Busy Weekend = Buttload of Pictures

When Jono bought our house there were many things to be thankful for. One of them was a fun tree in our backyard. Said tree was fun because it a) had a tire swing and b) had a Boo Radley knot. I love tire swings and Boo Radley knots. They make me so dad gum happy.

Want to know what doesn't make me happy?

I'm sure you do.

What doesn't make me happy is when the Boo Radley knot is so big, so round, and so rotten that the structural integrity of our tree is in jeopardy. Because when that happens, apparently, the tree could topple right over onto our house (or our neighbors). In fact, when Elena's dad (the talented arborist) looked at the tree, he gently let us know that waiting to take it down was flirting with disaster.

Oh, how I mourned that tree.

Until I remembered that it's an huge, ugly elm that drops branches all over our roof and yard.

Then I made my peace.

Unfortunately, it costs (approximately) a buttload to have a tree of that size taken down. So, my strong husband enlisted the help of his generous father who came into town just to help us with our tree predicament (chainsaw in tow).

So, Saturday morning, when I walked out of my house I found this in my backyard:


As you can see, there isn't a lot of room for a tree to just be fallin' over. Most of the limbs hung too close to various roofs to just hack away at them.

My brother-in-law came to help, too.

The big limbs were tied carefully, cut, and then lowered to the ground.
He's so manly :)



And, of course, my mother-in-law and I helped.

Which of course means that we watched until we got bored.
But before we got bored we made sure to sneak into cab when Jono wasn't looking.

Back to business.
This guy...he's good. Look at him.


At the end of it all, our yard looked like this:

And here's a peak at part of that rotten Boo Radley knot. The tree was basically innard-less.

And they finished by sun down. Aren't they great?

The Special World of Homeschoolers

Somewhat recently I was introduced to a board game called Generosity. Making it's debut in 1985 it is "an exciting, action-filled game uniquely designed to reinforce Christian values through real-life situational play. A thrilling challenge for the whole family."

Essentially, it is the Christian version of the slightly more popular "Life" game.

You go about pro-creating like mad and (hopefully) doing good deeds so that you can store your treasures up in Heaven (once described by my brother as an "Heavenly 401(k)")

This game is, in a word, hilarious. And though good deeds are nothing to laugh at, it's impossible to not enjoy a bit of irreverent behavior while playing this game. How could you take it seriously when you land on spaces like the ones below?

If you would like to learn the fascinating rules of this game, go here. It might just make your day. :)

And though I personally never played this game while being homeschooled, I did challenge my siblings to other intense, morally friendly games.

My Guy...

Is working out of town today. He got up early to drive down to the lowest depths of Missouri.

This morning before work I received this text from him:
"Just stopped at our first honeymoon lie!"

Ah, memories. :)

More Trip Pics

We spent one of our days here on our trip east. It was a really cool experience. Unfortunately, it was a gloomy, drizzly day. This made it hard to take pictures outside, and it also made the stained glass inside less glorious. Still, it was a sight to behold.

Here is a shot Jono took as we descended to the parking garage. He had a little cover, but you can see by the rain drops on the lens that it wasn't easy. He was trying so hard to get a good shot of the outside. Stupid rain.

Everything was amazingly detailed. It's a huge work of art that has been many decades in the making. They still aren't finished.

Here's another rainy shot. I suppose the gothic architecture along with the gloomy day makes some kind of somber statement. Unfortunately, our photography "skills" just didn't do it justice.

Here is one of my many attempts to photograph a stained glass window. Some turned out better than others. This window in particular was one of my favorites. Apparently that small circle in the middle is a moon rock.

I'd like to think my pictures would turn out better had the sun been shining brightly outside. I can pretend, can't I?

Here's the entry into the main room.

One of the many, many, many rooms. Perhaps too orange-y. I really need to learn more about my camera...

This was up in the observation tower. It was fun to look down on all the beautiful trees and gardens. Too bad the pictures didn't work.

We have tons more pictures, but I can't imagine you'd want to go through that many. It could potentially be like those situations where your great aunt Myrtle went to the Precious Moments Chapel and wants you to sit for 5 hours through her amazing slides.

*shiver*

Not Cool!

No, I'm not talking about me.

I'm talking about the guy who rear-ended me yesterday as I was waiting to turn left at a light and then promptly drove away.

My sweet little car, not even two months mine, needs a bumper replaced. Arg. Why are people such *insert strong language of choice*?

There were several witnesses, though. One couple pulled over and gave me the plate number and make and model of the car. Another lady followed him and called it in on her cell phone, then turned around to come tell me.

The bright side (if you wanted to force me to search for silver lining in situation I prefer never happened) is that there was almost no damage to the actual body of the car. The back bumper is out a few inches from the body (see former beauty below).

So, it looks like I'll be replacing it myself because the police officer I spoke with is pretty sure the guy didn't have insurance.

Surprise.

I've had some bad luck lately. I'm seriously thinking of never driving again. Anyone know of a free chauffeur service (other than my mom)?

Day Trip To Gettysburg

Visiting my family in the east made for a wonderful weekend. Here are some more pictures from our trip to Gettysburg.

I love seeing so many leaves changing.

Here is another example of my brother entertaining himself. At least this time he's not eating anyone's brains.

Ah, the little things. :)

I Betray My Brother Once Again

My Normal Family

Recently we headed to the D.C. area to visit my family.

We did many things, and many pictures (to be posted soon) will prove that fact.

The morning after our arrival we set out for Gettysburg. Many of my family members, however, had been there already this past summer.

Perhaps that is why they came up with other ways to amuse themselves...

My brother, unfortunately, became a zombie during our excursion.

We had to call in the professionals...

Please Direct Your Attention...

...To The Poll On The Right.

This is something I have recently wondered more about, as Jono and I reached our 6 month anniversary yesterday.

People started talking to us about having kids long before we walked down the aisle. I was greeted at our reception with several "may you have many, many, many babies" comments.

I know that I am not alone in this. I am curious, though. Do you secretly expect some couples to start with the baby-making right away? Or do you feel like waiting is pretty normal? What (be honest, now!) comes to your mind when you meet a couple who has been married for over 5 years and has no kids?

Uh...hypothetically speaking, of course.

Please participate in my poll.