Hey Griswold. Where do you think you're gonna put a tree that big?

Around here, Christmas Vacation gets quoted nearly all year long. But it seems that on our annual trek to cut down a tree I mutter this line more that any other. I would love to say that its just my husband that is Clark Griswold, but the reality is, we haul three ginormous trees out of Grupp's Christmas Tree Farm every year. Each of them topping over 11 feet tall. One for us, and one for each of Patrick's Aunts.  PS, none of us have 11 foot ceilings- so they all need trimmed to fit in our respective houses, but tiny trees are for scrooges.

 

The best part of this year was that my MIL flew in to join us in the hunt.  It only makes sense, because Pappy got to pick out a pumpkin with Grayson so Gigi was here to get the tree.

 

 

Look below, see the pink dot in the middle of the trees? Yeah, that's the MIL and Grayson. They were on the hunt.

Please note, Im about 5.5 feet tall. That tree was easy 14 feet tall when we cut it down.

 

Why cant we find a tree in a flat field?

Cause they're all picked over, lets go down the hill!

 

Rethinking that down the hill, aren't you tree haulers?!

 

 

I give you the Griswold family Christmas tree- I mean, the K Family Christmas Tree!

 

Let the Christmas Fun begin!

 

 



Christmas Pictures!

This year we were so incredibly lucky to win a Christmas Tree Farm mini session with the incredibly talented and sweet Samantha Nicole Photography.

 

I was super excited, eventhough hubs couldn't join us, because I figured we could get some good pictures for the Christmas card.  What I got were images that were beyond words adorable.  Sam was awesome to work with, super sweet and great with kids. She was also apparently a ninja, because everyone knows that getting great images of a three year old is darned near impossible. As you can see, what she got was perfection.  We actually took these pictures over two days. The first day was, and I'm not even kidding, 18 degrees and a freak rain/sleet/ice storm that started the second we got out of the car.  The next day it was 60 and sunny. Pittsburgh weather, you are officially weird.  

 

 

I can not wait to schedule a session with Samantha when all three of us are able to get pictures, if you're in the Pittsburgh area by all means check her out!



Christmas 2013

Christmas this year was officially fun.  We saw Ho Ho (that's the big guy's name around here), we were excited, we opened presents and now I can not seem to find my house under the virtual toys r us we have going on around here. Seriously, as he opened presents I stuck most of them right into the closet for a cold bored day in February- and I still have no room.  Today is officially build a toy storage system day around these parts- hope the hubs is ready, because I can not go back to work with the house looking like this.

 

Christmas around here is usually a marathon, and not a sprint. We spend Christmas Eve with my MIL's family, then wake up Christmas morning at our house, then hit my Moms, then my Dads, then My Grandmas, followed by my FIL's family.  This year, we broke it up a bit to allow more time at each house and it was glorious.

 

Christmas Eve Day we went to see my Dad and my Grandma, and it was so much nicer being able to spend a few hours playing (rather than 1 hour tops!).

 

This picture makes me so happy, Grandma does NOT like her picture being taken so you usually get the hand.

Later on we headed over to see the MIL's family, and the Elves delivered our early present there. 

Yep, just toss those perfectly chosen personalized jammies to the side to get to the book. I see how it is, kid.

 



 

Then it was home to set out cookies and milk for Ho Ho.

Trying out the adorable Pumpkin Butter Kids Jams after our Christmas bath (complete with red water and baking soda "snow balls" for the water, because I am insane).



 

A reading of the Night Before Christmas.

I would like to point out that we took maybe 20 pictures while I was reading, most of them were of Grayson using Mommy as a jungle gym. Grayson climbing over my back, standing on my butt and falling over, running around like a crazy person, jumping back on Mommy was the reality.  

But when it was time to read a book with Pap? Laid perfectly still.

 

Once the bean was asleep, it was time to play Santa!

 



Ho Ho footprints :)

 



 

All ready and waiting for Grayson to wake up!

 

Taking his first look at the presents.

Coming down the stairs saying "Ho Ho!"

 



A little Mommy bedhead as we open stockings.

 



 

Realizing Ho Ho had eaten the cookies and milk and left footprints.

 

Now, let me at those toys!

 

 

Daddy Mooches.

Grandma Gong has a whole table devoted to choo choos. He was enamored.

 



 

Seriously, he barely left this chair all night. And Pap in the back there was more than happy to play conductor, making the trains go fast at every request. 

 

Merry Christmas, lovelies! Hope your day was as full of fun as ours! Now seriously, who's coming to help me figure out where to put all of these toys?!



That is one big tree!

This may be the biggest tree we have ever purchased.

 

An easy 10 feet tall with a circumference at the bottom of a whopping 22 feet, I give you the 2014 K Family Christmas Tree.  Or as it is affectionately called around here, Shamu 4.0.

 

 

We always get a big tree, but this guy is by far our biggest.

He also has about 1400 lights on him, which give off the prettiest glow in the foyer.

 

 

Not only is this our biggest tree, but it is also by far the most annoying. We had to re-string the lights three times (first there was not enough lights, then we bought more and one burned out so we had to replace it because of course it was the one in the middle) and the branches are incredibly soft and don't really hold onto ornaments all that well. But he sure does look nice!

 

 

Why yes, that is a drunk Irishman dancer nestled next to Dorothy's Ruby Slipper.

That's how we roll in this house :)

 

 

2010, 2011, 2012

They just keep getting bigger!

 

So tell me lovelies, how big is your tree? I need someone out there to let me know we're not the only Christmas Crazies!