Hollow Creek Tree Farms 2009!

Well it was quite the adventurous day in the Skiff household today!  We ventured out of northeast Columbia and headed over to the "Yankee Ghetto" as it's known around these parts - the Lexington/Irmo side of town (West of Columbia).  We traveled a whole 45 minutes away from our house, deep into the country to find the perfect Christmas tree in a little town called Gilbert - Hollow Creek Tree Farm to be precise.  We discovered this place last year, and Conner LOVED it, so we decided we had to go back.  They are also known for their prestigious and mysterious Noble Fir trees that are imported all the way from Oregon!  This makes them a bit pricey, but we decided to go for the Noble this year and have a taste of home in our very own living room ;)  Conner remembered the tree farm from last year and was very good at reminding us not to forget the hot chocolate and "relaxing" time when we were finished chopping down our tree.  Since we decided on the Noble for our downstairs, we elected to get a small tree for Conner to cut down and put upstairs.

We've arrived!  Hollow Creek Tree Farm - Conner was our tour guide (that's the map in his hands)

Malynda &; Conner searching for that "perfect" tree ...

We found it!  Now it's time to chop that sucker down!

Sawing away at Conner's tree - he is a great helper!

Notice Conner's commentary here in this video - just wanted to make sure we don't forget to have hot chocolate afterwards and relax in the chair ;)

Even though we already had our tree, we couldn't leave without enjoying the Hollow Creek Hay Ride!

Mommy &; Conner with his very own upstairs tree!

Of course the best part about having your own tree is getting to set up your polar express train to circle the bottom of the tree and allow for hours of train going round in circle fun!

The main event - the illustrious Noble Fir all the way from the far away land of Oregon... Hudson seems to like it too as evidenced by his big smile ;)

All in all it was a very fun day and another tradition for the year in the books.  Now, it's on to the ornament hanging and outdoor lights tomorrow!  Wish us luck!