First Duncan Family Christmas Tree Hunt!

Black Friday November 23 2012, we woke up to the excited voices of our kids. Why?  Because we were going up to the mountains to find a Christmas tree.  Johnathan and I decided instead of standing in shopping lines we wanted to go do something as a family so we picked up a tag for a Christmas tree and told the kids we were going to the mountains. Jenna was particularly excited because she loves to ride in daddy's truck when it bounces on the dirt roads.

We got up and had some breakfast then packed up some food, warm clothes, chainsaw and tape measure and headed up above Kelly Canyon to find the perfect tree.  We are big fans of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation so we were excited to freeze our toes, legs, thighs, etc to find the tree for our family.  It didn't take long and we were marching around in the snow looking at everything from tiny four branchers to the big fifteen footers.

We looked in one place then headed to another and after a few minutes we spotted it, the perfect tree!  The kids agreed we had found the one we wanted, and Jenna sat down and took a rest, that is a lot of walking for a four year old.

It didn't take long to get it loaded up in the truck. We got all settled in when Andie asked if we could stop on our way home and get some Egg Nog! We forked out a pretty penny for Egg Nog at the Ririe gas station and listened to Christmas Music all the way home. We were headed home at about 10:30 a.m. and we passed ten or twelve trucks headed up to do the same thing.

I think finding a Christmas Tree might be the new Black Friday activity for our family. I was pleased that we found something so nice in such a short period of time and I can see this being a great tradition for the Duncan Family!

Christmas Craft

I enjoy working on crafts, especially during the holidays and I decided to make the girls their names in wood for Christmas. I loved the way they turned out, even though I forgot to get a picture of Jenna's finished product (I will post them after she opens it.) So first I decided what font I wanted and then traced it onto the wood and cut it out with my scroll saw, then I sanded each letter lightly around the edges and drilled a hole in the back so we could hang them on the wall.

Then I decided where I wanted the paper. I used two different kinds of paper the top paper covers the first 6 inches of the top of the letters. I measured each letter and drew a line so I knew where to glue the paper. Next I painted the sides and around the top edges of each letter. Andie's are black and Jenna's are pink. Then I traced the paper so I knew where to cut. I turned the letters over and drew on the back of the paper so I wouldn't have trace marks.

I used a strong adhesive called E-6000 and glued the paper to the wood. Once I got the paper on I cut some glittery scrap booking ribbon and covered the spots where the paper met, then I decorated with scrap booking flowers. (Jenna's are dragonflies, so cute!)

I was really pleased with the outcome. I had the wood in my garage so I spent maybe $10 bucks on paper and embellishments, not too bad for two Christmas Presents.