Trees & Hooves

Sundays are suppose to be a day for rest, but today was the exception. I was up and moving at 6:30 to get Kyle off to D.C. for a day of ice skating and sightseeing. Then it was back home. Hubby had to work last night till 4 a.m. this morning so I was trying to take it easy on him. However , I had already made plans to go tree hunting with my in-laws and he was just gonna have to suck it up and come along. After all we needed someone to cut the tree and drag it back. It was bitterly cold today but fun. The boys love stomping through the fields in search for the perfect tree. This year we were treated to a snow squall while we were looking for "Old Tannenbaum". The wagon ride to and from the fields is always fun as well. This particular farm had a gift shop and Santa. The boys were excited and a bit shy. They did recite a few toys that they would like so mission accomplished there. However on our way home Joshua had a revelation. He was upset because the one thing he really wanted for Christmas he had forgotten to tell Santa about it. He had written Santa a letter a few days before and kindly asked for an "otter graph"(his spelling not mine) from Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer. I explained to him not to worry because the letter would be received and Santa would know about his special request. Over the past few days I have been diligently looking for hunters to acquire hoof prints. Luckily, (not so lucky for the deer) my mother had seen a newly dead deer on the side of her road. So to my father's mortification she headed out with paint & paper in hand. Yes my mother painted a dead deer's hooves and made hoof prints for her grandson. Kinda sick, huh? But again, mission accomplished!