A Lodgepole Pine and a Temple Square Rave

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Sullivan family tradition dictates that we drive to a golf course on 7th East, near our home, on the day after Thanksgiving and purchase a Christmas tree.  This tree lot is run by some guys that come down from Kalispell, Montana every year with their trucks full of Noble Firs, Douglas Firs, and some scrappy looking Lodgepole Pines.  Historically, we've picked out Noble Firs most years, but this year we picked out a scrappy Lodgepole.  A scruffy man at the lot informed us that the Douglas Firs are carefully manicured into a perfect cone shape each year at the tree farm proper, but the Lodgepole they cut right off the mountainside in a contract with the Forest Service to thin the trees.  Ours definitely looks like it rolled right out of the forest.

Zeke, searching for the perfect tree


We decorated our little Lodgepole as soon as we got it home.
This is what you can get for $44--all the way from a Kalispell mountainside--not too tall, but lots of character

Two Sundays ago, we enacted the yearly White family, cousin tradition of riding Trax downtown to see the lights on Temple Square.  Usually we ride Trax down, have dinner somewhere, then go wander through the lights.  We wanted to go while H.B. and his family were still in town, and with Troy's work schedule, we had only Sunday as an option.  That deleted the having dinner downtown part of the tradition, but there were epic additions to tradition this year.  In lieu of dinner, we devised a plan to bring down several gallons of hot chocolate, cups with spill-proof lids, and lots of cookies.  After wandering through the lights a bit, we set up shop near the South Visitor's Center and unloaded our wares and had a veritable party.  Uncle Troy gave all of the kids several glow sticks before we boarded Trax, so it really looked more like a rave.  I'm honestly surprised that we weren't thrown off the Square.

The kids glowing in the dark before we walked over to the Trax station near Kristen's house

Assembling the herd of cousins for the trek

Boarding the Trax--dozens of us

Jenny, getting ready for the party on the Square

We filled up several Trax cars with cousins

Izzy and Pug

Casey Bert and the Zeke-Horse

Soph

Gretha, Zoe, and Ruthie.  These girls kept me entertained all the way downtown, creating all kinds of interesting songs, complete with various hand actions.  My favorite one was about mustaches.

Hal stuffed her pockets with candy and glow sticks after dinner at Pug's house.

Zeke on Temple Square

Soph, getting ready for the party

Kristen

The modest buffet, staged audaciously near the South Visitor's Center



Maya and Sophie

Kristen, Adam, Mary, and Beatrix

H.B., decked out in his Thrift Town tweed jacket

Karen, fully enjoying the evening.

Troy won the prize for creative use of rave materials

Jose Luis, Vilma, and Jenny

H.B.'s Karen in a treat-induced trance

Anni

Zeke with HIS temple in the background.  Whenever we see a temple now, he tells me that they are HIS temples.

Everything was so beautiful, as it always is.
Live action from the evening:



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