we've got a new yard . . .

We've been busy.

When we moved into our house we decided to do one big project right away - the yard. We pretty much took everything out except the pool and the trees and started over. The removal included plants/shrubs/flowers/grass and thousands of small, ugly pink rocks. I never knew raking rocks would be such a workout. We raked rocks almost daily for over a month to get rid of all the rock that used to exist in our yard. This all began the day after we brought Ryan home from the hospital and ended on Saturday {although I still have a few finishing touches to do this week}. We hired Jose & his crew, who maintain my parent's yard, to help with the labor and the irrigation. My parents were also a huge help!

I haven't taken pictures of the finished product yet - but I had to write about the kids during this process.

ryan. What a trooper. During one of our 12-hour-workday-Saturdays he was so content in his swing or his chair outside. He moved around the yard with us and didn't make a peep all day. I made sure he was fed with a clean diaper and that was all he needed. He loves being outside.

ryan asleep in the garage.


my dad finally admitted that his knee still hurts post-surgery so he was put on kid duty a few times! One afternoon he took Nate to the park & to ride the carousel at The District.


nate. Give this kid a shovel and some dirt and he's happy. He LOVED having a yard full of dirt and rocks. He always asked to go outside and help. He spent hours and hours and hours outside with his gloves on and a rake in hand. I love that he enjoys working. He's going to be my yardwork buddy, for sure.



wes always makes it fun for nate!


Nate LOVES Jose. He's been "helping" him mow my parent's lawn for a year so he was thrilled when Jose came to our house, too.

We are excited to enjoy our yard this summer. Finished product photos coming soon!