O' Christmas Tree...

"O christmas Tree.. how lovely are thy branches" Well as you may remember the weekend after Thanksgiving my little family and I headed to the mountains to cut down our tree. I promised you a post about our little trip so here ya go!

Our ride up was not this peaceful little ride singing christmas carols and making jokes. Nope this ride consisted of one terribly cranky toddler that cried the entire (1hr 30min) ride up the mountain. I am not sure what her dealio with the car is lately but its like every time I put her in her seat she starts... and she pretty much whines off and on the entire time until we reach the next destination..UGH.. ok now that I have rambled on about that lets get back to the story. So approx. 15 min. before we come to the cute little cabin we will be spending the night in Emma decides it is nap time..

*I guess 15 min of peace and quiet is better than none..huh?!*

Once we arrive everyone seems to be much happier (thank goodness) and ready to venture out a little bit. We went downtown and walked through the old General store and neat little shops and had dinner. Everything was peachy king! A great little getaway!

The next morning we woke up and headed to the tree lot. We were so excited. We were thinking there would be this nice chill in the air so we brought all our bundle up type clothes and headed out. Obviously nobody watched the weather because it was at least 60 degrees out and sunny. We were like literally sweating picking out our christmas tree?!?! Strange huh?  Anywho...

This girl over here loves a big christmas tree! Like Griswalds big! I want it as big around as it is tall! As I told my buddy Kate its like the saying "Go big or Go home" type deal. So we set out in search of the biggest fattest tree on the farm. Boy did we ever find it. The guy that helped us get it down and everything said "Wow! That is a big one...Good luck with that" I should have known then I was in trouble.

There she sits!!

Getting all netted(if thats a word) up and ready to go!

So mission accomplished huh?! Not even close!!!! Once we get this monster of a tree home... grit and grunt trying to get it inside (it took both of us!) It was time to trim the tree...now I wont bore you with all the details but lets just say after 2 thousand lights later, three blown fuses and not a big enough bow for the top we did get it all done! Here are some pics of the process!

*Mommy why in the world is this tree in our house!*

Derek helping with the first blown fuse!

Four hours later we have lights!

And the bows that are a little small... LOL sorry the pics arent great! Getting a new camera for xmas hopefully that will help :)

Well hopefully you enjoyed hearing about our crazy adventure.. lets just say that next year the ride up will hopefully go a little smoother and we wont be bringing home the Griswald tree ;)

Happy Monday everyone!

Getting to know you!

My bloggy buddy Keely and her sister Kassi have been doing this post about getting to know you...SOOOO I thought I would play along! Hope you will too! You can either write you own post and link up over at Keelys blog or if you dont feel like doing a post leave me some comment love with your answers. Fun stuff!! :) 

The questions are....
1. How old are you?
25


2.Where are you from and where do you live now?
I am from a small city right outside of Charlotte, NC and guess what... I still live there! Not very exciting huh?!

3. What music have you been diggin lately?
Well country music is always my fav..but lately Christmas music has been on the radio
4. Favorite food(s)?
Anything sweet or cheese! Not necessarily together but those are def. my fav foods!

5. Single,married, divorced?
Happily married to my sweet husband Derek for a little over 2 years now

6. Kids? If so, how many and how old?
Just one! Our 15 mo old little girl Emma

7. What are 3 blogs you read daily?
3?!?! Just 3?!!? I wish... I wouldnt have a diry house and lots of things on my to do list if I only read 3 a day. I couldnt even narrow it down 3 if I had to. I just love all my blogging buddies and their blogs :)

8. What is your favorite Christmas/Holiday tradition?
Our new tradition we started this year. Going to the mountains and spending the night then cutting down our tree and heading back home. It was so fun! A little get away for a night and picking out our tree...loved it!

9. Lastly, if you're a blogger, how long have you been blogging and if you don't have one..how long have you been reading blogs? I feel in love with Mckmamas blog last spring sometime and gradually got involved in her community and it all snow balled from there. I was very reluctant to start a blog because I didnt have much to say. I have enjoyed it though and getting to know so many great women out there :)


Now its your turn! I on the other hand have to get back to that busy toddler running around... she is crazy these days.

Tyler

5 Question Friday

Its that time again! 5QF with the infamous Mama M ! Boy has it been a crazy week! The little one has come down with some type of viral bug :(  Work has just been totally crazy.. have I mentioned I am ready to quit my job and stay home!? BUT its Friday and that means the wonderful weekend is upon us.. so bring on the fun :)  This week the questions are...

1. Favorite gift you are GIVING this year?

well honestly I have no idea what I am getting anyone except for my baby girl! Thats awful isnt it... I really need to get a move on!!! But Santa will be bringing Emma a bat. powered pink four wheeler! Me and Derek are super excited about simply because she is going to adore it (she has already tried it out at the store) and because us slack lazy parents wont have to push the girl around the house on her ride on toys anymore! See we have mostly carpet and she kind of struggles to get around so we end up pushing her all the time. Thank goodness for santa ;)

2. How many parties will you be attending between now and chritmas?

Well seeing that I am not miss socialite.. I will only be attending two well actually three if you count the one last night. (super fun by the way!!) The problem I have with these parties is what in the world to wear?!? I mean I am usually just a more comfy type person and casual. Not the party diva type so shopping will be in order (which is never a bad thing ;)

3.What is your fav. Christmas song?

Hmmm... I dont know I love them all lately I have really been getting a kick out of "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" Just cracks me up every single time. If I were going the serious route I would say my fav. Christmas song would be "Mary did you know" 

4.Who was your fav. elementary school teacher and why?

