Getting in the holiday spirit...

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here FINALLY! We got the tree up and decorated the inside of the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. We got our outside lights and decoration put up this last weekend.

We did something that I have always wanted to do - put our tree on top of my car and drove it home - National Lampoon style - minus the tree roots! This is the first year we have not gotten a Fraiser fir - we went with a Noble this year. The first one Nathan picked up was the one we got (that seems to happen a lot - he has an eye for good trees) and I loved it. Loading the tree was comical. Nathan (aka: muscles) threw the tree up on the car so hard it almost rolled off the other side and then we got to laughing, then realized it was on the car backwards :) We got it all worked out and tied the strings around to the inside of the car (I have no rack on top of my car) - so it looked kind of ghetto. Nathan got in and said "drive before anyone sees what we are doing" :) Noah used the back strings as a train whistle and pretended he was on the Polar Express the whole way home :)

Thumbs up to the perfect tree!

We got the tree unloaded and set up to let the limbs relax overnight. We brought the tree in and set up the next day. I did all the indoor decorating then. I did it all while Ryan was asleep and Noah got to help me - he was beyond excited. Everything I got out he would say "that is a great snowman", "that is the greatest santa" - everything was "great" - it was so cute. He has figured out which ornaments play music and loves to play them all at the same time :)

My mom always got everyone in the family a Hallmark ornament every year and I have always done the same. This year I got Noah a Grinch one (or "Brinch" as Noah calls it), Ryan got a Minnie Mouse one, I got an owl on a sparkly branch, and Nathan got a National Lampoons Christmas Vacation one. I then found 2 more that I had to get - one with Daddy boots and little boy boots and it says "Like Dad, Like Son" on it and one with fuzzy Mom boots and matching little girl boots that says "Like Mom, Like Daughter" - they are so cute. I don't have any balls or generic ornaments on the tree - they are all just the ornaments we have gotten over the last few years together. Our tree is in the corner so I don't decorate the back of it - I don't see the point. As the years go by, I will have to decorate the back or leave some ornaments off, or get a bigger tree ;)

Noah's "Brinch" ornament :)

My owl on a snowy branch

Nathan's ornament this year - Clark plugging the lights in, and it sings Hallelujah when they come on :)

I got stocking holders for the first time this year also - they are so cute!   Other than that I don't do a whole lot of decorating - I go for the less is more approach :) I have my beautiful trees and ice skating scene. My snowman, Christmas card holder, and we have some Ducks Unlimited Santa Claus figures we got at DU banquets over the years.

Me and Ryan's stocking (my mom made mine)

Snowman and Santa

Moose and Tree 

Noah and Nathan's stocking  (I made Nathan's)

A new thing we have added this year is Noah received an Elf on the shelf he named Huckleberry! I decided this year not to do any of the real cute fun stuff with him because Noah is so excited just to see him move and that way I can just steal everyone elses ideas next year :) Poor Noah has a list of people watching over him making sure he is a good boy - if he is being bad he will say "Huckleberry, Santa Claus, and God are watching me, I am sorry Momma, I will be good" :)

I love how the outside looks - I love Christmas lights on a house! Noah is so excited too because now "Santa can find our house!" We got a Santa driving a dozer to put on top of the house - perfect for us :)