In Which We Give a Chubby Little Tree a Good Home
One might think that in the warm southern climate of Forida, no Christmas trees can grow. But, after a nice long drive into the country (we were almost in Alabama…), we found ourselves at Whispering Pines, a cute little family-run Christmas tree lot. I was so excited! We were walking through a lot full of Christmas trees growing in what looked like pure sand, and we weren’t even freezing! However, it didn’t take us long to realize that all the true Floridians had arrived well before us…months before us…to put a hold on their trees. Their perfectly straight, no-gaps in the branches, fully-grown trees. We were sadly unprepared for this turn of events. So, we Northerners wandered the lot from corner to corner until we found a suitable, slightly dwarfish specimen. Most of the other trees were so thin, that even at 6 feet tall they looked pretty small. But this tree was actually roundish and filled out, and I liked him. So we cut it down and balanced it on our Prizm’s roof with some straps to haul up front. Isn’t it beautiful? My little Prizm’s a beast!
Once we got it up front, this little guy that acted like a fully grown man hauled our tree away and shook the needles free and baled it for us. He was so cute! This is our baled and shaken tree, tied firmly to the roof. Now we just had to get it home without all the needles blowing off.
It wasn’t until we got the tree home and upright in the tree stand that another flaw stood out. See if you can tell by the picture.
If you can’t, I’ll just tell you…our little tree is a tad lopsided. But there he is in all his glory! It was very fun to put the decorations on it; we had more than I thought, since Tobin has a small collection from all through his childhood. A few of my Mom’s ornaments and some from Carol went on the tree as well. Oh, and we bought some cool new LED lights for the tree. They’re so bright and fun! Below is our festive fireplace.
And this is a shot that Tobin took. Isn’t it pretty?? We used some of our wedding candle holders to decorate with.
And here are the lights from the outside. It’s a blurry picture, but it was the brightest of all the ones I took. It was quite a fiasco to string the lights, since we didn’t have quite the right electrical connections. But Tobin figured it out, and it turned out pretty well.
In other news, Tobin is almost done with ASBC (FOUR MORE DAYS!!), then he will be home for quite a while. 
I’ll be so glad to have him home. We’re looking forward to Christmas already!
All you need is some snow!
Come on home and help us put up our tree. It looks like we won’t be getting ours until the 20th.
December 8, 2008 at 5:41 pm
We might have snow this Christmas, want me to send you some? We used to get a “Charlie-Brown” Christmas tree, but we have improved. Must be the helpers have grown up and are better at picking out a good one. Where are all these helpers that have grown up? Even the fourth one is going away. So much for big helpers, guess we will have to settle on little helpers.
Glad you finally got to decorate outside your house (we are such humbuggers). Have a good time enjoying the decorations. Where’s your table, btw?
December 8, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Elyse says: “Couldn’t you tell that the tree was lopsided where you bought it? Cute fireplace! Did you see that one stocking fell off in the first picture?”
Zachary says: “Italy, in Florida (that is the leaning tower of Pisa). I like the Christmas lights outside too. We are going to sadly have to pick our tree without you. I’m going to have fun setting up the ornaments. Hope to see you soon! Loveyoubye!
December 8, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I just had to write another comment so that my was shaded in blue – how selfish of this blog!
December 8, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Crap! I have to do it again – what a blond.
December 8, 2008 at 6:24 pm
What a cute tree! Our tree is fake and TOTALLY a Charlie Brown tree. There are not enough branch to fill it out. Oh well, I love it anyway. Dan doesn’t. Love you! Merry Christmas!
December 9, 2008 at 6:11 am
Good job, guys! Our tree looks good in the front, but the back is so malformed!
Guess that’s the fun of real trees! I didn’t know they actually grew Christmas trees down there, either! My aunt and uncle own a tree farm, and I know they take truckloads of trees down south to sell. (Maybe not to Florida, though?) Crazy!…And Emily, we had the exact same Charlie Brown tree as you until this year, remember? We put it out on the porch this year, and it’s surprising how small it looks next to the real tree! Hang in there for one more year, Dan-o!…Merry Christmas, Erin and Tobin!
December 9, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Elyse: We saw the trunk was crooked, but it didn’t look so bad…until we got it in our kitchen! Hehe. We know better for next time. And yeah, the 2 fireplace pictures were taken at different times, that’s why the stocking number is different. Good catch!
Zach: It sure is. Thanks! Sorry I can’t be there to help pick out the tree or decorate this year. You two will have to take over the tradition! I’m counting on you! Have fun.
December 9, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Comment shaded in blue? So confused…
December 13, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Oh! Every other comment having a background color? More gray I think…strange, mom, but whatever makes ya happy.
December 13, 2008 at 7:16 pm