Back that thing up...or don't.

As you last saw, well, you probably didn't see...in that case, scroll down. We last left you after clearing out the front of the house, like so:

 

Then we got excited and decided to start trimming trees. We also cleared out some kind of cedar-ish bushes (I'm a real horticulturist) and started trimming branches so our neighbors could have their mailbox back. Do we have ladders? No. Do we have long-handled clippers? No. So what do we do? Drive a truck over the curb and stand precariously on top to saw down tree branches. Safety first, kids!

 

We already had pile #1: 

 Men at work (Who Can It Be Now?...anyone? Colin Hay?) :

sidenote: Could my husband be losing weight ANY faster?! I could not be more proud of him...those clothes are going to fall off on their own soon! :) Love you, baby!

 Now we're making pile #2:

Here's my husband "flexing his muscles" while he's sawing a downed branch!

And, lest ye think I did nothing while the boys worked so hard, this is a "before" shot of what I was pruning. I only did a few azaleas today, due to the fact that I'm an idiot, didn't wear gloves, and got a huge blister. Disgusting. So...we're off to a good start...and yes, my paint skills are OFF THE HOOOOOK!!!!!!

...aaaaaand, after! Be gone deadness! I kept the bushes, even though you can't really tell. They were done blooming and Country Living told me that means it's the best time to prune...so I pruned like I've never pruned before. Next installment will be pruning all the bajillion other azaleas in the "woodsy" area.

You may be wondering why the title of this post is "Back that thing up"...no? Well, I'll tell you. Pile #1 is to the left of our driveway...which is directly behind my car if you are texting while backing up in the dark and forget to cut the wheel slightly to the right...and then, you back up into the GIANT PILE OF BRUSH AT THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY. Yup. He's proud to call me his, that husband of mine. I'm pretty impressive.

Thanks for checking back in!

love,

jess (&chris)