Christmas Tree Hunting

It's tradition that we head up to the mountains the weekend after Thanksgiving to chop down our Christmas tree. We have lunch on the Blue Ridge and then spend the evening decorating as we listen to Christmas music and munch on goodies.

Because we were in Virginia this Thanksgiving, we couldn't head up the mountains for our tree, so we planned on the weekend after. Little did we know, snow was in the forecast.

As we started our trip, we saw the snowflakes begin to fall. Should we go? Yeah...no big deal. However, my tune changed when the snow really started coming down, coating the hills around us and we weren't even to the mountain yet. Should we keep going? Um...yeah? The men said it would be fine. I wasn't so sure.

The crazy characters in our winter adventure are... 

A and Pa

Grandma

W

O

E and Me

So what do you do to pass the time, wondering if you'll actually head up the snow covered mountain? E took pictures of herself...

and more pictures.

She wrote on the windows.

Documented her wardrobe.

She also updated everyone on the condition outside,

which was getting worse as we began our climb up the mountain.

E was worried.

O was worried.

A looked like this, 

but I'm sure he was nervous too. See, you can tell, right?
I was the worst one of all. I wanted to turn around before we even got to the mountain. The snow kept coming and there was a steady stream of cars heading down the mountain.

I don't even think we were half way up when the truck in front of us started fishtailing. Hmmm...thick snow, trucks fishtailing, slippery and windy roads that have a steep drop off and no shoulder...
we decided to turn around.

We HAD to get a tree that day. So we drove around searching for tree lots. We stopped here and hoped to find our tree.

The kids loved the snow, of course. Right away, there was a snowball fight.

The trees were really pretty covered in snow.

Unfortunately,  we didn't find a tree we liked at the price we were willing to pay. We search some more, but after awhile, we were cold and hungry. E was the worst. Turns out, her boots had holes in them and so her feet were soaked and the zipper on her coat broke off. As she sat in the warm van with her feet wrapped in a fleece scarf, we decided to stop at Lowes. The only place around.

Me, Grandma, and Pa faced the cold and shook the snow from the trees to find the best ones. We were so ready to go home. Strap that tree on the van and call it a day!

So, another adventure under our belt...another Christmas memory to laugh over. The snow was so beautiful and exciting, and yes, it ruined our plans, but I think something goes wrong just about every year...doesn't it? Part of the fun, I guess.
Holidays are crazy anyway.