On a Saturday...

This past Saturday was a big one for our family; it was "Put up the Christmas Tree" Day! This is a tradition that Erin brought in from her side. In my family growing up, best I remember, mom would drag the tree in out of the garage on a Saturday and get it all set up while I tried to stay as scarce as possible. The Turners, on the other hand, made a family affair out of it, with Christmas music in the background and the whole family chipping in to set up and decorate the tree. So that's what we do each year in our house, and I know Cayden and Avery will enjoy it as much as Erin and I have over the last few years.

I took a couple of pictures to start the day, and then decided I'd keep going and just document everything that happened. And here are the results: a day in the life of our family...

Kind of like Zoolander's 'Center for Ants', this isn't our full size tree - it's just the top section and a team effort to get it fluffed (?) out prior to putting it on.

His greatest concern all morning was "Daddy/Mommy (depending on who was closest), how are we going to get the star all the way to the top of the tree?"

The wrecking crew...I mean, helpers... went to work unwrapping ornaments.

Eventually, we made a game where we unwrapped the ornaments and Daddy got them out of her hands in the 1 second window before she threw them.

These are the memories you want to hold onto.




I'm not sure, but moments like this are usually followed by, "What's Avery getting into back there? Avery? AVERY!"

Eventually, while Cayden and Mommy hung ornaments, Avery was removed from the scene to go play on the step-stool. For all of our good, really.


Here's the finished product. We survived!

From there, it's off to Wal-Mart. Avery's spitting into her hand while Bono looks out at passing cars.

And into the belly of the beast: Wal-Mart on a Saturday with two kids. Bring it on!

After we took the groceries home, it was off to a land flowing with chips and salsa.

Last was Bolt at the Drive In. Not to ruin the movie for you, but let's just say that Bolt fared better than Tech was against OU at the same time...

Some folks just aren't cut out for life on the road. And yes, when Avery starts wearing Cayden's old pajamas, it's time to do laundry...

We'll try to keep you updated on both the exciting and the mundane in the weeks to come (okay, the mildly interesting and the mundane). See you soon!