So, I didn’t write a blog last week. Most of Wednesday had passed before I even realized it. I will have to catch you up. We hosted Thanksgiving Extravaganza again…and managed to have the house in acceptable condition. We even had the guest bedroom set up so Greg and Meg and their crew could stay here the night before. They always get put to work, so I’m not sure why this tradition is in any way fun for them, but they keep coming over, so I’m going to let them. We had 53 for brunch and 15 for dinner. Now, I have to wait another year for my favorite holiday.

I forced my family back into an old tradition on the day after Thanksgiving. We went to get a Christmas tree. We haven’t had a real tree in a few years, and I miss it. Besides, I’m not sure how our future decorating will turn out in this house, so I don’t want to get a 15 foot artificial tree, only to find out I have no place to put it in the future. So, we wanted a BIG tree. We bundled the dogs in the car and went to the Christmas tree farm. Of course, the first place we went didn’t allow dogs, so we all sat in the car while I called another place from the parking lot of the place we weren’t going to buy a tree from. Maybe I should have done that in the first place, but it was enough work just to wrangle everyone in the car. 

Tayden found our tree and named it the Lama tree. It does kinda look like a lama. It has a big base and then goes into a narrow neck-like region. We found a more traditional shaped tree, but Tayden argued that our family had no business getting a normal tree. Besides, the lama tree wouldn’t be picked by anyone else. Okay, now the lama tree will have hurt feelings? Of course, we got that goofy tree. I hadn’t fully considered putting up and decorating such a tall tree, but we managed with a ladder and the stick that opens and closes our tall blinds in the living room.

So, the Friday after Thanksgiving went back to being the decorating day, after years of barely decorating (minus Trent and Abby, who were with Abby’s family). Last year, we put the tree up on Christmas Eve. Then, on Saturday, we hosted the Haldeman pseudo-Christmas, since we needed to get that in before Merle and Peg went back to Arizona for the winter. Actually, I think they head back today. I’m not jealous…I’m not jealous… Pseudo-Christmas was awesome. Travis made a Family Feud game with light switches and light bulbs. Of course, Merle drew up schematics so that if one light went on the other couldn’t… because that’s how the Haldemans roll. 

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday. We are trying to jam in Trent’s graduation and a family ski trip in the weekends before Christmas, so I hope my kids are planning to do my Christmas shopping, since Travis and I have settled into working 10 ½ hour days until the holiday. One thing that I noticed when everyone was home is that college kids have low standards for clothing, so shopping should be easy. I found socks in my laundry that were more hole than sock. Not sure why anyone would wear those voluntarily, but socks are now on the Christmas list. The best gift at Christmas is getting the kiddos home. Hope that’s enough for them too, since I can’t seem to find time to shop. ‘Tis the season!