Tree removal gone bad!

So over the weekend, we had a huge branch (more than half the tree) fall partially  into the neighbors yard. It's the second branch this year. The first one fell and hit our shed, putting a few small holes in the side, and a pretty large hole in the roof. So anyhow, We tried calling the only affordable tree removal guy several times this week, with no luck. He finally returned our call this morning saying that he wouldn't be back in town for another week. Willie decided he could remove it himself. I, of course was skeptical, only because the branch was still connected to the tree, and if it fell while he was cutting it, it could do some major damage to the fence or even him. But because it was laying on top of 3 of the neighbors tree's, we were anxious to remove it, hoping they wouldn't also need replacing. So fast forward to where he had cut up all the tree that was in the neighbors yard and only the very largest part of the tree remained. He actually harnessed himself up in the tree in case he fell while cutting, I'm video taping, and the kids are watching from a safe distance. (I had to add that just in case any of you were wondering) Ok, so he starts to saw and it starts cracking and slowly, very slowly, falling strait down, kind of into a V shape since it is still attached. I'm thinking this is going well. Then things start to speed up a bit and I get this really nervous feeling. I start to move away a bit, all the while still trying to video tape. Then I her a big crack and jump into a big pile of branches and SLAM! The branch falls. It doesn't hit the fence, it hits the shed, and puts a pretty big hole right in the back. So the moral of the story is, just because you own a chain saw, doesn't mean you actually have permission to use it!!! 

The tree as we found it when we came home from vacation:

View of it still attached but barely:
Wow, can you believe it didn't crush the fence!
The Finished results:
But it could have been worse, right?

Entertainment for the day!

This is a little surprise I found on my desktop this morning, 

I had to share it-

Thanks Aspen for the entertainment!

Sacoya in New York

Today Sacoya flew all by herself to stay with her cousins in PA. She gets to spend the night and day tomorrow in the big Apple. She was way excited but cried cause she was so nervous to fly alone. What if I have to sit by some gross man she asked me? Luckily it turns out there was a another 14 year old girl flying alone and they put them together right in front, so it couldn't have been any better.

And to top it all off she got to meet the 2 Davids from American Idol. I thought she was going to pass out. She didn't even speak.
While we were in line for security, they escorted these two right in front of us. I asked if I could take a quick picture, which they were nice enough to do, to bad we only had a camera phone. We held up the line a bit and maybe annoyed some people, but it was worth it to see the smile on Sacoya's face. She immediately made it her screen saver.

A Tribute to our Girl!

Just wanted to share some memories of our Girl, Ginger. After much heart ache we have decided to send her to Heaven where she can be free of her suffering body. As sad as it is, we know she will be happy, she can run and play again.

This is my favorite picture of her as a new puppy, with Willie. No wonder we fell in love with her, she was so sweet.
This is her with Sacoya in the back of Willie's Land cruiser. She loved to get in the car and go. She would run and hike and bike twice as far as Willie, which anyone who knows how far Willie goes, knows that's a long way!!
Here she is modeling for Willie! j/k She was a great dog, even though she had some personality quirks like not liking kids. We sure are going to miss you Ginger, say Hi to Sammy for us.

A little scrapbooking

Finally made some cards with rub ons I ordered from Stampin Up! I love their stuff.

This is a page I made for my all about me album, it's the first page I've added in about 3 years!

Canyon's  birthday from last year. Can't believe he's almost eight.

A page I made for Sacoya, telling her she can always come to me and I hope we will always be friends.

more updates!

Here is Willie this morning, off on his 10 day cross country trip. He is super excited. His dad, two brothers and one of his sisters also went, I should have got a picture of them all. Have fun sweetie.
So last night I was making dinner for the kids so Willie and I could go out, and I pulled it out of the microwave and started to scoop some out, and the whole thing exploded. Glass went everywhere. I was so freaked out, guess it was time for a new dish. 
Here is my little stinker helping himself the the cereal, Ridge you keep mommy on her toes.

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth, not much going on today at the Holdman house, so I thought I would take some time and update the week:

Monday we floated the San Rafael river. It was about 17 miles and took all day, but it was lots of fun.
Willie with Aspen and Canyon, they started out in my canoe, but after about an hour of bumping into everything, they bailed out and went with dad.
This is Willies brother Richard, his wife Jodie, and their daughter Sierra. She loved it.
Me and Sacoya hanging out. She got stuck with me. We almost tipped a few times, but thank goodness we maneuvered out.

This was my first time down the river. It was fun but I'm glad it was only a class 1 cause I might have died otherwise.
Lunch break, me, Sacoya, Canyon, and Willies brother Treavor.

The kids found a mud hole, and it stunk so bad. Yuk, they didn't care though.