Yes - anything you want". I like that. I think he should say that to me all the time! Although I had hoped for more enthusiasm on his part. But hey, small steps...right?
So on a Saturday, we went to Wahiawa to go to look for a tree. The paper said Helemano Farms - so we went to the only Helemano we know that is right next to the Dole Plantation Pineapple Maze. The whole way there Dallen and Austen asked if we could go to the maze - they love it there for some reason. All I see is me lost in some hedges walking around in the hot sun. But, they LOVE it there. Next time boys! But, the actual tree farm is not connected to that Helemano...rather we had to go towards Whitmore Village and there it was! We got to walk around and look for a tree. What they do is cut off the tops of the trees so when you look to cut a tree for your home, you need to look at the top 2/3rds of it to see if that would be the size you want. They keep the bottom 1/3 for it to regrow - takes a couple of years. So, we looked - Dallen and Austen had a blast running through the rows and rows of trees - think maze, without the maze. And we came across one that we liked and then it was cut for us. A 7 foot tree is $40 and it's $10 for each additional foot...so it was pretty similar to the prices for already cut trees.
We took our 7 foot tree home and put in downstairs for the boys to decorate. They decorated it nicely and we realized quickly that we had 2 issues. One, Sugar Ray LOVES trees - pawed at it, climbed it, gnawed on the branches. And two, there's not much room downstairs for 3 rambunctious boys and a 7 foot tree. What do those 2 things mean? Our 7 foot tree crashed down and some of the bottom branches broke leaving us with a 4 foot tree. The boys decorated it again and we came home one day and it had toppled over again - probably thanks to a tree loving cat. All of us eventually gave up on it so it sat undecorated waiting for a new tree stand (which also broke). How sad!! Lad says that's the last tree we're getting for downstairs (waste of money) - I'll have to get a small artificial one next year.
Dallen and Austen both had nice Christmas activities at school - they went with Grandma - and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Here's Dallen's gingerbread house. I have a picture of Austen's but it's in my Mom's camera not downloaded so I'll have to add that later.
Christmas Eve brought us to Grandma's house to celebrate with our extended family. It was a nice, smaller than usual gathering this year but we all had a nice time. We got home late and the boys had to hurry to bed before Santa bypassed our house!
They woke up earlier than Mommy and Daddy would have liked but they were so excited - how could you not when you're a kid?!! I had to take my annual Christmas morning picture with them in front of the tree. I still can't get everyone to look at the camera at the same time - although, at least they are all looking up.
Our family is truly blessed in so many ways and with so many things. We have such a great family, immediate and extended, who love us and care about us. We have great friendships. We have healthy kids with endless energy. We have the gospel in our lives - without it, we don't know where we'd be! It's especially nice at this time of year to remember all we enjoy and give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the infinite blessings he bestows.
