Monday, December 8, 2008

"A" for Effort

I had imagined that trimming the tree as a family would be a fun and festive event and that we would sip hot cocoa as we sang Christmas carols and hung up the ornaments. Not so much. It took Aaron an hour, grumbling and cursing, to get the ginormous tree into a somewhat stable, upright position. He tighted the screws of the base as far into the trunk as they would go, jammed wedges of wood into the crevices, and piled cinder blocks around the base to support the weight of the tree...and it still leans to one side. By the time we were ready to hang ornaments, Hank has lost interest and, instead, took to annoying Aaron by climbing all over him and bopping him with a spatula. Then Hank became upset because, for some reason, he had it in his mind that we were putting cinnamon, not ornaments, on the tree. ?? I don't know where that idea came from. So, the experience didn't live up to my expectations but I think the final product turned out well. Maybe we won't look back on this night with warm memories, but it will probably be good for at least a laugh or two.

When we found our tree amongst all the other trees in the field, it didn't seem quite so tall. When we brought it home, it seemed to have grown a few feet.



5 comments:

mom and pops grover said...

I think the last picture looks like a pretty sweet memory!

Mindy said...

woa..that is one big tree! That's funny though. That usually seems to be the way things go. Your tree looks good though! I did that same raffia idea..but yours looks so much prettier!

Shellie said...

The tree looks great!! And seriously, thanks for the laugh. That was SO funny!

We Three Madsens said...

Your tree looks great! Sorry it didnt go as planned, sometime family activities turn into chaos, unfortunately. Its a beautiful tree though!

April said...

The tree looks fabulous, and I love that picture of Hank -- he looks so grown up!