Mike's a Lumberjack and He's Okay...

As many trees as Mike has felled, he has earned an honorary flannel shirt and some suspenders. Not only has he managed to take down our evil arbor vitaes, but he has single handedly removed seven stumps in the yard as well as our juniper shrubs. Our front yard sure looks different now!! The truly mammoth stump weighed in excess of two hundred pounds. After contemplating a variety of incendiary devices, we finally managed to get the stump in the back of the Element to be delivered at its final resting place, where it will get the Fargo treatment.

As if that wasn't enough, Mike also single handedly installed the necessary plumbing to hook up our dishwasher. After only two minor instances of flooding (it was the valve's fault), we were fighting over who got to do the dishes. What a nice problem to have.

For those of you who are concerned that Mike hasn't had any assistance in the home improvement projects, do not fear. I've managed to frame all of the remaining artwork for our living room walls as well as the individual photographs we ordered from the wedding. I also planted some flowers over the weekend and hung our flower pots and fern outside. Thanks again to Dave S. for the beautiful fern-it looks fabulous out front.

Next on the list of projects is an enclosure for the dishwasher, finishing up the cabinet doors/drawers and painting the rest of the upstairs. Oh, and operation mole mayhem. Our little nocturnal friends will be given their their walking papers in a few hours. Fare thee well, our varmint sqautters. Bill Murray is such an inspiration.

Axel is growing like crazy and keeping us on our toes. He's learned to sit, stay, wait, heel and lie down. He also has mastered the art of chewing. Most toys with any type of stuffing or fur have a short shelf life here. We took Axel swimming yesterday for the first time. He jumped right in to the water to retrieve the balls, but promptly jumped back out. I'm sure the paddling around will follow soon enough.

St. Peter is beautiful in the spring time, and I can only imagine how wonderful this summer will be. Please come and visit soon.