Christmas Tree Hunting in Washington

The day after Thanksgiving has traditionally been Christmas Tree day with my family . . . the day we trudge out into the fields to find that most perfect symbol of the Christmas spirit for Gamma and Gampa's house. This year we were blessed with fairly nice weather, dry ground (completely opposite from last year), the company of a very dear friend (who has been part of this tradition for years now), and the new addition of my oldest cousin, Ian. It was a great day, and I think combined we took about 650 photos. Since this post is full of photos, I will keep it short on words.

The day was full of beautiful sights, both near and far. The green of the needles, this beautiful-colored mushrooms on the ground, the sea of trees out in front of us, and the snow-capped Olympic mountains in the distance made for a great day out in nature. 

Jonathan wasted no time finding the only water around, and proceeded to get completely drenched and muddy. The fun of splashing in the tiny creek made up for the hours of dampness that followed!

He had such a fun time running through the trees, checking out their colors, scents, and shapes. He even turned into Karate Kid for us when he found a stump!

Daddy and Jonathan always have fun being silly together. They can be pretty sweet, too.

And Jonathan was able to melt mommy with a single kiss on the cheek!

Gamma, Gary, and Ian had lots of fun on our adventure, too, and had lots of laughs.

Gamma and Karen posed for their annual picture. The two of them have trudged through rain and snow together  to find their perfect trees for years now . . . sometimes without any help!

Gampa and Gamma posed for the camera, too.

Then it was time for the annual family photos. It's rare for my family to be all together and have someone there to take pictures of all of us, so we jumped at the chance and had a great time with our little photo shoot. We came up with a great photo for Gamma and Gampa's Christmas card this year.

We were also able to capture a few good shots of our little family, and even ended up with one that I think will be our Christmas picture this year. (So act surprised when you get your card! ;))

What a fun day it was, enjoying the smell of the trees, the views of the outdoors, and the company of family and friends. Jonathan had a blast and couldn't wait to get home and find our own tree (which will be posted soon!).

Happy December!