O Christmas Tree. O Mackie Boy.

Today was a gorgeous day!  We decided to go ahead and get our Christmas tree and start enjoying all the wonderful fun of the holiday earlier than usual.  I got out on “the wrong side of the bed,” one might say.  Josh quickly told me that if I was going to be “Bah-Humbugging it”, then we would all just stay home.  I laughed at him and decided to straighten up!  Then, Ruby started pouting about the jacket we told her to wear.  Josh told her the same thing he told me.  She straightened up, too.  As we pulled out of the driveway, I could hear Molly singing and singing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”  I commented on her joyful disposition this morning and that’s when it started.  A new Dorminy Family tradition….the “JOLLIEST ELF AWARD.”  Josh decided that Molly should receive the JOLLIEST ELF AWARD for the 10:00 hour.  Ruby said she wanted the award and wanted to know what it was….she didn’t quite understand that the award is the title itself.  Molly was so happy to be the winner of the hour and kept up a good attitude, giving us all a run for our money.  I am not sure Mack ever got the award…maybe once.  He was a stinker off and on all day.  He wouldn’t smile for the camera most of the day, and he was into EVERYTHING when we finally got home and tried to start decorating.

At Chick-fil-A, note Mack looking away from the camera

At the tree farm in front of our tree, note Mack’s “non-jolliest elf” disposition

Inside at Berry Patch Farms, enjoying a cookie….what a face that Mack is making!

This is the tree that is now sitting in our living room.  We are all so tired from a full day, so it won’t be decorated until tomorrow.  We made time to put up an artificial tree in the kid’s school room.  It has colored lights and decorations they have made or have been given over the past five years.  It looks so great!  I love that they have their own tree.  Josh unplugged it tonight after putting them to bed, then we heard scampering around, and when Josh went upstairs to his office, he saw that the tree was plugged back in.  I am sure our “jolliest little elf” had nothing to do with that!  I will be posting later on the full day’s experience of tree-shopping and family fun, but for now I will leave you with these pictures of Mack…..showing you another reason why we will have to wait until tomorrow to decorate.  This stinker is into everything!!

And lest I forget, let me finish the “jolliest elf” topic.  After the tree was tied to the car, the kids were all buckled in and we were ready to go, Josh accidentally spilled Molly’s diet coke all over his seat.  He started a little rant about how it shouldn’t have been in the car and what a mess it was and on and on….He walked away to throw the can in the trash and someone told Ruby to say to her Daddy when he got back in the car, “Daddy, if you want to win the JOLLIEST ELF AWARD, you better be careful!”  He just looked at me.  Hilarious.  Let’s just say Daddy didn’t receive that award during the 1:00 hour.

More Christmas posts to come!