Well it is that time of year again... the time we adventure out into the wilderness in the quest for the perfect tree. You may remember from the post last year, that this has been an annual tradition with Brad's family for over 20yrs.
The day started out warmer in the valley but as we drove up the mountains past Heber it started getting dark and cloudy.
When we arrived we all got ready and headed up the mountain. My unwritten rule is that we have to hike uphill to find our tree so when we bring it back to the truck we are hiking downhill. Makes life much easier!
After we all hiked for what seemed like forever... Monica & Chris as well as Megan & Dave had found their trees. I had also found one for Brad and I but he wasn't satisfied it was the perfect tree for us. So his quest continued. We all watched as the others cut down their trees and waited playing in the snow until Brad got back. He hiked probably another mile in a circle and still found nothing... (I was still standing by the tree I thought was great! Just in case..)
After a lengthy discussion, we decided the tree I was standing by was not "our" tree and continued to hike in a different direction. Another 1/2 mile or so we found a few trees that may work.. Nicole and Paul found a couple they liked and Brad continued another 50 feet and found the "perfect" tree! I came down and helped him decide that yes in fact it was a great tree. As he cut down the tree it fell up against another one before falling to the ground. We think that is where our "perfect" tree lost a few branches! After surveying the situation, we realized there was NO WAY the 2 of us could carry out such a heavy and tall tree by ourselves. This tree was twice as heavy as the one last year. So the waiting began... Paul and Nicole carried their tree down the mountain to get some help. About 20min later -it felt much longer than that - it was getting dark and colder by then. Chris and Will came to our rescue. To make a long story longer... all 4 of us had to pick up the tree and put it on our shoulder to carry it down. We all fell at least 1 time except Brad (he was in front and could see where he was going), I fell at least 3 or 4 times... Will almost landed on a branch that would have punctured his stomach but luckily he caught himself just in time! By the time we finally got back to the truck we were all worn out! We do enjoy our annual adventure... but occasionally get to do things the hard way rather than the easy way. Next year we will remember the tarp! A few pictures from our adventure...
Emma goofing around :)
Ali and Lily taking a break after hiking about 15min! 
Us all waiting for Brad to find a tree!
Monica and Lily
Chris and Monica
Paul
Nicole making a snow angel...
Megan and Dave's tree
Monica and Chris family tree
Nicole and me
Brad and Chris loading our 20ft tree.. we had to cut off 4 feet just to get it to fit in the truck bed! Once we cut off the extra 4 feet it was about 100lbs lighter. Why didn't we think of carrying that piece down by itself --before we carried it all the way down the mountain??
Lily, Emma, Alison and Will waiting for us at the cars getting warm!
Megan and Dave trying to get their tree home without scratching the top! We had a neighbor call and ask if it was an elk we were trying to fit in there!
Brad asked him if he wanted to have pine gum in his car and he said "what if we just wrap it up really tight?" Dave cracks me up! Nice work you two!
This is what the tree looked like the next morning.. is that huge or what?? Brad cut off another 2 ft Monday morning before our dear friend and home teacher came over to help him lift it in the house so he could start stringing the lights. Thanks Rob!
After Brad had put lights on the top 1/3 of the tree we had one of our favorite families come over to help lift the tree into the tree stand. Thanks to Greg, Josh, Caleb and Garett for helping out! It really took all 5 of them including Brad to set the tree in the stand!
Stay tuned for updates of the finished product!
6 comments:
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. They have these things called "tree lots" where you can go and buy a tree. I hiked a good 14.5 feet, pointed, paid, meandered back to the car, watched two guys tie it to the roof, complained to them to hurry up because when I rolled my window down to talk to them a cold breeze chilled me and then I headed home. I was going to call my hometeacher to help haul it in but I have forgotten who it was since it has been so long since I've seen him. Then I thought I should do my hometeaching but then remembered that I had also forgotten who I hometeach since it had been so long.
What an adventure! I love the tree...and it will be worth all the effort once it's all decorated! Way to be the only girl helping the guys haul it down the mountain! :)
I love your Christmas tree adventure! And, one more question... could Mike be any funnier?? :)
Looks like a great tree. We just keep it simple and put up a fake one. I really like real trees and the smell. I had them all growing up and the first few years I was married. I am excited to see it decorated.
Oh. My. Gosh. What a nice adventure. For YOU guys to have. It is a beautiful tree though, and I love that you do it the way you do. The finished tree will be even more gorgeous than last year's, I'm sure! Can't wait!
The only thing I miss about a real tree is the smell! I do love my fake tree that just comes up out of the basement when I'm ready for it. I have to admit though, I'm ready for a pre-lit tree next year. Post pictures of it all decorated, I'd love to see!
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