A Trip to Daniken Tree Farm

This year for Christmas, Bill and I decided we wanted to have a real Christmas tree.  Our decision to purchase a real Christmas tree was based on two things.  The first reason being, Nolan is getting older and Bill and I want Nolan to experience family tradition and holiday magic.  Part of the holiday magic is walking through a Christmas tree farm, searching for the perfect tree, finding the perfect tree, and cutting it down ourselves!!  The second reason being, Bill was tired of the artificial tree taking up so much room in our basement. :)

Saturday was a perfect day to find our tree.  When I was growing up my family and I always went to Daniken Tree Farm, so this is where Bill and I took the boys to find our tree.  We arrived at the tree farm, boarded a wagon, and went on a ride to find our tree.  I knew I wanted a short needled tree, so we were dropped off by the scotch pine and white pine trees.  

After much searching, we finally found the perfect tree.  Everyone kept telling us the tree looks much smaller in the field, but when we get it into our house it will appear much larger.  We chose a tree a little shorter than Bill.  Of course, Nolan had to be right in the middle of all the action while Bill cut the tree down.

While our tree was being shaken and wrapped up, Bill and I took Nolan and Carter to play on the swing set.  Carter had a blast going down the slide.  We didn't have to wait too long before a worker let us know our tree was ready to be picked up.  The tree was put on top of the car, and away we went.  I took a picture of the tree on top of the car when we got home and Carter photo bombed from his carseat!

Lots of people complain about how messy real trees are, but I think artificial trees shed needles just as much.  At least real trees smell AMAZING!!  Nolan helped Bill trim the trunk and hammer the stand into the tree.  Nolan helped with every step and really enjoyed being a part of the excitement.  Carter enjoyed sorting through all of the Christmas decorations and throwing the ornaments around.  Thank goodness the ornaments are plastic.

Bill and Nolan positioned the tree and it was time for the lights and decorations to be put on.  Bill let Carter put the first ornament on the tree.  Carter loved putting the ornament on the tree, but he was more excited to yank it off and throw it.  Needless to say, Carter was kept away from the tree the rest of the night.  Nolan placed the star on the top of the tree with Bill's assistance.  Nolan remembered placing the star on the tree last year, so this year he was super excited to do it again.

The stockings were hung, the fireplace mantle decorated, and even a few presents were wrapped.  Nolan wanted to pose by his finished project.  As I was editing the pictures for the blog, I came across a Christmas section, so Nolan and I had a little fun editing his picture.  Nolan thought him being Santa was hilarious!!

A few days before we bought our Christmas tree, Bill and I decorated the outside of our house.  Nolan and Carter helped to sort and test the lights before putting them on the house.  Bill braved the freezing cold weather and the steep roof line to make our house look beautiful for Christmas.  Nolan was ecstatic to see the house with the lights on at night!

I informed Nolan that since our Christmas tree is decorated, Santa will be sending an elf to check up on Carter and him.  Nolan didn't quite understand until the next morning.....

Thanksgiving Feasts

As usual, the Purcell family celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with more than one feast.  The boys and I went to 3 different dinners over the span of a week.  Our first stop was G.G. and Grandpa Tub's.  The dinner and desserts were delicious.  Grandpa Tub even found some old construction toys for Nolan and Carter to play with, which they loved!

Thanksgiving Day we ventured to Indian Springs Golf course, where Aunt Nat and Uncle Wade held Thanksgiving.  Nolan and Carter had a lot of fun playing with their cousins.  Nolan had fun rough housing and playing football with his older cousins, while Carter enjoyed playing with Harper and Olivia.   Miss Liv loves playing with the babies.

Our last Thanksgiving meal took place at Grandma Donna's and Grandpa Rick's.  The weather was beautiful, so we took the boys outside to play after our dinner.  Nolan really got the hang of driving the Jeep and Carter loved being drove around.  Carter just sat back and smiled the entire time.  Nolan is a great driver, and even got out to "fix" the engine when the Jeep stopped running. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mommy's Handsome Boys

Today is a perfect day for fall photos!  Of course, the boys wouldn't cooperate the best, but I got a few individual shots that turned out okay.  Nolan wanted to play in the leaves instead of sitting with Carter. Carter kept hooting and pointing at the barking neighbor dog.  The neighbors probably thought I was crazy trying to take photos of the boys, and I know Bill was definitely annoyed because I had him positioning the boys for the pictures.

Hopefully when we have our next one, that child will like to be photographed! :)

 Hooting and Hollering at the neighbor dog!

Happy Fall Everyone!!

Happy Halloween!!

We had a blast this year for Halloween in our new house.  Papa and Nana helped pull out all the stops to make our house look awesome.  Our subdivision held it's first ever Pumpkin Carving Contest......and we took 1st Place!!!  Of course, with Bill's pumpkin carving skills combined with the decorating skills of Papa, Nana, and myself we dominated the competition.

The contest judging took place on October 29th, so we waited until the last minute to carve the pumpkins.  Nolan helped Bill clean out the pumpkin "guts" and trace the stencil onto the pumpkin.  Nolan chose the witch pattern. The Onkens came over and carved pumpkins too!

The evening of the 29th arrived, we turned on the lights inside the jack-o-lantern's and awaited the outcome.  Before we went to bed, Bill went down to turn off all the outside lights and came back with an envelope in his hand!  We won 1st Place!! In the envelope was a gift card to Culver's and we had a 1st place sign put in our yard the night of trick or treating.

Trick or Treat night arrived on a Wednesday this year, so I had to work late.  The Onkens came over and helped us walk around the neighborhood and hand out candy.  We didn't start trick or treating until 7, which is Carter's bedtime, so he didn't last very long.  Bill took Carter back to the house and put him to bed, but Nolan and I kept going.

 Nolan was a great trick or treater!  He would ring the doorbell, step back and wait for the door to open, say trick or treat, grab the candy and say thank you.  Off to the next house we went!  He had a lot of fun walking around the subdivision like a big boy.