New Traditions

Since moving to Tahoe, we haven't been able to spend the holidays with our families and we've been forced to start our own traditions.  They are actually pretty similar to everyone else's traditions but, we get to do it our way.

Thursday, we I cooked all day.  Mike went skiing for about an hour while I watched the parade and started preparing a FEAST!  We had a 17 lb. turkey for 3 people.  Mike and I had our friend and her 10 week old daughter over... her husband was working hard at the hospital on Thanksgiving day.  We had all the "turkey day" staples: turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet tea, and apple pie with vanilla icecream.  It was pretty yummy and I think we all had plenty to eat.  After dinner we packed up "to-go" plates for our friends in North Lake who had a baby EARLY that morning.  We drove up to Truckee to deliver the food and I got to hold their sweet baby girl who was only 16 hours old!  It was a great day full of food and baby love!!!

Friday has become our day to head out into the woods to select that most important of holiday symbols, the  Griswold  Madden family Christmas tree!  Like I mentioned last year, we are pretty picky when it comes to Christmas trees.  Every bike ride or hike we went on this summer we were looking for potential Christmas trees.  Mike actually saved 2 in his phone on a map so we could go check them out when it was time to cut one down.  We don't mess around.

I also mentioned last year that the trees out here are just different.  Not bad different, just not as full as those beautiful NC frasier firs.  I've really come to like these trees though.  You know it's real.  Even though it's not perfect it is SO beautiful when it's covered in white lights and ornaments.

Ok, so here is Mike's "how-to" cut a Christmas tree (Tahoe style):

Step 1: Buy a plastic sled from KMart.

Step 2: Load up the sled, 2 mountain bikes, the dog, and a backpack with rope and a saw.

Step 3: Drive to a snow park where you can park your truck, but can't drive back into the woods because the gate is locked for the season.

Step 4: Unload the bikes and ride ~ 2 miles into the woods.

Step 5: Select the MOST perfect tree ever and slowly and painfully saw it down with a hand saw.

Step 6: Stand over the fallen tree for several minutes trying to figure out how to tie it up to transport it out of the woods.

Step 7: Develop a stroke of genius and realize you can roll the tree on the ground while the other person guides the rope slowly up the tree... but do realized that the tree will roll in a gigantic circle.

Step 8: Load the tree onto the sled... tie the sled to the bike... and pedal hard to get back to the truck!

The sled is under there somewhere. 

Mike said it was the longest, flattest hill he's ever climbed!  

Step 9: Once you get home with the tree and you're starving from your adventure, get out all the leftovers from yesterday and feast again!

Step 10: Throw the sled away because it's trashed.

We had a blast this year!  After eating a big leftover lunch, we started trimming the tree which was an ongoing process.  It was super tall but it totally fit in our house... in terms of height.  However, when we undid the rope and the branches came down, it was truly like a Griswold Christmas tree... it took up the entire living room!  So, we had to cut ~1-2 ft off the bottom to get rid of the widest branches.  Now, it fits perfectly! 

I was doing good to get the lights on it on Friday, but I was just too tired to do the ornaments until Saturday.  I'm glad I waited though because we woke up Saturday morning to snow on the ground.  So, we slowly sipped our coffee and Mike made cinnamon french toast... I stayed in my snowflake PJ's until 10:30 and decorated the tree while we watched Christmas movies.  

After getting the rest of the decorations up, it was time for another big plate of leftovers while watching the NC State vs. Carolina game on tv.  And NC State killed it.  What a fantastic day!  

We are so blessed!!!