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O Christmas Tree
Mom and dad would be content with one of the pre-cut trees near the entranceway, but the son wants to search for one.
The dog just wants to smell everything.
Heather and Chad Lawson, their son Ian, their daughter Mackinely and their dog Bandit were at Snowy Pines Nursery & Christmas Tree Farm Thursday looking for a tree.
"The smell and just the fun of coming out here and looking (is why we get a real tree)," Heather Lawson said. "(We had a real Christmas tree) off and on with my parents and then us. It's kind of a tradition we're trying to start with our kids. My parents started it with us. Occasionally we had a fake tree but now we come here because the kids like to do it.
"We like coming here because they give us hot cocoa," she said.
The family began looking around at different trees, with Ian Lawson pulling the tree cart. Heather and Mackinely Lawson traded off holding Bandit's leash, as the dog tried to investigate everything around it.
Chad and Ian Lawson both were both worried about having a straight tree, but Heather Lawson saw one she liked that was taller but had a somewhat crooked base.
"We can make it work," Heather Lawson said. "There's a lot of tree for me to decorate."
John Zeller, the owner of Snowy Pines, said that business is going pretty much the same as it did last year.
"Right now we're selling an average of 20 to 25 trees a day during the week and then close to 100 on Saturday and Sunday," Zeller said. "So far we've probably sold between 600 and 700."
Zeller said that the nursery sells up to 1,100 trees during a holiday season. He also said there were cookies available inside their office. They go through over 2,000 cookies a year.
"I think childhood might be a lot of it," Zeller said. "I know that's what it is for me. I'm one of six kids, and that was always the most fun time of year, getting the big tree and decorating it.
Zeller said that they have some technological innovations that improve the experience, including a shaker that removes lose needles.
"Shaking the needles out is real popular," Zeller said. "Especially with whoever is taking care of the house."
The Lawson's tree is put in the shaker. Zeller tried to put the tree in the webbing applicator, to bundle it for the drive home, but it wouldn't fit. Zeller was about to try and force it through, when Chad Lawson said it'd be alright on top of the car without the webbing.
Heidi Schwitzer was looking for a tree and trying to decide if she wanted to get a full-sized tree she could fit on her car, or just the simple Charlie Brown trees that Snowy Pines sells.
"I love my house to smell like pine," she said. "Normally we have a whole adventure of picking the tree, but I do sales work. We tried to get one yesterday and we got here after they closed."
She eventually decided on two of the Charlie Brown trees. At check-out, she was having second thoughts when told they could get a tree to fit on top of the car.
"You really think it will fit?" she asked, still going back and forth.