Getting ready for Christmas

My pictures ended up in the opposite order that I wanted them in, but I don't feel like trying to switch them all around, so you're going to get our Christmas tree pics in reverse. Above is our finished product along with some wall decor.

We went out on December 7 to have a fun family afternoon getting our tree. Last year, we began our day with a lunch out and we decided to do that again. I think this is maybe the 2nd time we've taken the kids out to eat at an actual restaurant. When you've got two little ones, it just doesn't happen and when it does, you're usually going through the drive-thru.
It was a horrible rainy day (as it was last year on our tree day) and John cracked a few jokes about how I can just pick the best days for tree hunting. Our pumpkin patch trips always end up on great days and we live in Oregon....you can't have it both ways!
Since it was raining and we were starving, we just popped over to the Shari's that's basically across the street from us. Aiden has been obsessed with cheeseburgers lately and they offer a kid's meal with little tiny cheeseburgers, so he was very happy! John had a pancake platter and I went with the french toast platter. Nathan was the lucky one and got to sample something from everyone's plate.
When we left the restaurant, it was pouring and was looking like we'd end up soaked and covered in mud like last year. But we had about a 25 minute drive to our favorite tree farm (off Roy Rogers road for those of you in the area) and by the time we arrived it was foggy, but no longer raining.

We like this tree farm because it's a flat price for ANY tree, no matter the size. it's also a U-Cut place, which gives us the experience of really getting our own tree. Last year, the price was $15 (great, considering we had just left a place that tried to charge us $35 for a 3 foot tree), but it had been upped to $20 this year. Not a problem and still great, especially if you're taking home a huge tree. We tend to stick with the trees that can fit in our trunk for now. We are waiting on a large tree until we own a home, even though we have the vaulted ceilings now and could easily fit a 10 foot tree in our apartment. It's just a fun thing to look forward to. For now, we like our little 4 foot tree and we have the peace of mind that if one of the boys pulls the tree down onto himself, he won't be horribly injured.

So we brought our little tree home and spent the afternoon decorating while listening to classic Christmas tunes. The boys had fun with the Santa hats and Aiden enjoyed helping to decorate. We added a new ornament this year - a Baby's First Christmas 2008 for Nathan. It turns out that I unknowingly stuck with the sleeping baby theme for our baby's first Christmas ornaments. Aiden's is a sleeping baby in a cradle and Nathan's is a sleeping baby on a rocking horse. I write the name and birth date of the child on the back of the ornament and it will be a fun thing to pass along to our boys once they have homes and Christmas trees of their own.