Day Six!

Edging went in today (that's the black ring up against the rock) and we leveled out the 30+ miniature dirt piles we created yesterday. That's Darren working hard to re-install the sprinkler line. Sod comes tomorrow and we're ready for it! If only it would stop raining right now... we wanted a little bit of water on the dirt to help level it but now we're afraid it's going to wash away!!!! Tomorrow I will be able to post the pics of our finished yard. Yay!

Day FIVE!

Though we had almost a two-week break between Day 4 and Day 5, this is the 5th day we've dedicated to landscaping our back yard. Started this morning around 9 and finished just as the winds started picking up and a storm threatened our giant hill of dirt. We began by removing the remainder of the existing sprinkler, raking out some old sod that remained, rototilling over the entire surface, building the retaining wall around the tree, and moving 6 cubic yards of topsoil from the driveway to the back. Whew! Tomorrow we'll level out the topsoil, replace the sprinkler line, and install the edging where the rock currently is (along the fence) and where the sod will meet it. Sod will be delivered on Monday!

Darren's Birthday

Poor kid apparently didn't take a nap; we drove about 25 minutes to have dinner with Darren's sister and Tevin fell asleep on the way! He hasn't fallen asleep in the car since he was 2. That's a sucker in his mouth...

Awake again at last, and enjoying chocolate cake with Daddy. Darren turned 39 this year!

Brynlee enjoyed the cake too!

Brynlee and Zoie. They are very close buddies despite not being able to see each other very often.

Tevin's Birthday Party

Daddy did a fantastic job on Tevin's Monster Truck cake! As you can see, it tasted as good as it looked! We had the party at my dad's house. We started outside but then had to move the festivities indoors as it began to pour! Grandpa's patio is covered but it was pretty chilly and a bit windy for the likes of our guests. Good thing Grandpa has a pretty big living room! Happy 4th Birthday Tev!

Day Four!

We finally sifted through all the rock! If my memory serves me right, we were able to fill 6 pickup loads full. At least that's how many people came by for our free rock on Friday, Saturday and Sunday! I thought the rototiller looked like fun but it is a heavy machine that requires some manhandling! Darren did a fantastic job. Throughout this week, we'll finish tilling and next weekend we'll have compost and sod delivered. We are really looking forward to enjoying the yard this summer!

Day Two!

Middle of Day 2! Thought we were through with pulling out the rock but OH WAS I WRONG! We borrowed an abandoned shopping cart (it was behind the gym) to use as our rock sifter. Darren's brilliant idea! We pulled out another 5 or so wheelbarrows full of rock and uncovered a sprinkler head buried under the sod. Since it had rained pretty heavy the night before, it took a lot longer to shovel and sift because each scoop was even heavier. Days 3 and 4 will be lumped together because Day 3 was a half day (I had a prior obligation at the gym for 9 hours) and we get the tiller for Day 4! Woo hoo, getting closer!

Day One

On Friday we began our 4-day mission to re-landscape the back yard! At 9 a.m. we began shoveling out rock, and by about 2 p.m., we had an enormous pile of it. The last three hours of work were spent sifting dirt out of the rest of the rock, as well as unearthing bricks and edging that had long been buried underneath the sod. Many surprises yesterday, that's for sure! Check back again later for Day Two!