Oh my goodness y’all. Our weekend was bursting with Christmas activity. A decent person would divide the following onslaught of photographs into several posts, or at the very least only pick a few to share. Unfortunately for you, I tried, but this is as edited down as I could get. So grab a cup of coffee (if you care) and let me present to you, our weekend:
It all started Friday afternoon with an almost 2 hour drive to Little Switzerland, NC. We got to drive through this cool tunnel twice, so Hailey didn’t mind the ride. Kaitlyn was less than thrilled, but understood the importance of our mission. Operation: find our tree.
We winded our way up mountain roads to find Little Switzerland Fraser Firs, my most preferred Christmas tree type. The girls received whistles to blow once we found our perfect tree, and off we went, tromping through the farm. We finally decided on one and stopped to take a stellar picture in front of it
before blowing our whistle to summon for help cutting it down and the four wheeler to haul it back to the car.
The people were so kind and we sipped the complimentary hot cider before packing back into the car. We opted to take a quick break at a nearby mountain view restaurant. The girls needed a snack, David and I needed a beverage and we all needed to pause to take in the gorgeous mountain view.
Though the girls were mostly enthralled by the tree, David and I were more enamored with this:
Exhale.
It pretty much solidified my preference for mountains over ocean.
We got home in the dark, put the girls to bed and somehow managed to get our 11′ beast of a tree inside, in the stand and draped in lights. A task like that isn’t for the Christmas-faint-of-heart, but I’m in love with big trees and can’t stop smiling at it.
Saturday morning David worked, so I kept the girls busy with grocery shopping until Dad got home so we could all decorate together.
We only broke 2 ornaments before wising up and sticking to the shatterproof option from Target.
After finishing up the tree, we bundled up the girls and headed to Davidson for their annual Christmas in Davidson celebration.
That Kaitlyn and her cheesin’! <3
We grabbed a peaceful dinner at Toast (ha ha HA- the girls ran around like crazed elves), then took off wandering through lit trees, shouting Merry Christmas at horse drawn carriages, checking out the live nativity, cowering in fear of the real camel (Hailey, not Kaitlyn, who wanted to ride the thing) and my favorite part of all, watching the girls twirl and dance to Christmas songs in front of the stage.
It was quite possibly my favorite moment of being a parent ever.
Sunday morning David was working again so I gathered the troops and headed out to Lake Norman State Park.
We hiked for about an hour and a half and maybe covered… a half mile? Ha. Still, it felt great to be in the woods and Koda agreed. A blurry picture, yes, but it epitomizes her joy.
We ran into Julie and her crew on our way out of the park and I only secretly wished we had all been there at the same time. Not that singing jingle bells on repeat for an hour and continuously walking back and forth over the same bridge isn’t fun while hiking too.
I had fully planned on the rest of the day being low key. Laundry, I told myself. Order.
Yet somehow after a half-showing of Frosty the Snowman, I got my mom courage back and the girls and I loaded back into the car for a neighborhood Christmas party and tree lighting. With train rides, Santa, cooking decorating and candy cane tattoos, I just couldn’t resist. David was able to meet us there, to Hailey’s delight, and we closed the weekend out with a little more Christmas joy.
Now it’s Monday and I’m supposed to be geared up for a busy week. Instead I want to curl back up under the covers. Oh well, all was totally worth it. After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year!
To continue the joy, tell me the best moment of your weekend!
I really love reading those comments π
My favorite part was definitely the girls dancing and giggling at Christmas at Davidson.
Karen says
I will have to agree with you…..mountains over oceans any day:)
Merry Christmas!
Morgan @ Morgan Manages Mommyhood says
Oh man, I can’t even handle Kaitlyn’s cheesin. So darn cute! I love that the tree farm gives you a whistle! We usually do a cut/pick your own as well and we’ve either had to bring a saw or find an employee and then attempt to find the tree again!
Brynn says
Your weekend looks like such a blast! My favorite part of the weekend was decorating the tree as a family. Mitch was three months old last year and not interested. It was a whole new ball game this year.
Kate says
What a great weekend! And what a huge tree! Isn’t the decorating the best part? I always loved it when I grew up, and I can’t wait for my son to participate next year!
My highlight of the weekend was going swimming on Sunday morning. My son bursts of joy when he’s in the water – it’s almost too adorable!
