We have all been busy this July! There are tons of new pictures in the Gallery. Check out Dad’s new toy, Chris and Shanna’s new pooch, and pictures from the week of the Fourth.? We? also just got back from vacation in Port Aransas.

–Mitch and Lacey

In the past year, one of our oak trees in? the front yard had died and began to rot. The tree was right next to the house and the bark was starting to fall off, so we decided to do what any sensible person would do and call an arborist/tree trimmer. Four hundred dollars of an estimate later, I decided to stop by Home Depot and rent a chainsaw to do the job myself. Actually, there was no way I could have done it by myself. Luckily, the neighbors came out on Saturday morning to see what in the world I was doing with a chainsaw. They helped me trim some of the upper branches with a pole-chainsaw and then helped me rope the tree so that it would fall away from the house. Next I just cut a wedge in the bottom and somehow the tree managed to fall just right without taking down any other branches. Easy!