Friday, November 27, 2009

Paradise

This backyard has been a long time coming....and so has this post! Bart is such a hard worker and had the genius idea of getting a bunch of rock for free. We talked some people into delivering it for a very small fee and we set to work. I did help, but Bart did most of the work. For weeks and weeks we spent every available minute in the backyard. I mowed down the weeds that were literally as tall as me while Bart moved rock. We had to mine the rock from huge dirt piles (a small price if you get free rock) and it took forever. Once we mined it, then we prepped and moved it into place. This rock is what now makes up the border of our yard. Our landscaper drew us what I call my "30 year plan" for adding trees, shrubs, flowers, a real patio, a basketball area and so forth. For now, we have the bare minimum required, but it sure feels good. Definitely a long way to go. However, we were really lucky to have good friends and ward members who were willing to come REALLY early on a very busy Saturday in October to get the sod down. My Mom was also in town to help out with kids and such. My father-in-law helped by cutting the sod and ensuring we had done it correctly. Having done it now, I realize how funny the delivery guy was. I asked him for any tips and all he said was "Green side up, mam" It was that easy. Without further ado, our new backyard!
Standing on the left side of our house, looking back. Note the ornamental tree (Eastern Red Bud) and then further back is the new pine tree.

Standing on the opposite side of the yard. This has lots of tools in it, but you get a better idea for just how much rock we laid. And you can kinda see the new stairs Bart has so craftily built us.

Also on the right side of my house, this other spruce tree-Bakari Spruce. LOVE it!

After MANY long weeks of looking at our grass, waiting for the snow to melt and the muddy spots to firm up, we FINALLY got to go out and play. This is what we did:
A boy and his football now have a place to roam

We were all excited to try out the new slide and laughed pretty hard.
Note, Anna's eyes are not injuries, just her own eye makeup job.

More sliding

Anna practiced her spinning

Rachel finally ruled her own slide

It was a most FANTASTIC fall day to enjoy our backyard.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

That is so great! It sounds like you guys worked sooo hard! You must feel so proud! It looks great. We'll have to come and check it out in person...we still don't know if we can come home for Christmas or not.

Meredith Haag said...

Cute! I love the backyard it looks so awesome!
Hey, BTW wasn't that parade amazing?! It was like Boom lights and music like non utha'!!! LOL
I can't wait til this weekend for the real deal!

Mortensen Baby Farm said...

Lookin gooooood!

Jenny said...

Hopefully it doesn't snow too much or too soon so you can enjoy all your hard work! It feels great to have a project done like that.

The Grapers said...

Yeah, Braydon needed a bigger yard to play in!

Triple A said...

Wow looks awesome. Can you send me your address for Christmas cards. My email is kroge6@aol.com. Hope you are doing well.

Why we joined this bloggy-blog world!

We hope that we can keep in better contact with our friends and family, both near and far. Besides, it is easier to see pictures this way instead of emailing them! And did we mention we think our family is pretty cute, especially those kids of ours! Check back often and keep in touch!

About Me

I am a proud 32 year old woman (you know they say 30 is the new 20!) I am married to Bart, the love of my life, and we have three amazing kids, Jacob, 6 1/2, Anna,3 1/2, and Rachel 9 mos. We met in college in Utah and lived there for the first 6 years of our marriage. Then we followed Bart's career and moved out to the East Coast. We decided to follow it back to the west about a year ago and are adjusting to life in a new place. We are sure thankful for all that we have and hope to stay in better touch with friends and family alike with our blog!