A Snowy Christmas Tree Adventure
How was your Thanksgiving weekend? We had a wonderful time in Arizona, but it feels great to be home and settled for the season! Today I wanted to share a fun and snowy Christmas tree adventure with you. Here in Utah, you can purchase a permit to responsibly cut down your own Christmas tree (with environmental regulations, of course). Our good friends always hike out and cut down their tree every holiday season, and this is the first year we’ve been available to join them and help out (Emmett will take any and all opportunities to use his chainsaw)– it was definitely a day to remember! Click through for a photo journal of the snowy state and winter wonderland we call home…
We also took this as an opportunity to grab our annual holiday card photo, which went about as well as you’d expect with dogs who were way too excited to romp in the snow with their buddy. Ha!
This is exactly how 99% of our photos turned out- none of us looking at the camera, far too much laughing, and definitely too much dog wrangling… but hey, that’s a pretty accurate picture of us. It was a fun day! After we grabbed at least one decent photos of us and one of our friends, we put the dogs into their real snowsuits and hiked out in search of a tree.
I know the suits look ridiculous, but there is nothing worse (for us or them) than brushing out frozen snow mats. They HATE it and these actually work. Cash was a trooper and bounced over piles of snow that were much taller than him, but he eventually lost one of his booties and requested a lift from Emmett, ha.
His Newfoundland buddy, on the other hand, was made for the snow and was living his happiest life! Do you remember this big guy, Arthur, from the deck makeover I shared?
The landscape was absolutely stunning and certainly put us in the holiday spirit. I’m glad we came equipped with a hot beverage, warm boots, and cozy winter clothing.
Finding the right tree was actually pretty difficult… it has to be a certain height, so far off the beaten path, and of a certain species (you also have to cut it a certain way). Our friends live in a beautiful a-frame cabin with tall ceilings that can accommodate the maximum height of 20 feet.
They liked the look of this one, but unfortunately a tape measure test proved it was a bit too tall. After trekking a little longer, they finally landed on the perfect one.
The guys made quick work of it, hauling it through the forest, back to the side of the road. The dogs were pretty much exhausted after an afternoon of hiking- they had so much fun.
Emmett was the happiest to participate in this little tree-seeking adventure, so big thanks to our friends for inviting us to come along. Now that we live in suburbia and our landscaping is in a decent place, he hardly ever gets to use his chainsaw. I bought it for him for Christmas over a decade ago when we lived in a more remote location.
Our friends tied the tree down and hauled it home! It was our first time doing this and it felt a little like our own version of Griswold Christmas Vacation- definitely a tradition to keep.
Ever you ever cut down your own Christmas tree? It was an adventure we really enjoyed (even though it wasn’t our tree). I’ll have to see if I can snap a photo of it all set up and decorated to share with you. It looks beautiful in their home! Do you have any fun holiday traditions planned this month? I love the idea of making a holiday or winter checklist of fun activities to do.
