Sunday evening I had to run to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things. As I left, Sarah and Summer were sitting peacefully on the couch and Steve was lounging around the house in his relaxing clothes saying that he would get our Christmas tree out of the garage, out of the box, and set up “at some point tonight.”
After seeing the calm inactivity of my two fellow Smith House dwellers, I figured we were looking at a turtle-esque, tree-putting up process.
However. When I got home a mere 25 minutes later, this is the sight that greeted me. (The reason it looks like they might be singing is because they were. They were doing the angelic-voiced “Ahhhhh” sound that you hear in movies when something fabulous has just happened.)
And just what was that fabulousness?
It was this!
They had dragged the huge box in from the garage, wrestled the tree out of the box, assembled it, and stowed the aforementioned huge box away–all in less than half an hour! (The pre-lit tree, as you can see, has lost the top third of its pre-litness, so Steve always hangs a string of lights up there so that the rest of the tree will feel encouraged.)
The two of them were very proud of themselves and for good reason: they had just set a new world record in the Smith House Putting Up Of The Tree Ceremony.
And they weren’t the only ones awash in amazingness. I even got in on the act and bought some cookie dough so that I could actually take sugar cookies out of the oven at least once during the Christmas season. (Martha Stewart, move over!)
As I was in the kitchen, slaving over the cookies, I heard some chortling going on in the living room. When I went to investigate, this is what I saw.
Steve had asked Sarah to get the broom to clean up around the tree a little; when she asked Steve to hold the dust pan, this is what he did instead.
See him putting his fingers to his lips? (Don’t tell Mom!)
It was the chortling that gave them away.
Moral of the Story: If you are trying to do something behind Mom’s back?
Do not chortle.
Oh my, I neede a chuckle today! Your sugar cookies will be scrumptious for sure and no one will trip over the tree droppings disguised as they are! It’s the chortling/giggling that always tripped up me AND eventually my son! Some things just don’t change and I can’t wait to teach my grandson the joys of innocent, fun-loving treachery(?)! His father deserves it (angelic smile).
Guerrina, I can tell right now you are going to have yourself an Official Chortling Grandson!
Krista, yes, Nathan and Meagan are flying in Friday night and we will have our pancake supper and put the ornaments on the tree Saturday night. But we just wanted to get the tree in place so we’d have some place to put our gifts! 🙂
Oh good!
I’m glad to hear the tradition will continue!
And how fun to have Nathan and Meagan home for a few days!!!
Such funny Smith’s! Isn’t your tradition to put up the tree and then have a pancake supper? Is that not happening this year? And will Nathan and Meagan be joining you at all for the Holiday?