Picking the Perfect Tree!

This year we had a truly unique Christmas Tree Picking Experience!  Let me share....

Every year, as early in the season as I can force Chris to go, we bundle up and head out to a Christmas tree lot to find the perfect tree. Sometimes we go to Moon Valley Nursery where the trees are all lined up like little happy soldiers in their stands.  Sometimes it is to Lowe's or Home Depot.  Sometimes Target or another various Christmas Tree Lot.  But wherever we go, we have this ritual where Chris holds up a tree, rotates it around and I look at it from all angles.  After looking at several trees and trying to get the kids to stop picking the strings and branches off the ground, I find THE ONE.  The Perfect Christmas Tree.  The one I think is the most beautiful in the whole lot and will look amazing nestled in our living room with all my homemade and loved ornaments, colored lights, and special treasures draped from it's pine-smelling, Christmas-making branches!  I look at it from all angles.  I smell and feel it.  I fall in love with it!  And then I take hold of it so that Chris can stand back and give his nod of agreement. : )

Then we pay an arm and a leg and have the tree lot people put it in the truck for us.  Chris is usually covered in tree sap and the boys have pine needles stuck in their clothes!  We bring it home and set it up in the front window.  Chris puts the lights on as I unpack all the ornaments.  The boys dance around and climb on chairs to put all the ornaments on the tree. 

This has been our tradition since we got married and has grown as we had the kids.  This ritual is one of my favorites of the whole Christmas Season!

BUT...

This year was a bit different!

We saw the beautiful Noble Fir tree outside of Costco around Thanksgiving.  Only $44!  What a bargain!  Kim & Bill had got their tree from Costco last year and it was beautiful.  So we headed off to Costco this year to get our Perfect Tree. 

We pull up and go in to pay for the tree.  The cashier tells us to take our receipt out and pick our tree.  YEAH!  We head outside. 

There is a big moving-type truck with 2........LITERALLY 2 trees leaning against a table.  The trees are completely wrapped up like toothpicks.  The guy says "Which one do you want?" 

WHAT???????

No unwrapping the tree and admiring it from all angles???  No browsing amongst the rows of delicious-smelling pine???  No debating about the size of the trunk and if it will fit in the stand??? No telling the kids to get out of the trees and get up off the ground???

How do I know if it is the PERFECT TREE?????  

Chris smiles and points- "We'll take that one!" As he throws it in the back of the truck, grinning from ear to ear at his sap-free hands and clean kids!

WHAT?????????  What if I get it home and it is not perfect?  What if it is not THE ONE???? "You can return it," says the Costco man.  WHAT?????????????????????????

And in the end, it turned out to be................

THE PERFECT ONE