Labor of Love

This summer our big project has been our backyard. It is huge to say the least and didn't have a sprinkling system, grass, or any resemblance of a "family back yard"

 It has been just a big weed patch for the last 4 years. We started by having a sprinkling system put in,

 We then had someone come up and scrape the existing weed patch clean and leveled out a few areas.

 We also had the tree trimmed up a little bit. I can finally walk down the sidewalk without being hit in the head by the branches.

 The biggest pain in my side when it comes to our yard has been a tree in our front yard that was causing some plumbing troubles. We cut down the tree last summer but we have tried everything to get the stump out. Finally when we had the back scraped we had him also remove the stump in the front.

 I was so glad to see this stump leave our yard.

 Thank heavens for Russell's family who came to help the day we seeded. It took Russ and his bro. to get the stump loaded away.

 here is what is left. I'm so glad to see it gone.

 After we got everything cleaned up we raked and leveled the dirt before laying the seed. This is a picture taken from our 2nd level, it is only half our backyard. Needless to say it has been a huge project.

 After we prepped the ground we laid the seed in 30+ mph winds. I think we picked the worst time. We got enough seed on the ground but I think a lot of it got blown away too. About 6 weeks later of careful watering, and avoiding contact with the new tender grass this is what we have... 

 A field full of partial grass and mostly weeds. No, it looks good; there are parts that need a little TLC this fall but as time goes on the backyard looks better and better. Can you find the kids?

 Peek-A-Boo!

The grass/weeds are so tall the kids get lost when they play in there. And now the fun part for Russ...

THE MOWING!

Thanks so much to all of those who have helped us put in our backyard this summer. It has been a big learning experience, and one I think we hope not to repeat too soon. Thanks to a loving husband, and hardworking children, the lawn  is coming along great.