Christmas Tree

This year the Christmas tree caused a bit of contention in the marriage. During our nine years of marriage we have never had to pay for a Christmas tree but that doesn't mean it didn't come without some pain. Whenever a tree my mom used for decorating one of the hotels died she would ask if we wanted it. Sounds great until you realize you have to cut the lights off of it and then restring the tree every year.  So this year I put my foot down and decided I had enough and I wanted to for once pull a tree out of the box and plug it in. I made an executive decision and went and bought a tree without Mark's permission. 

That night the boys and I were excited to put the tree up until Mark intervened and asked how much the tree cost. After learning I had spent $150 on a tree he wondered why he needed to spend that much when we (aka Aubrey) could just get one of the trees in the basement and string the lights on it. While we were discussing this Luke told me that it was okay with him if I told Mark that this is "bull shit!" We can thank the fans at the Utah football game for that! Finally Mark agreed to go with the tree so now let's just cross our fingers that it lights up when we take it out of the box next year!

Brody put about five ornaments on the tree and then he was done. Luke was the opposite throwing ornaments on the tree as fast as he could. He was moving around so fast that I was lucky I even got one picture of him. They were both really into decorating the bottom of the tree because it was much easier than standing on the stool. I had to do a bit of rearranging without them noticing too much!

When they were finally done they sat back and admired their work! It was so fun to hear them talk about each ornament and which one was their favorite or the memory that goes along with it. This year Brody picked a Curious George ornament. It was very fitting since he literally watches the show all day long if we let him. Luke saw the picture for the Peyton Manning ornament at the store and was determined to get it. Sadly, it was sold out at every Hallmark store in Utah. I tried to talk him into a few other ornaments with no success so I ended up paying triple what it was worth on eBay. Probably not the smartest choice for the budget but it sure made him happy!

If it was up to me we would all sleep under the Christmas tree but Mark is totally opposed to this tradition. Since I'm very pregnant this year I also opted to sleep in my bed. I should have just slept out there though because I checked on the kids all night long. I kept having nightmares of the tree tipping over on them. They had a blast though and that's all that matters! I cannot wait for this Christmas season!!!