The day finally arrived for our annual Christmas tree hunt! We were joined again this year by Dave Shipley. We set off on a gorgeous, but brisk, sunny day to Crystal Mountain (where all the good trees are). We were met with clear, dry roads on the way up the hill, so we all got a little ahead of ourselves and decided “since the roads are so great, why don’t we try to go farther than we’ve ever gone before? Well, we ate our words!
As we turned off on route 74, we were met with snow packed roads with large grooves. Initially that was great, because it kept Tom’s 2-wheel-drive truck right where it should be—in the middle of the road. It wasn’t until we tried to stop off on the side of the road to go search for our tree that we found ourselves in trouble.
It turns out, the snow packed grooves made for some very difficult times! We busted out the chains again (you can look at last year’s Christmas tree hunt blog for eerily similar photos of Tom and Dave).
Almost 2 hours later (after a few snapped bungee cords, a few handfuls of dirty snow, and some ice-cold fingers) we were successful. Tom captured the joy on video!
After making it through such an adventure, we decided to head back down the mountain to our usual tree-cutting location – a beautiful ridge with a view of Mt. Rainier.
The sun was shining and we were surrounded by perfectly sized trees for Christmas! Dave spotted our tree within seconds of reaching the top of the hill –isn’t it gorgeous (you can't really see it because I'm so zoomed out)?
Then, we stomped up and down the hill a few times, enjoying the warm sun when before we found a tree for John and Diana. After cutting it down and bringing it back to the road, we saw an abandoned tree on the side of the road- someone’s left-over’s that they didn’t think was good enough. So, rather than letting it die on the side of the road, we picked it up too, so John and Diana could have a choice between two trees :)
Is it Dave, or is it a walking christmas tree?
The walk out was probably the easiest we’ve ever had for a tree hunt but we were still ready for our cocoa after the hard work of “un-sticking” the truck!
We didn’t have a thermos large enough to hold hot water for all three of us (and if you remember, our attempt at using an electric hot-water teapot was a failure) so the jet boil came along for the ride to!
And, of course, as is Malikie tradition, we had to have Skittles, oranges and wheat thins to go with! Although, I must say- the dollar store Skittles pack left a little to be desired! (but was better on our waistlines)
Once back home, we nestled the tree into our tiny living room (sorry for any future house guests, the couches are inappropriately close to each other now :) ) and enjoyed hot chili that was awaiting us in the crock pot.
But what’s a long day of tree hunting without some tree funfetti to top it all off?
All in all, a successful day was had!
Tom set to work right away on our "boom" - our tree ornament made from a cut of the base of the tree.
Since we couldn’t get our tree as early as we usually this year, I was chomping at the bit to get our Christmas décor up in the house. And, I started feeling a little crafty too, so I made a few new things this year.
First- snow capped candle holders (they used to be a hideous gold/brass). I used Epsom salts (compliments of hte dollar tree) and they just so happened to be Spearmint flavor so they have a nice fresh minty scent!
Then, I had to add a little spray to our coffee table for some added cheer
Lastly (and the project isn’t finished yet) I got some old Christmas bulbs and dipped them in glitter. When I was making them I couldn’t help but want to eat them! I don’t know why! The red photo frame (which also used to be an unpleasant gold color) is going to become some wall décor – I may or may not post the final project.
Our hearts were ready for Christmas but now our home is too!
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