Putting up Christmas

We had our traditional "putting up Christmas" FHE this week.  It was a blast :).  Got our "First Christmas" ornaments picture for Grandma Hatch.  The kids get more and more attached to these things every year, it's hilarious.  They are extremely protective of ALL of their own ornaments.  It's cute.  I'm glad they're sentimental about this stuff with me.  Takes us all night to talk about all the ornaments and where they came from before putting them up, but it's fun and I love it :).

Nate and I just went and got one of the cheap trees at Costco, thinking we were sacrificing this year because it was so cheap, we assumed it would be a cheap tree, but when we got it home and snipped the tie off- surprise! it's huge!!  Took a little finagling to get it into the tree stand (and then filling it up with water and realizing that we'd completely demolished the thing and it was leaking all over the carpet!  Then getting a new tree stand and finagling some more to get the tree in that one!) and fitting in the room, had to chop a little off both ends!!  But it's been fun to look at!  I love how full it is!  I don't think we've ever had a tree this big.  

Nate and I sat and reminisced about some of our more humble trees.  The free one Claire gave us, where we ended up tying branches on with lace (all we had that could do the job).  Our dying one in our first apartment :).  And of course the fake one that surprised us when we walked into our new home in Eagle Mountain Christmas morning.  We've been so blessed.  Especially at Christmas time.  And I got a good laugh remembering our first tree/tree stand experience :).  So funny.

I let Nate take pictures of the kids decorating.  

It is still a little bare up top. :)

And then the holiday specs came out!!  Memories!!!

Still amazes me that you can see the designs in a picture!  This one's a little hard to see if you don't know what it is... gotta get up closer, but still! how cool!!

We had to do some research, because we didn't believe her, but Charity was right!  It was her turn to put the angel on top!!  It's been seven years since the last time!!  I thought it was funny that THIS is the year we get the big tree :).  I wonder if Nate will be able to lift her up the next time it's her turn!!!  In what, 2020??  Sheesh, that's so far away.  She'll be 18!!!  I hope she still hangs around long enough to help "put up Christmas" then.

Here's her WHOOT!!  

I love this time of year!!!