John J. says
What a wonderful wholesome Christmas holiday experience/memory for your family!
sherry says
Love all the pictures! What great memories/traditions you are creating. The Christmas tree farm looked like so much fun, despite the two hour drive (which could be fun if girls are watching Christmas movies π
Erin Blue says
How fun! We went to our local Candlelight Christmas, which is an old fashioned Christmas celebration at a local historic park/museum. Instrumental Christmas carols, apple cider, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and old fashioned Christmas crafts! Best moment? Our 16 months old could not get enough of dancing to the music.
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
An 11 foot tree is pretty dang impressive! We bought a 7.5 foot and I thought that was ambitious. haha. It looks like you had the most perfect holiday weekend. Those fews from that mountain top restaurant are so beautiful.
Hilary says
That sounds so fun! I am so jealous of your real tree, I can’t wait until I have a big enough apartment or house for a real tree!
The high point of my weekend was venturing off to the Atlanta sky view it was so fun and really cool to see the centinnel park Christmas lights from above!
Cassie says
I love the girls’ tutus. My favorite thing this weekend was getting some outside time. I can’t believe we’ve had 60F days with sun. Crazy, and I’m soaking it up before the snow comes.
Sarah says
Yes, the mountains are the best! Looks like a great place to find a tree. My weekends never seem to go as planned but I did manage to get our house a bit more sorted on the inside while my husband took care of the outside (10 acres is a lot to take care of!)
Jessie @ The Acquired Sass says
Yesterday was the best. It included a morning hike, a fun lunch with new family, making HOMEMADE JERKY & some wine on the couch.
Lauren @ Oh Hey! I Like That! says
My favorite part of the weekend was getting our tree, too! It was the first year that I got to tag along to pick out and cut down a tree from a local farm, and I just love it!
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
Such a fantastically Christmassy weekend you had! The only topper would have been a Nutcracker performance or first snowfall or tree lighting π
Heather says
Your tree is amazing and that view of the mountains makes me miss them!
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona says
That view of the mountains is beautiful! My favorite moment of the weekend was heading downtown to drop off a donation to my favorite Christmas charity. I’ve done it the last year years so it now feels like a tradition.
Jerrica says
We had a wonderfully festive weekend too!! We have a high speed train called CalTrain that serves from San Francisco to the South Bay Area. One weekend each year they light it up and stop it at certain stations. Santa and his crew, the gingerbread man, elves, Mrs clause and frosty, get off and mingle with the kids and if you are lucky enough to be standing in the right spot you will be showered with a snow machine and the car carrying carolers. We waited an hour for the front row spot this year and it was worth every second!!
Julie says
Kaitlyn’s big cheesy grins are the BEST! It always cracks me up when the little ones are the daredevils & big sis is too scared. Sounds like a fabulous wknd!
Christine says
Good for you taking the girls out on multiple trips! The thought of taking my 13 month old sometimes seems daunting to me! He met Santa for the first time which did not go well, so my favorite part of our weekend was when we bought him a HUGE $1 balloon which totally made up for the creepy Santa (at least in my eyes!) He adores it!
p.s. I LOVE your tree! I really wanted a real tree this year but we opted for our fake tree table one as I didn’t know if I’d have the time to constantly keep my little guy away from it and keep it watered, maybe next year!
Sarah says
Lol, I made a facebook post last night with the same status — “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”. As a mom of 2 little ones, I definitely agree that it can be exhausting, but it’s also so much fun! We cut down our Christmas tree this weekend as well! Such a fun, magical time of year! And it goes by so fast so I like to soak it all up. I honestly think I enjoy the weeks leading up to Christmas a little more than Christmas Day itself.
And I LOVE your girls in the matching outfits!! So adorable!
Julia @ Lord Still Loves Me says
WHOA THAT TREE IS HUGE. I have always had a fake tree in my house (our cat would eat the real thing), but I never knew how big the real ones were!
Caitlinβs cheeky smile is my favorite thing ever.
Best moment of the weekend: Watching one of my best friends shine in a play. I love watching my friends in their element, performing when they are passionate. π
Happy Monday, Brittany!
Tami @ Have My Cake says
Definitely mountains over ocean π Your weekend sounds so wonderful. I love those weekends that are totally filled with simple family fun. They are so rich. π
Giselle says
I absolutely love this time of year! Even more so know that I have a little one. The amount of joy that the season brings him is so fun to watch. I just want to do every Christmas activity possible so that I can relive his happiness over and over and over again. Which makes for a very busy month but definitely worth it!
Al says
Love Xmas songs and Xmas books!
Ashley says
Where are their matching reindeer/tutu outfits from? I absolutely LOVE them!!
Brittany Dixon says
Target! All of it π The tutus were even on the clearance rack for $4 – yay!