oh christmas tree...

the mason family tradition continues - with a slight change this year. every year we venture out the day after thanksgiving to find the perfect christmas tree. we usually go to evanston and get our permits at the jubilee grocery store in town, then up into the forest to find the one. this year we ended up going to manila (by flaming gorge) and stayed at mike's mom's cabin overnight. we got our permits there in manila on friday afternoon and ventured into the ashley national forest to find the perfect tree. mike, along with jake and max, left me and luke in the car to go find tree #1. (we decided to get 2 trees this year...one for us and one to give away). luke was napping, so i rested while waiting for the boys to return. they came back pretty quick with a darling tree.

but it wasn't the "perfect" one i had in mind for this year. they are so patient with me! so, off to find tree #2. i made sure to go help scout this one out and when i saw it, well...it was perfect!

it's that cute one all by itself in the middle!here we are posing by our perfect tree! apparently it was a bit heavy - mike and jake lugged it to the car.

thought i ought to include a picture of luke enjoying his ride in the car!

on our drive back to the cabin we caught a glimpse of the beautiful scenery. i am so thankful for family and for the fun traditions we have. i am grateful our boys put up with my picky tree selecting and endure the off tune christmas carols belted out in the car. i am thankful for the season of giving.

the story doesn't end there...then comes the challenge of getting the trees home, 3 hours away. thanks to my genius husband, we all arrived safely - trees and all.

then the next challenge began -- getting the perfect tree perfectly straight in our living room. once again, the picky one (that's me) was satisfied. the tree is perfect. the trip was fabulous. it's times like this that create memories worth remembering. what a fun tradition.

yee-haw!

Mike decided to clean out his closet tonight. among other treasures, he found the infamous cowboy attire. Max was quite excited to wear Mike's boots, hat and shirt from long ago. too bad there weren't any pants... we had quite the photo shoot as Max yee-hawed and clicked his 6-shooter pistol.

Luke had to join in the fun too...check out those thighs!!

i'm tagged -

ok - this is for you Lindsay. like Marisa said, i too have been thinking and thinking about 5 things that are worth noting about myself. it seems that most everyone knows me - some of you too well! so, here goes -

i love to create. that doesn't necessarily mean i'm creative. (i copy other ideas really well!) i love to make things - sewing quilts, skirts for the nieces, canning fresh fruits & veggies, wood projects, whatever. i love learning new skills and then putting them to use creating something fun, beautiful or useful. i love admiring the finished product. i tend to leave my canned food on the counter for a few days, just to admire what i have accomplished. there's a strange satifaction about knowing you did something so fulfilling. like with a quilt...making something amazing out of a bunch of fabric scraps. creating is my happy place.

i am an organizational freak - ok, about some things. don't come to my house...it's a work in progress. like linds, i make lists. lists for the store. lists of what to do. lists for christmas. lists for what to tell mom next time i talk to her. lists for everything. i have even been known to complete a task that wasn't on my list and then write it down just so i can cross it off. i think i got that from mom!

i am a sentimental, emotional baby. not sure when this started, but i often get teary just reading some of your blog posts out there! i don't even have to know you...something just has to tug gently on my heartstrings and immediately my tear ducts are going. it could be something sweet that happened with a child, or something painful in your family. i cry in movies. i cry at songs. i cry during prayers. i cry reading books. i cry when i'm sad. i cry when i'm happy. i cry when someone else cries. it doesn't take much...my sensitivity is awfully high. i'm sunk when in the same room with my family members, and one of them is crying. all it takes is the right glance from mom or dad and there i go!

the other day i was referred to as an elephant...not that i have big ears (sorry, mom), but that i remember everything. i do have a knack for numbers. that must be a benson thing too. well, some of us! anyway, i remember phone numbers from 15 years ago and account numbers, birthdays and deaths. i remember addresses and names and important dates. the other day was the one year anniversary of my dear friend's mother's death. yes, i remembered, nov. 15. i took a small gift to her to let her know i was thinking of her. she told me that she wondered if anyone would remember...but knew i would. then she gave me the elephant compliment. (watch, now i'll forget!) (one other side note, i have a better long term memory than short...i often forget what mom & i talked about or what i told who or what i did yesterday. thus the need for the lists mentioned above. well, we can't all be perfect!)

i love mexican food. i could eat it everyday. when pregnant, it's the only thing that sits well. i enjoy almost all foods, but mexican is at the top of the list. like i said...everyday isn't too much.

there it is. i now tag sidney, brian & lisa and aimee!

ouch...

while it's wonderful that Luke is grasping the concept of walking, it comes with a few bumps and bruises. these pictures, for example, show the war wounds of his most recent bonks. ouch.

remember.

so, half the problem with this blog thing is you have to remember to post. and part of remembering is actually thinking about taking the time, sitting down, writing something interesting or funny or worthwhile, posting pictures of your darling children and then making sure you don't sound like a total dweeb. ok, so maybe it's much simpler than that, but for me...it's quite the chore.

so, here are some events from this past weekend:

* Mike hung the christmas lights on the house -- I am so happy!

the flour game -- quite a mess...

* BIG NEWS -- Luke took 11 steps! He's well on his way to being an official "walker".

here we are...

i've finally conceded to take part in the blogging world. my purpose being driven by guilt - i'm not good at journaling, however, i'm always interested in other people's lives. so, in lindsay's words, i confess to being a blog-stalker. now i can make my life accessible to all those lonely blog-stalkers out there, and whoever else finds an interest in us. here's a quick explanation to the name - thumb toes & thursday. for those of you who know us are lucky enough to know my cute 4 year old, Max. he is always saying funny things and coming up with interesting answers to everyday questions. the other day he stubbed his toe. hard. hard enough to come wailing through the house searching for mom and the "magic bandaids". i was able to calm him down and then asked which toe it was that he hurt. he, being very serious, replied, "my thumb toe". it was all i could do to not laugh out loud, thus making the toe-stubbing injury even worse. i took a mental note and have noticed since then he has commented on his "thumb toe", showing me that he has two regular thumbs, and two thumb toes. another question/answer session involved me admiring how dang cute my Max really is and i asked, "when did you get so cute?!" he simply looked at me and said, "on thursday." so there you have it. here's to Max and thumb toes and thursday.