Mrs. Elkin! She was my 1st grade teacher. She was the perfect blend of lovey and strict. She was the best.. I actually saw her a few years back in the grocery store and she recognized me... crazy huh?!

5.If you had one chance to live in any other time period (other than now) which one would you choose and why?!?!

Gracious... what a tough question! I have no idea... maybe the fifties so I could wear a totally cute pink poodle skirt.. maybe I could be one of the pink ladies?!!? Heck I dont know... cant wait to see what you girls have to say on this one!

I hope everyone had a great week and is planning a fun weekend. I am going to work on getting some shopping done since I have only been concerned about Santa so far. Possibly baking some sweet treats too.. yummy!!

Tyler

Wordless Wednesday

It was a happy kind-of day :)

Hot and Healthy Week 5

Hot and Healthy Through The Holidays With Mama M and Keely

WOW! I can not believe we are already in week 5! This has been going crazily fast. I am so upset with myself this week but more on that later. How did you do? Were you able to resist that second helping or one piece of pie instead of two?! This week Mama M and Keely are stepping up the cardio to 4 hrs! Geeze louise I was struggling to get it in already now we have even more...but thats ok..I will get it in! I will make time for myself (hopefully) Now lets get to the questions and see how I did.

1.Starting week five! Are you seeing any progress?

Well no.. but only because last week I wasnt on Team Mama M (snacking) or Team Keely (exercise) because I happened to join Team Turkey and ate wwwaaayyy to much! Oh well, luckily for me that is only one day  week a year ;)

2. Do you feel like you are gettin your groove on? A nice routine?

getting there... I will get there! Just have to keep telling myself that.

3. Are Keelys pilate exercises kicking your butt?

well yes actually they do when I make the time to do them... workin on it this week Keely!

4. How about the healthy tips from Mama M?

Even though I ate like crap and didnt exercise I did drink a fair amount of water... so what if it was because I drank a little too much wine the night before and was feeling a little parched ;)

Feed back for the girls* Girls you two rock! Keep it up... it def. is movitation to keep my butt half way in gear to know I have to check in on Tuesday. Thanks so much for starting this up :)

I hope everyone had a great week! Good luck next week with the extra cardio!!

Tyler

Catching up

Boy did I miss you all while I was out and about for the long Thanksgiving weekend! Sorry I am so behind in reading all your post and everything but hopefully I will get caught up sooner than later.

Anywho, Thanksgiving was great for our family, hope it was for yours as well (if you celebrated it this past week) We had lot of fun and food for many days! At times we even had a little too much family time. I know they say you can never have to much of a good thing but I am here to tell you my friends that indeed 4-5 days nonstop with extended family can in fact be a bit much ;) Here are some pics during our Turkey Day Extravaganza!

*Miss priss was dancing while helping cook (she was dancing so much she felt the need to take off her tights ;)

*She never cooperates when its pic time with me

*See why I am asking for a new camera for Xmas.. this one stinks!

* Emma and my lil bro Elliott

Thanksgiving night I headed out to brave the crowds for Black Friday. Toys R Us was opening at midnight so my little sis and I headed out at 930pm! It was freezing cold but lots of fun and we scored some great deals. I even scored the most coveted toy around this year... A Zhu Zhu Pet! (Not real sure what to do with it.. Emma is a bit young. May sell it or something.. what do you think I should do with it? Giveaway? Perhaps)

*Yes we both looked very rough and silly.. but I mean what do you expect after inhaling wwaayy to much food for a few days and going to stand in the cold for hours on end ;)

On Sat we headed up to the mountains to hang out for a night and get our Christmas tree! Other than the fact Emma cried the ENTIRE way up the mountain *ahem* we had a great time. Here are some more grainy pics of our mountain/tree adventures

*Emma (she didnt get the nickname baby yoda for nothing ;) and her godbrother Landon

*You will notice she still has some bruising from her fireplace accident last week on her cheek

We made it to the Tree Farm!! I sure did get my cardio in looking for a tree..LOL

We had an awesome time and yes we did find our perfect tree... but that is a whole 'nother post. Maybe tomorrow? Sorry such a long post... we had a lot of catching up to do!!

Tyler

5 Question Friday

Five Question Friday with Mama M

Its that time again!! YAY!! I love reading everyone's answers to all these fun questions. It has been a week jam pack full of fun, family and food!! I will post about all of that later for now lets get to the fun stuff.

1.Do you do a real or fake christmas tree?

Real! A fake tree just isnt the same IMO. We will actually be leaving tomorrow around lunch time and heading to the mountains to cut down our tree :) So excited! We found a Christmas tree farm this year with a barn, hayride, lots of trees, and free hot chocolate! Sounds like our kind of place. Dont worry I will be sharing plenty of pics when we return.

2. What is your fav. christmas tradition with your family?

Well since our little family is only on its third year (second year with a baby) I wouldnt say we have a specific tradition yet. I am hoping to start several traditions this year. One of them being "Elf on a Shelf" neat book if anyone is interested!

3. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in your neck of the woods? And, if so...how many calories do you think you consumed yesterday?

We def. do celebrate turkey day! Boy oh boy was everything so delish. I would hate to even imagine how many calories I consumed over the holiday... it was so bad in fact that I am just skipping right on to the next question.

4. Have you started decorating for Christmas, yet?

Yep we are ready to go! Just waiting on the tree and to hang the stockings. Then I will be able to sit back and continue shopping. My fav. part of the season

5. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Christmas cookie??? Ummm dont know that I have a fav. christmas cookie. Maybe I have been a little bit sheltered just give me any type of cookie any time of year and I am good to go ;)

Cant wait to hop around and read all of your answers! Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and got some good deals today out shopping! I know I did!

Tyler