Getting a Tree

Not necessarily a very exciting event, but one that we look forward to each year. I think we are one of the few who still get a fresh, real tree each year. I just love the smell of having a real tree in the house at Christmas time. There is alway some discussion and attempts to convince each other which is the best tree to choose. We always get the same kind. I don't remember what they are called, but we refer to them as Charlie Brown trees. They don't have full big branches and typically have big spaces between the branches as well. Apparently Samantha didn't remember that this is the kind we always get, and it wasn't what she wanted - AT ALL!!! She threw a HUGE tantrum at the Christmas tree lot. This might be somewhat typical of my 2 year olds, but my almost 8 year old?!!! We gave her several quiet, polite warnings that she better change her behavior, but she didn't take our suggestions. Shawn finally hauled her off to the car and locked her in. It was pretty embarrassing to have all of the tree lot workers commenting on it. Being locked in the car didn't stop the fit either. She just kept screaming and kicking and yelling. Needless to say, we had to put in a direct call to Santa and she lost her ticket to see the Nutcracker. (She managed to earn that back by spending the next morning doing housework, but she is still working on earning her place back on the nice list!) Ah, the joys of children. The rest of us were happy with our pick.