An Urban Christmas Tree

I wish I could come close to recreating the scene at our house on Saturday morning, as I haven't laughed so hard in quite some time!

Here's the back story: We decided we'd like to get rid of the blue spruce in our front yard but that it was too big to be our Christmas tree. We were prepared to just cut it down in the spring, but, in the spirit of sharing (and reusing), thought we'd post it on Craigslist. Afterall, it would be a beautiful Christmas tree in a mansion.

Sure enough, Rye received great interest from one family in particular. Not only did they think the tree was nice, but the dad was very excited because he and his son could save a trip to Michigan, where they'd planned to venture in search of a tree.

Here's their urban tree adventure, captured in pics from my interior vantage point (between my rolling laughter) -

Oh, dad, I think this is the one! Mom, please snap my picture in front of the tree (not the pink flamingos). NOTE: Mom is really snapping pic.

After much sawing effort from Dad, son, and that nice man from the tree farm (Rye), down comes the tree. Mom is snapping pictures.

And thanks to Dad and that tree farm guy, over the hedges it goes. Mom is wondering what she's gotten into.

Our car's just the right size... now we just have to make sure the tree's very secure. Mom is airing the tires.

All the people passing through the neighborhood stop to make sure it's secure, too (and maybe laugh). Mom is hiding in passenger seat.

And off we go...

The tree farm guy cleans up.

Outtakes

Here are a few outtakes from last night's family photo shoot.

Isn't E's dress great? Thanks GG Jean!

A little Christmas princess...

Snuggles in for some mama kisses...

And shows daddy some dancin' attitude.

Thanksgiving in MN highlights

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pics during our visit to Minnesota. You know, sometimes it's just more relaxing to not wear the photographer hat. But in hindsight, I wish I would have captured more of our fun times. In particular, Elynor playing with Rye's cousin, Alicia, on Thanksgiving day (this meant running almost nonstop for hours) - thank you, Alicia, can I hire you to come to Chicago? Learning to go down the stairs with Aunties Katy & Tracy and Grandma Sue. And eating lots of new foods (mostly chocolate concoctions) courtesy of Rye's Aunt Sally.

At any rate, here are some mementos from a great trip.

Enjoying cookies & milk with Grandpa Lyle.

Another fabulous holiday with Great Grandmas Siira & Westrom (who Elynor shares the same middle name, Aline, with).

It's best to bring your sense of humor when attempting a good group shot with a 1 year old.

Aunt Tracy assists with burning off some energy before a long car ride.

And Uncle Dan sends Elynor off with her fave sound effects/faces.

A sampling of Elynor's waking car hours. Praise God, she slept most of both trips!

Concerto

Sunday night marked Elynor's first solo piano concert. She's had several previous opportunities to accompany others and has had a few drum, maraca, and kazoo performances... but they all paled in comparison to this event. While visiting the May's for church/dinner/Bear's game (hence the inappropriate concert attire) she booted the hostess from the bench and took over. As you can see, she started with an easy piece.

Wow - single hand while turning the music!

A dramatic finale.