hunting for a christmas tree in montana is a real adventure. the perfect tree is on a hillside, about 100 yards up from the road, in 18 feet of snow and is pretty full on one side. so after 5 hours of hunting (you are frozen through by now), you settle. and are truly happy with your find. it is a totally different experience in missouri and it's a good change. first, the only place you can cut down a tree is missouri is on a christmas tree farm. this means that all the trees are beautiful and you can pick the best one out of thousands of beauties. they were actually groomed! you get to pick the kind of tree you want (unlike montana where you will take any tree that doesn't hurt when you touch it), you get to pick one out in less than an hour and they give you a measuring stick so you don't have to cut off five feet to get it to fit in the back of the truck. they even bag it and attach it to your vehicle for a dollar. a dollar? really? they obviously don't know the value of their service. it is not as exciting as the montana hunt, but we are willing to cut back on excitement for a safe experience that sophia is willing to do again. we went to the living windows in downtown columbia. it was fun although some of the windows were a little sexy for family night. luckily sophia didn't care. she wants a scooter though. they come with side cars...
