The Dude's birthday and some minor tree trimming

It's been a good - but long - couple of days.

Yesterday was The Dude's birthday. We didn't have anything major planned, so he started the day off right - by taking a nap.

I spent most of the day preparing for dinner. He wanted homemade onion rings (*barf*) and cheesesteaks. So Daniel and I ran to the grocery store to get what we needed and then I started working on it. I really should have gotten pictures of the food, because it did come out really good - at least he told me that the onion rings were good - I didn't eat them. After supper we had the obligatory cake and ice cream - which I will admit was good!

The Dude's mother was trying to take his food....I think.

Anyway, we had a great day, but by the end of it, we were both beat. Our backs hurt and we were miserable. So we actually called it a night fairly early and he went home to get some rest.

Today was Alex's last day of school, so I had to get up early to get him there. Then Sarah had basketball practice so we had to run there. Then we ran all over the countryside to find her a new pair of sneakers, ate some lunch in between there, and then came back home.

Shortly after we got home, I heard a strange noise outside and saw movement out of the corner of my eye. The landlord was here with Maintenance Dude, and they had a gigantic lift and were going to trim some trees that were overhanging the house. I mentioned to the landlord that there was a lot of dead stuff in the trees out back, and "you know, since he's here with the lift anyway, maybe Maintenance Dude can take some of that dead stuff down too?" I showed the landlord exactly what I was talking about - the trees out back were a mess and have been ever since we moved into this house. He agreed with me and asked me if I'd be willing to get rid of the branches if Maintenance Dude cut them - I instantly jumped at the deal. It's worth my work getting rid of the branches if it means that all of that dead crap will stop falling out of the trees every time the wind blows.

So, my "project" for the next few days that I referred to on my facebook page is going to be cutting up all of the branches - which will become our summer's supply of firewood for camping at the lake!