Christmas In The North Pole

We don't actually live in the North Pole...but we're close enough. 

House update: All the tile is finished being laid on the main floor. That's a big deal. I almost have a bathroom and a kitchen. We did one room with the wood and it looks nice. I was worried it would be a pinkish or orange wood stain but it's very neutral. 

We stained the beam with English chestnut. It turned out better than I thought. I would have done the floors that color too if I didn't despise dark after our last house.  

We decided to take a needed break and went after a Christmas tree for Grandma's house. It wasn't feeling very Christmasy to me with all of my decorations and village and stockings hiding in the trailer. It helped to go get the tree. 

We took two snowmobiles and these cute kids and drove up the forest on the farm. The kids road in the sleds. It was my first time driving and I had a great time, which is uncharacteristic of me! I'm an indoor girl! We hadn't walked twenty yards into forest before we saw the perfect tree. We thought about looking farther but the kids were already getting tired and cold

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James sawed it and we hauled it out to the sleds. He put Shad on the back of his snowmobile and I had the rest of the kids in my sled and on the back of my snowmobile. He put the tree in his sled and started to drive. It fell out, so he put it back in and started again. It fell out again. It didn't help that I didn't want to waste the stump and made him bring it too (pine needle tea!) 

Finally, he put Shad in the sled, on his back, and the tree on top of Shad. Then we drove all the way home. The tree in the sled on top of Shad was so funny, bouncing along, and we knew he was under there getting buried in snow and bumping his bum on every little hump. 

Once, on the mountain road, I looked back and Audra and Maggie were screaming and hanging on for dear life. The sled had slipped off to the side and they were right next to the small cliff on the edge of the road. I couldn't figure out how to keep them from sliding off to the right or left, so we stopped and I put every last kid on the back of my snowmobile. It was a loud ride home with four children crying in my ear. But hot chocolate felt good after that!

Tile in the kitchen and dining room (I can only guess what Kyler is doing in the background)

Shad learning to use the saw. 

Shad learning that you have to start the saw before you touch it to the wood. 

Shad helping ping the nail gun. Each kid takes turns helping James, but Shad and Kyler like it the most. 

Finis!

I don't have a place to wrap presents so we took them all to the house and I wrapped them in the pocket room. It was a little magical. (A pocket room is a made up room...it's like a little pocket on the side of the house. It can be used for anything from an office to a guest room, exercise room, whatever you want.)

This was kind of a special Christmas. We got to spend every minute of it at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They are thinking about going on a mission soon and we are glad we had this time with them. 

"YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT!"