Our Tree

This year we went to Applewood Farms with Mom, Dad, Jenn and Shawn to cut down our own tree. How Christmas Vacation! Actually, it was a pretty awesome day. Ella was running through the tree fields singing Christmas songs, we had hot cocoa and so on...
In the past out here in Maryland we have spent upwards of $60 a tree so we were pretty stoked that these were under $30. Thanks Dad, who paid for all of our trees.

Tree looks pretty great, right? When we first found in, however, Ella said it was too "poky." We laughed it off and thought she was just being 5 years old.

Turns out, however, that this was a cactus in tree clothing. My entire arm was marked in little red dots after I put it up. We waited a week for it to soften up and it never did! Natalie had to wear long sleeves and gloves while she decorated, we wouldn't let anyone go near it. We even left Santa a note.
More trouble arose when we left the tree alone for a week. Turns out a freshly cut tree needs LOTS of water. A week before Christmas our tree was throwing needles when anyone even grazed it. We couldn't unplug the tree at night because a few hundred needles would shower down and then would feel like sewing needles when you stepped on them!!!

I ended up taking down the tree on Christmas morning, right after Christmas breakfast. It did not go well! By the time I was down (3 hours later) there were hardly any needles left.
The tree outside, still just as deadly as ever.
By the back door.
Where the tree sat, it doesn't come out of berber carpet too well.