whitney's whimsies: christmas part 1. the tree.

THE TREE!? I LLLOOOVVVEEE THE TREE PART OF CHRISTMAS! forgive me. i'm going to definitely go overboard with my exclamation marks this post, and any other post having to do with christmas. every year starting with the first year we were married we have gone to the Carnation Tree Farm right near downtown Carnation and it's pretty adorable. definitely there are always too many people and parking is tricky but for some reason those things don't ruin it for me probably because there are very sweet parking attendants that usher your car into the newest open spot and they are jolly and happy to be doing it, instead of crabby and grumpy like most parking attendants seem to be. and the trees are so spread out over a few different fields so even if you go on the first saturday of december when it is sure to be INSANE, it just doesn't feel insane once you're out on the hunt. also if you go in the morning as we always do, there is sure to be fog weaving in and out of the trees and in the hills just west of the farm. it's so so so so so so so so so magical. and the barn there....OH THE BARN....it's so pretty...i just so badly want to go explore every nook and cranny...but instead i settle for the gift shop that is in the bottom corner of it. oh and i forgot to mention that santa is there. you heard me. and he's pretty good as far as antas go...the suit is spectacular, he's a jolly type of old guy, but the beard is fake and terrible. is it so hard to grow a beard for christmas??!! it takes what, a week or two?!!?? any who.

here's the thing about picking a tree. my taste changes weekly concerning just about everything. for a while, douglas firs were the only way to go. then noble firs. then doug again. (i call them doug now...we're pretty close). all of those times, i HATED the idea of any spruce or a frasier. "too naked looking!" i'd say. well this year i couldn't get enough of them! who am i!?!!?!? the type of person that gets a norway spruce, evidently. matt and i almost didn't make it out of there alive. we had to have a fight about what kind we were getting and i nearly exploded. the only reason i didn't explode was because getting a tree is still magical even if you're wanting to beat up your husband. don't worry, i didn't beat him up, and he loves our tree too. she's so perfect...nice sturdy branches, much fuller than a frasier, and a gorgeous dark green with really pretty red wood showing through underneath the needles. boy howdy is she pretty but seriously, she bites. most prickly tree ever. getting the lights on almost killed lindsey greene and i. yes. lindsey greene helped me with my tree decorating. i think i'm becoming overly dependent on her but it's hard not to when she's just so good at everything!! i think the prickles are going to be natural great teachers to quinn about touching the tree. he's pretty much got it figured out already but sometimes that sparkly ball right in the middle at toddler eye level catches his attention and he just can't help reaching in. he regrets it every time.

i wore the backpack with quinn in it and nearly died. my whole back is so sore today! it was worth it though for sure.

some of our very favorite friends shared in our christmas tree hunt this year. some of which (i won't mention any names) couldn't keep their hands (or lips) to themselves (see below)