Yard Work!
So Mike has done A TON of work on the lawn. The HUGE accomplishments this summer have been laying sod in the front of the yard, planting a garden, and pulling out all the old deck stumps from the backyard. The picture on the left is what our front looked like before we laid sod. The people before us were really big into plants and flowers, and we pulled out lots of things last October to clean it out. Then this year we had quite a few bulbs bloom, which were pretty for a short while then we were just sick of looking at the weeds and mess. We definitely don't miss all the dirt and mud that it created. Laying sod is tough work, so we're grateful that Dan was able to come out and help. Mike had to fix and move sprinklers to accommodate the new grass, but it looks awesome!

It took a few days to get both sides done, so the grass was even worse shape, but when we went back to Home Depot for more they didn't have anything better, so we just hoped that it would grow healthy. This little section was actually more difficult than the long strip because it was a huge mound of dirt beforehand so Mike had to work hard to make it level. Then he was working in the dark because he wouldn't stop, but it turned out beautiful...or at least it became beautiful as we watered it and it gained life.


Carter was pretty cute about "helping" Mike. He wore himself out and while he took a nap all the neighbor kids came to our place to play with the balls in the pool. They had a riot even though it's just a kiddy pool.


This is the before and after of our front yard as the sod has gained its roots. We love it!
Another project Mike did was plant a garden...Christina wasn't as up for it since we were really late planting, but Mike was determined. So we went to Walmart one night and got some tomato plants, yellow and green squash zucchini, basil, cilantro, and red & yellow bell peppers. We have this corner in the back that is over grown with weeds and eventually we want it to be a nice large garden, but for our first attempt we just cleared out a small space to start. Carter of course loved helping his dad dig and water the plants.

We have a little tradition of checking on the garden practically every day and picking any raspberries that are ripe, and seeing how our garden is doing. Last night we just got back from a trip so we checked on things and we had some squash and zucchini that were ready to pick and tomatoes and peppers that are getting large and close to turning colors. So we cooked them up and they were a wonderful addition to our dinner.

So the last HUGE project happened while Christina's brother's where in town. The previous owners had put down 12 cement stumps and dug a handful of other holes for more stumps for a deck that never came to be. So when Mike was leveling the front yard for sod he filled in the gaping holes in the back. Then since the brothers brought huge trailers, Mike decided to pull all the stumps out with the Jeep. Then with the help of all the guys and a little hand truck they loaded the 500+ pound stumps onto the trailer so we could take them to the dump the next day. It is so nice to have them gone! We are hoping to build our own deck next summer so this makes that goal one step closer to reality.