{picking out our tree}

i over share.  pictures.  i tend to share all of them instead of just a few.  if this were a photography blog that would be cool beans.  but it's not....really.  i don't consider myself a "real" photographer so this can't be a photography blog so it must be a lifestyle blog.  but it's not...really.  i don't really write a lot of stuff.  more so, i share pictures.  i guess we're somewhere in between. i like to think of the blog as not only my place to share all the crap i love with you but a scrapbook of sorts for the kids. i want them to be able to come back here in ten years and see all these pics of them cause we all know they're not gonna get printed. ;)  so get ready for a lot of pictures and a few words.  lol. 

we took the kids to pick out a christmas tree on tuesday.  it's become one of my most favorite traditions.  this is the third year in a row.  i love that when you step out of the car you're in smell heaven.  christmas tree smell might just be my ALL time favorite scent ever.

we've also gone to the same place each year. :)

this is grainy and gross....

this is blurry and gross....

and yet, they're both still perfect. see what i mean though? no self respecting photography blog would post those. ;)

look at this one lisa!

the biggest kid was mopey. he had gotten into trouble at school. this was right after i went over to him and told him that yes, i was furious with him but that i still wanted him to participate in the picking of the tree and that it was a family event. {and yes, he broke his glasses too}

there were a lot of blurry kids.  don't they know to move slooooooooowly so mommy can get pics of them without her crappy flash???

these blurry kids i LOVE.  i wish i had gotten one of each and not just these two.  next time....

is she not the cutest thing ever?

chloe thinks she's hilarious....she picked this up and said "I found our tree!!!"

this was one of the top contenders.  we were there for an hour and nailed it down to two.  the one lisa picked and the one bailey picked.

of course we had to go check out the other side.  it's where we found our tree last year.  {not this year though}

two cutie pies....

contemplating bailey's pick.  the vote was three to two before lisa voted....

bailey won!  lisa voted for his and when chloe pointed out that things were tied, lisa reminded her that she gets two votes cause she's the one paying.  ;)  lisa is very sweet.  don't tell her i told you though.  she likes to think she's a toughy.  so bailey has picked out the tree two years in a row now!  even with no glasses he found the best tree in the lot.

"mommy take a picture of me!"  magic, i tell ya.

these are blurred on purpose.  i love it so.  not sure why.

i am not a highly religious person but i thought she looked beautiful here. 

the arrangements that are made here are amazing.  they're all pieced together by hand and gorgeous.

tying it down!  :)

i can't wait to decorate the tree and show y'all! 

what do y'all do?  real or fake?  what's one of your favorite holiday traditions?