Backyard Work

Chris and I have been doing a TON of work on our backyard.  We started with the sprinkler system which was a disaster!  We discovered our trees were not getting watered properly and began investigating.  It ended up being a massive project.  The line was pinched in multiple spots by tree roots.  We rerouted the line and had to cut it and reconnect in multiple spots. We also re-stacked all the bricks around the tree because they were also messed up due to the tree roots.

Chris hard at work.  We found tons of bricks when we started to redo it.  There were many buried under ground.

Now it looks very nice and we planted lots of flowers and put mulch in the area.  I failed to mention we pulled out a vine in the back corner.  It was a scorpion hiding place and hard to maintain so we eliminated it and it just made the corner look cleaner.

tah-dah!

Chris and I decided to also lay some flagstone in between our grass and patio.  Previously it was rock with overgrown grass and it made me crazy.  We also figured we should extend it out beyond our patio so we could have  a spot for our firepit.  I recently fixed it up so it's a lot more colorful. 

We had to haul in some sand to lay the flagstone.  The kids were loving it. 

Especially this boy

We cleared out the rock and uprooted the grass to prepare the way for flagstone.

Everyone hard at work.

Kids helping haul sand out of the truck.

We also hauled in some dirt to help raise the level of the area adjacent the grass a little and make it more even.

Our willow tree decided to poop out on us which made it that much easier for us to get rid of it.  (We had already been discussing it because it is such a pain to maintain)  So I started chopping it down one day.

A couple days later my dad came by and got it to this point.  It hasn't moved since but we will finish getting it out soon.

Here is my hubby hard at work laying flagstone.

Where the fire pit will be

Patio to grass SO much better!

With all our extra bricks we made this little spot with a shrub and some flowers.  We also added some solar lights to it and the big one by the tree. It looks so nice at night.

This side of the house was a mess of rock, weeds, and leftover wood/bark from previous owners.  We cleared a path and are going to line it with these bricks.  They just have to be properly laid.

Fire pit area

Coming along!  I can't wait for it to be done.  Chris worked long and hard today hoping to finish before we had Sadie's birthday party here tonight.  He finished laying it but not leveling all of it.  I bet it will be done by tomorrow!

Working late hours one night.

Here is the pile from the willow and vine that was pulled.

We had the city come pick up the tree branches and other yard trash but we have to haul it out to the front yard.  As we were moving it all we came across some quail eggs!  We covered them back up with a few little branches in hopes they still hatch okay!

As you can see, we have been busy with projects and still have more!  Can't wait to complete our backyard the way we want it!!