Tree Unwrapping

Shayna and I got our tree this afternoon. That was step 1. Step 2 was getting it from the car and into the tree holder. Here is Shayna doing Step 3: removing the plastic web wrapping from the tree. We cut it off with a scissors. She thought this was fun as you can see by the big grin on her face. We did Step 4: trimming the lower branches/foliage to neaten it up (Shayna enjoyed this too) and Step 5: putting water in the holder. Manny helped with Step 6: putting on the lights. Only we found only one strand worked, so now only the upper top of the tree is lit. So Step 7 will be me buying new lights, Step 8 putting said lights onto tree. Then we can finally do Step 9 which is our favorite part: putting on all our ornaments (most have sentimental meaning and stories) while listening to The Nutcracker/Swan Lake CD . We plan on doing Steps 7-9 Thursday and Friday nights.

The tree touches the ceiling this year! It is actually wider then it appears in this photo because the branches have not settled down yet. This is before trimming the bottom.