Yard work fun....

Back when we were young and dumb (aka, the year 2000) we put in a yard. I swore I would never be young and dumb enough again to do another yard.  And then I went and bought a new house that needed a yard.

What was I thinking????

Ok, so there are advantages.  If I do say so myself, I know my way around a sprinkler system.  I want nothing to do with the sprinkler heads or funny pipe, but everything that precedes it is my territory.  I can put together a manifold. I know how to connect into the main sprinkler line to the house.  Between us, Shane and I make a really good team where sprinklers are concerned.

So this is what we've been doing lately.

The front yard:

Another view. The sprinklers are done (thank heaven! I may know what to do, but it is exhausting actually doing it!)  We bought the rocks from another neighbor.  They turned out so awesome.  I can't wait to see grass growing up against them; they are so colorful and varied.

 

This is a view from the porch.  I like the little path we added on the side of the driveway.

Saturday we worked like house elves all day.  We tunneled under the front sidewalk so we could run the electrical wire to the sprinklers.  I dug out high places in the yard and used a landscape rake to even it out. Shane evened out the annoyingly slopey side yard.  And, we accomplished this fabulous little spot next to the porch.  We hadn't intended on doing this, but a stroke of inspiration on Friday night got us to buy some paver stones.  So, you take an area that looks like this:

add a hard working man:

and you get this:

Isn't it gorgeous?  I love it.  We need to buy a few more skinny bricks to fill in the edges.  But it looks so good!  Here's another view:

I want to put a statue or a potted plant or something to dress it up.  I almost bought a fountain, but I don't know when we would ever use it.

I think my kids are happy here.  I took these one night last week on the porch and loved how they turned out.

Thomas. His cowboy look kills me.  So handsome!

Benny is so happy...sometimes.

They love each other. Mostly, I mean. I don't know what Ben is doing with his leg, but whatever.