o, christmas tree.

for the past three years, b and i have gone to cut down a real christmas tree. we both grew up with them and knew it was a tradition we wanted to continue. this year, vickie and courtney came too.

that wasn't the only thing different for this year: it was also the first time there wasn't snow on the ground. which is because it was almost 70 degrees here on saturday. #globalwarming

doing our part to off-set above mentioned crazy weather. in reality i'm sure the impact of real v. fake all evens out in the end, but the experience makes it. the place we go is so great, too.

look, hay pine needle ride!

chubbiest little tree ever! and they totally cut it down. #girlpower

above photo taken by me on vickie's AMAZING dslr camera. as if my desire to have that type of camera wasn't already intense - just look at the difference between my {really good!} point and shoot and hers, even on auto.

one reason i like going places with v, besides that she is ready to be weird and funny at any moment, is that she is taking pictures constantly. more than i do {which is saying a lot}. i LOVE this picture. tempted to blow it up on canvas and put it on our mantle. holiday 2012, we shall see.

our tree! it's not the regular pine, which we've gotten in the past. it's a leyland cypress. i googled, but still really don't know how to explain what makes it different from the normal christmas tree. we thought it was southern, since we had never seen that type in ohio, but wikipedia doesn't agree. either way, the needles are soft and it smells super awesome taking up seven feet in our living room.

a group photo! thanks to the random lady who shot that. it's a keeper.

more holiday photos coming later this week, including our decorated tree! tis the season, friends!