Hard sweaty dirty work...

Gotta Love it!

This weekend we packed the kiddos in the van and headed over to the east side of WA. It' s about a 3 hour drive from the west side (nothing like Sues recent drive!) and it was absolutely gorgeous the whole way!! I was just in awe of the beauty in the mountains and the forresty smell in the air. We usually only make that drive in the winter for holidays and such, so it is usually packed with snow and ice and skiiers. I couldn't believe it was the same pass.......drop dead gorgeous!

We came over with the plan of helping Mom cut down dead tree branches and load up 20 plus years of pine needles that are lying there begging for a spark. (knock on wood) Also on the agenda were removing a washing machine that was older than me (WOW) and installing a new one and ripping apart an old deck. Throw in some Arbor vidas that needed a trim and call it a weekend! Except.......

Well, don't tell him I told you this, but the hubby got into it with the chain saw. No don't go there- all limbs are intact, but the darn thing just would not work correctly providing that it even would start at all. All of us with the manual labor loving hubbies know that a faulty machine can put a few stray cuss words and fying objects in the air! He did manage to accomplish A LOT in spite of the crappy saw.......and there is nothing more attractive to me than a hard working sweaty man.......

Ahem

For the purpose of your visual, let me explain that Mom has a small forest in her back yard. They are, well, some are gorgeous and are so tall your eyes get lost in the sky looking for the top. Some however have seen their share of better days and are eye sores. They are clustered together in a circle in the center of about 3/4 acre and always provided me a little hide away as a child. Still today, I love being lost in the middle of the trees remembering all the fun times spent there. This weekend was therapy for me in a way. Returning to a memory to help restore it's beauty. Even though we just barely made a dent.

To close out the weekend we picked apricots and visited with my grandmother. I haven't seen her in about 8 months, and I simply can not let it get that long again, especially with a big move pending...we did share a great conversation about her days in College.....I love those stories!

**Pictures pending blogger attitude adjustment***