Nope, not this year. No Terpening-wald family Christmas tree. Can you believe it? This year, we downsized significantly to a dinky 9-foot-tall tree. We haven't had a tree this small since the first year we were married and living in an apartment, way back in 2003.
I know you're all dying to see what the tree looks like, but you'll have to bear with me while I walk you through the story of this year's tree.
We decided that since we had a three-month old that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to go tromping through the mountains looking for a beastly tree to chop down, so we stayed close to home. We drove to a tree farm less than 15 minutes from our house. The short drive was really nice, actually, and we were still able to cut the tree down ourselves.
It was a sunny, but very chilly morning, so we bundled Kyah up to keep her warm. Isn't that pink outfit cute?
We spent less than 15 minutes searching for the perfect tree, mostly because the wind was blowing and it was 30 degrees out. Even with the warm clothes on, it was still cold for Kyah. We quickly cut the tree down and loaded it on the Subaru. It's amazing how much easier a 9-foot tree is to move around.
From start to finish, the whole trip took maybe an hour and a half. That's less than half the time it took to drive up to the mountain and cut down a tree. The time saved was really nice. We were only gone for a short period of time, but it was enough to wear Kyah out.
The tree also took very little time to set up. I didn't even have to rope it to the wall, to make sure it wouldn't fall and crush someone.
We're enjoying our decorated tree, with ornaments to boot. In year's past, we weren't able to decorate with ornaments because the branches were too flimsy.
What have our trees looked like in previous years? Well, like this 20-footer.
This year's tree is a Terpening family Christmas tree, sans the Griswald. This year's tree only cost me $5 more dollars; saved me several hours of driving and labor; and made my wife happy, which we all know is priceless.
