Herpin Family: Bye-Bye Big Maple

The biggest event at our house last week was the removal of our giant maple tree. It was scheduled to be removed in the next few weeks but that all changed on Wednesday evening. When we arrived home Wednesday the wind was really blowing and we lost power. I stepped out onto the front porch to check to see if any other branches had fallen out of the tree. As I stood there a branch fell out and landed on our propane tank! Have mercy! I called the “tree guy” and told him that the tree needed to come down ASAP and I agreed to send him a fax first thing the next morning with my approval to start the work.
The following morning as Lin-Ley’s school bus left my cell phone rang. The tree company had a cancellation and could remove my tree that very morning. Wonderful!

BEFORE

AFTER

And a few in between:

They estimated the tree to be 150 years old.

The tap dancing began immediately!

As usual Tru only had one agenda. This new walking thing never gets old for him!

Friday was Family Day at Lin-Ley's school. They sang song, presented gifts, read from their journals, and recreated parts of their school days for us. To Lin-Ley the most important event were the snacks afterward! The powdered doughnuts were a huge hit with her and she kept a close eye on me to make sure I did not eat hers!

Lin-Ley and her teacher.

Lin-Ley’s Kindergarten class.

Time for some rest so we can get this 3-day weekend started.
Yes, the knot is still changing colors daily!

Some of our weekend activities were canceled due to the Memorial Day holiday. So other than gymnastics and swim class on Saturday we were free. What a treat! By the way Tru no longer hates swim class. He actually wants me to put him on the side of the pool so that he can jump (or scoot) in. Progress!

We spoke with Dallas a few times this weekend. He is doing well but said the heat is unreal. I think they had some down time this weekend and took the time to do some shopping and relax.

Lin-Ley did all of the shopping for Dallas’ Father’s Day gifts on Saturday. There were some interesting choices but she was proud of her purchases. Saturday and Sunday afternoon were lazily spent at home. So nice to have some down time with no scheduled activities planned!

For the first time in I can’t remember how long I did not have to set my alarm clock on Sunday night. Ahhhhh! But someone decided that 5:50AM was a good time to get the day started. Tru and I came downstairs for some cheerios and juice. Lin-Ley came down about an hour later. We were out-and-about by 9AM to run some errands. By 11:30 we were done and headed to Olive Garden – what a treat!
I ordered the kids both a bowl of spaghetti (their favorite) and soup and salad for myself. Tru kept pointing to the salad bowl and pulling on my arm. I gave him a crouton – no, tomato – no, olive, no. So finally I offered him a piece of lettuce. That was it. Who knew… Tru loves salad (or lettuce anyway). He literally ate half of the salad. He kept his hand on my wrist for the whole meal squeezing it when he wanted another bite of my salad.

After nap/rest time we went outside. I had been thinking about buying the kids a sand and water table. I knew Tru would love it and although Lin-Ley is almost six years old I thought she would as well. It was a big hit.