February Hot Dog Roast

So far in our 12 Christmases together Shane and I have gotten a real Christmas Tree.  We've never been able to swallow the cost of a fake tree and we enjoy picking it out as a family and the way it makes our house smell.  I'm not sure if it's a tradition that will last because it is getting harder and harder to find good real trees.  But I digress.  If we miss the weekend opportunity when the garbage will take the tree, it often sits in our garage for sometimes months.  This year was no exception.  About a month ago Shane decided he was going to just burn the dang thing in our charcoal BBQ.  I gave him a hard time because the last time he burned one of our trees, he really did almost burn down the house.  But that's another story for another post.  

Along with burning the tree we decided to roast hot dogs and marshmallows for lunch.  When it started to snow, I thought the whole thing would be postponed, but Shane was determined.  We did it in the snow.  It was so much fun!  The kids really loved it and Shane and I did too!

I was afraid we would get too cold, but it turns out the fire kept us warm and toasty.  We had bought these valentine marshmallows that were flavored strawberry and vanilla.  They were SO GOOD roasted over the fire.  We ate the whole package easily!

I thought this was one of the funnest things we had done as a family, and everyone else did too!  I hope it becomes a tradition!  That the first snow after the Holidays are over, we burn our tree in the backyard and roast hot dogs and marshmallows! (How redneck could we possibly be??)