We started a new family tradition this year. Ben found out from a lady at work that you could get a permit for $10 and chop down a Christmas tree in Plumas National Forest which is about 1 1/2 hours away. The Counihan's were way past due for a family adventure so we gathered our snow duds and headed off. An adventure is exactly what he had.

The only reason we were able to pull this off was because Ben was a complete champ. He was going to see this adventure to the very end with the best of spirits.

I'm to tired to recount all the happenings of this outing. However, let me just say that it involved knee deep snow, Simeon losing one of his boots, soggy socks, getting yelled at by a sheriff, driving up and down the mountain 9-10 times trying to find the perfect spot, and several bathroom emergencies.

However, Ben still managed to find the most amazing tree ever, chop it down, and drag it all the way back to the car in knee deep snow.

Even though it doesn't look like it the kids had a blast in the snow. I asked them if knowing how cold they would get, they would want to get a tree like this again next year. They yelled a big YES!

Even after the craziness of the day we still managed to get the tree up and decorated. I'm obsessed with our $10 tree.