NEW TRADITIONS

Since our move 1300 miles from home, 5 1/2 years ago already, we have had to create some new family traditions around the holidays. Growing up, we had so many traditions for the Christmas season every year that I look back on and truly appreciate. I want to create that for my own children.

One thing we have done every year for at least the last 4 years is that we have gone to Red Lodge for their annual Christmas stroll. If you ever get to visit Montana, you can't miss the little town of Red Lodge. It's at the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains and has so much character. They shut down main street from all traffic, and play some great Christmas songs, serve free hot chocolate and goodies (IN EVERY STORE!) so the shoppers can truly enjoy the experience. They also offer free horse-drawn carriage rides, which we missed out on this year because the temperatures were so cold, they took the horses in early.

We always start the afternoon by "tagging" our Christmas tree. It sort of feels like hunting. You walk and walk until you find just the right one, then once it's cut down, you have to put your tag on saying it's "legal". The kids all have to help with the cutting, of course. This year we took some new friends with us and had a great time with them. After we successfully tied our trees to the top of the van, we headed to our favorite pizza spot before hitting the stores. Had we known how much "free" food would be offered, we probably could have passed on the pizza first!

Here are some pictures from our trip earlier this month...

Family

Cutting the tree

Joel, Kiana and myself

My friend, Rachel, and Myah