A few weeks ago, we finally get some time together and set out to get our Christmas Tree. We've always purchased a live one, because Jared likes the way they smell, and also, we've always had good luck with buying a $20 tree because we're cheap, right? Well, until this year. . .we went to Smiths and, lucky us! their normally $20 trees are all on sale for only $17.99!!! Woo hoo!!! Just our lucky day, right? We should have known. . . We bring it home, decorate it, feed it, love it, you know, do all of the things you're supposed to do with a live Christmas Tree. I don't know if it was the boys repeatedly tearing off all of the decorations that they could reach and throwing them down the stairs, or if it was them pulling off as many strands of lights that they could get their hands on after I stopped redecorating the tree with all of the ornaments from the bottom of the stairs, so the poor little tree was only decorated on the top, but this tree wanted to die. It had no will to live. We put water in it the first day we had it, and then a LITTLE bit a few days later, but the darn thing just dried up. Like it's purpose on earth was fulfilled, which it was NOT. It's little limbs start drooping until we couldn't even have put presents under it if we had tried to. Then Jared broke off the end of a limb just to test its flammability. . .wow. . .it went up in flames in about 2 seconds flat!!! Jared didn't want an ugly dead christmas tree. . .i'm guessing because his parents were coming. . .like they were going to judge us for an ugly one? I don't know, whatever husband. . .anyhow Smith's, where we got the tree, isn't selling trees anymore and the other night we were at Home Depot and Jared asked some girl if we could get a really great deal because it was almost christmas. . .and she tells him 'nope, you can't have a good deal until Christmas eve, but if you bring in your dead one, we'll replace it.' Jared: Even if we bought it at Smiths? girl: "umm. . .wink wink. . .sure." So. . .I had spent all day Monday and Tuesday cleaning and cleaning and sweeping and cleaning and vacuuming because we were having guests come on Tuesday, the 23rd and Jared comes home from work that day and starts taking down all of the decorations and lights. . .what can I do but help, right? He was a man on a mission, and it was going to happen no matter what I said, so I helped. But that dang old tree was sooooooo dead that it leaves a MASSIVE trail of needles in its path, completely destroying all of my efforts at sweeping and cleaning and vaccuuming etc etc etc. And to make matters worse, when we came home, Cohen gets into the pantry and gets a bag of Ramen, and starts chewing it up, eventually opening a corner of it. . .can you see where this is going?, and he comes into the living room and starts SHAKING this bag of chewed up Ramen everywhere!!!! Ramen Noodle Snowstorm. . .right in our living room. With all of the pine needles, and now ramen noodles. . .its worse than it ever was!!! Why did I try?!! I don't know. So, we swept and vaccuumed and blah blah blah and had it clean by the time the in-laws showed up. I love Jared's face in this picture. . ."Seriously, we PAID for this tree?" He's so disgusted, I love it!! But the good news is that at Home Depot, they let us pick any tree that was 6-7 feet, so we got a REALLY nice one, one that would be like $50 or something. It really is beautiful, and we never would have paid for it. So, the moral of the story is to buy a tree on sale for 17.99. . .let it die and then trade it for an awesome one. The fact that it was on sale should have been our first clue, right?! The New Tree: Please take time to admire the 1/2 decorations. . .and there are red lights on the tree too, they just didnt' show up in the picture.Let me tell you the tale. . .the tale of the BAAAAAD Christmas Tree vs. the GOOD Christmas Tree. . .
I don't know what is going on with the font on this post. . .sorry its so small, I can't get it to change. . .
So here's a funny little story. A few days ago I was sitting at the table feeding Evan (a common occurrence here at our house, but not the subject of this post. . .) and Cohen climbs up behind me on my chair. I was wearing a hat and he starts teasing me and pulling it off of my head and putting it on him, and then back on me again etc. After a minute of this, he puts the hat back on my head and says, "You da man mom, you da man!!!" I started laughing and asked him, "Did you just say 'you're the man?!'" and he says, "Yep, you da man!" It was so funny I had to call Jared right away. Where did he pick that up? I don't know!!
. . .but here are some Halloween pictures!!!! Better late than never, right?!! Here are a few pictures of the ward Halloween party mentioned in the previous blog. . .Cohen ended up being a Cowboy on actual Halloween, so I'll post those pictures soon. . .maybe in 2011.
Um. . .uh. . .yes this is the best picture with BOTH boys in it. 
Cohen eating his yummy cupcake that he 'won' at the cakewalk.
The only picture of all 3 of us!! I know I should have dressed up. . .so not like me to just let it slide. . .