A Really Great Monday

Today, David and I got to do something that we've been wanting to do for over a year now. We bought these beauties!

We had wanted to buy some in Atlanta, but at that time in our lives, realistically we knew we wouldn't have enough time to use them together. Arkansas is well known for the plethora of bike trails all over the state. We have access to one about 10 minutes from us that's right along the Arkansas River. I inherited my mom's craving for being near water, so I love that we are going to have another excuse to be close to it. 

When we got home with our new purchases, we were happily surprised to find a crew of men removing giant tree limbs from our backyard. We'd been waiting on pins and needles, not knowing when they'd be coming, for a giant dead tree to be removed from our backyard. The top of it had toppled over a couple days before Christmas during what I'm calling a "wind storm." Then, during Christmas there was a snow storm that knocked lots of other people's trees over. Lots of these other people (like my sweet grandparents up in Jacksonville) actually had trees and limbs fall on their house. So, those people, rightly so, received priority from the tree removal services. Finally, today, it was our turn!

It was pretty intense watching them work out the window of our office. I was trying to focus on returning emails for work, with Sperry by my feet attacking a raw hide bone I'd given him as a distraction from all the strangers in the backyard, while David provided me with tree removal commentary. 

"It's about to come down!" David told me.

 I stood up in front of the window, with hands on my cheeks and eyes wide open and exclaimed, "It's going to hit the neighbor's fence!"

David calmly replied, "No, it won't. And if it does, the tree service is insured."

Insured??? But there's still going to be a hole in the fence, and an angry neighbor for sure!

My hands slid closer to my lips, practically squeezing them into that smushed face look we'd make when we were kids, pretending our face had been stuck in a bus door.

I could hear the truck's engine and see the tree rocking... THUMP!!!!!

Seriously, it must have missed the fence by four inches. What skill! 

To give you some kind of idea of how big this tree was, here it is cut into smaller pieces in the front of our yard.

And here's the rest of it on the other side of our driveway...

So, once the crew was finished, we took our bikes for a test run around our neighborhood. (I might regret it tomorrow, because we're doing legs with our trainer!) It was so cold, and there are so many hills, but we had so much fun. And, it was really fun for me to see David enjoying his new bike so much. He loves cycling, but we've only ever rode together on St. Simon's Island, and it's flat there. Here, it's hilly! So, I'm huffing and puffing (and at one point walking my bike up a hill) while David's literally joy-riding. 

He's laughing looking back at me, "Lindz, what gear are you in? Turn it down!"

It was fun. : ) When we got back, we took Sperry into the backyard to get a good look at the cleared out space. 

David had bathed Sperry this morning. Our dog is literally a sponge. His fur absorbs water and he doesn't like water, so usually we splurge and pay PetSmart to bathe him.

Every time we notice something quirky about Sperry we say, "It's the poodle in him!" (If you don't know what I'm referring to, read this.) So, I wonder, does a poodle's fur absorb water?)

Nonetheless, David and I are checking out the back fence behind the swing set when I look up and see my two-minutes earlier clean dog literally ROLLING around in sawdust. 

"Sper-ry!"

Still on his back he craned his neck to look at me, and he looked like he was having the time of his life, wearing that dog smile he boasts so well.

...

1 happy husband + 2 new bikes + 1 dirty dog - 1 big dead tree = A really great Monday : )