I am a fan of Christmas. Actually, I’m a little obsessed with Christmas. I love traditions, family, cozy fires, Jesus, and gift giving. I love it all.

Even though I’m a sucker for traditions, I had never cut down a Christmas tree or even had a real tree. Robby and I decided this was the year to start something new. So, this weekend we packed our saw, 1o bucks, and a mug of hot cider. We left Fort Collins with plenty of sunshine and plenty of time.

Just like any true Colorado day, the weather took a fast turn and suddenly we were driving in Blizzard conditions. The gate to the park closed at 2:30, and we arrived at 2:29. No joke, we had one minute to spare and we were the last car allowed in to find the perfect Christmas tree. The man at the gate took a good look at our tires, then looked up at Rob and told him to make sure he keeps the car in 4-wheel drive. We begun trekking down the one way road and soon felt like bobble heads. This road was treacherous, even with out snow. We reached a hill with several cars pulled aside to wrap their tires with chains. A little green Subaru thought to try the hill with our chains and we waited at the bottom and cheered them on. Moments later the little Subaru was sliding backwards and gaining speed. Our car sat at the base. Rob kicked it in reverse, and after our tires locked we began to slide too. Rob turned the car into a hill to stop, and the Subaru slid by and missed us by maybe a foot. They obviously decided to turn around, and now it was our turn. We made it up the hill just fine 🙂

The tree search lasted only 30 minutes until we found the perfect one. With numb feet and hands, we cut our tree and drug it through the wilderness to our car. We spent several minutes just smelling the tree, wierd I know, but it smelt just like Christmas. We toasted to our knew tree with our mugs of cider, then began the journey home.

The roads didn’t get any better and we actually saw 8 cars who slid off the road and got stuck in ditches. Everyone was ok, but it was a funny site seeing so many freshly cut Christmas trees stuck on the side of a road. Luckily our tree was tucked safely in the back of our jeep. Rob and I felt proud of our tree, like we had a new family member. We named him Geraldo and I gave him a kiss, but he only left bark in my mouth.

Check out our iphone pics from our adventure and fun new family tradition!