Getting our Christmas Tree + Video

I'm going to be totally honest, I have a love/hate relationship with our annual trip to cut down our Christmas tree. On one hand, it's kinda magical and fun. We go to this amazing place that has pony rides, cookie decorating, campfires and Christmas music playing from the tree tops. It always signals the beginning of the holidays for us, and having always grown up with an artificial tree, searching for the perfect one and cutting it down is something I have so much fun with. You know who doesn't think its all that fun? My kids. I mean, they like it. Dex is always excited about the day (not that you can tell in that first photo below HA) and Elle is just along for the ride, but at some point in the day, my husband and I always look at each other and without saying a thing, wonder why in the heck we bother with these things when they are so young. Last year, the day was just a total disaster, and by the time we got our tree, both kids had had it. I literally had one under each arm and the kindest women walked up to me with the most knowing smile and said "It gets better, I promise." This year was actually much more successful! Other than when Dex got lost among the trees about 5 minutes after we got there, there were no major meltdowns. I think it's the combination of the cold, toasted marshmallows and a fire and mini train crossing you're trying to keep them away from that always make for an interesting time. My husband and I are always half joking say "Next year we are just going to the grocery store and grabbing the first tree we see." But, I know we will keep coming back, even though it can be total chaos, it's such a fun memory and gets me SO in the Christmas mood!I also took a little video of our day! This is so new to me and I kinda feel nervous to share it. I've never made a video like this before but my husband and I got chatting one day about how it would be fun to have video of our times together as a family. If you have kids (or even if you don't) you'll know that trying to capture that perfect shot where they're looking and smiling can totally kill the moment. This day, we thought it would be fun to snap some candids and a family shot, and then just let them do their thing and take short little clips throughout the day. My husband edited it for me and I almost cried when I watched it. I just pictured myself watching this same video when my kids are grown and gone. Being able to see their little marshmallow faces, the way my son watched as my husband cut down the tree and how Elle loves to move and dance. It's so special to me. I'm going to be making a bunch more videos like this and posting them here as I go! It's not perfect, and we are not videographers, but I love our squirmy family photo and this shaky family vid so much.https://vimeo.com/194549459Thanks so much for reading! And for checking out my new blog - Haaaaayyy!