The Yard... "After" photos!

It seems we're on a roll here. A sod roll that is.
The past week and a half have been dedicated to getting the yard done. The biggest holiday of the year is coming up and Isaiah's 2nd birthday is too.  This is definitely the biggest "room" at our house and with 2 little boys running around, one of the most important! Knowing that they'll be able to run around and expend all that energy safely while I can be inside with baby sister in the coming weeks WITHOUT having to go to the park or load up the stroller is a wonderful thought.

But lemme tell ya, this piece of ground was a BEAST.  This post is coming to you after many days and hours of blood, sweat, tears, cramps, blisters, sunburns and probably more than a couple cuss words mumbled under our breath. Just being real folks.  We even had a 14-year-old choose Geometry Homework on a Saturday over working another minute in the yard (he lasted about an hour).

A couple days ago as we were sweating out the remaining minutes of sunlight chipping away at the hard clay, pulling the roots of the razor-grass up by hand, Kaylee stated (with a scary amount of believability in her voice), "If anyone ever says anything negative about this yard, I'll make sure they regret it."


So you all just mull that over in your head as you look at these before and after pictures and think of exactly how to phrase your comments at the end.

BEFORE-ish: Before the yard work, we cleaned the wall. Can you see the difference between the section of wall on the left and the one on the right? Kaylee, Caleb (14-yr-old referenced earlier, who, it should be noted finished this job, in the rain!) and I bleached and scrubbed the wall clean. Inside and out. Looks great!

BEFORE: Razor grass. Lots and lots of razor grass. Can't walk through the yard at all because it hurts, razor grass.

DURING: So we started the task of pulling up the razor grass. Then we realized it's all connected underground by a very hearty root system that must be removed before sod can be put down. For all you experts, no Round-up was not an option as you have to have a commercial business and a permit to put it out here...trust me, digging by hand was not the first option.

DURING: So then came the task of digging up the rock hard clay and digging-up as many roots by hand as possible.  The nursery where we bought our grass could have done this for us but we just didn't have the $500 extra it'd take.

DURING: I like this picture. Not because of the poor lighting nor the side sweat on my belly, but because it helps capture just how HOT it was to do all this work. I labored for 36 hours with Isaac and didn't come out with a sunburn or blisters...this lasted longer, days and days longer and there were unfortunately no epidurals involved and in the end I was still pregnant.

DURING: This brightened our spirits a bit. Like green and clay Swiss Cake Rolls, the sod arrived last Saturday. Which started the countdown. It all had to be put down within 3 days or the sod would die.

DURING: Doesn't it look so nice going down? This was Saturday. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday all passed between this photo and the next...

DURING: Tuesday Night. 11pm. Finally done. This is how I found Kaylee when I came around the corner to go in the house.

DURING: I really kept waiting for her to announce "I did NOT sign up for THIS!!" every hour of the long process or simply come out of her room with her bags packed, or just be gone one morning with a note left behind. But she stayed til the bittersweet end.  She got a cramp in her entire right hand last night as she slept.  What a treasure she is!

AFTER: This morning the boys did this in the yard. Oh sweetness. This photo is what I had to conjure up in my brain during those hours of work. Knowing this would be the scene.

So. There it is. Who wants to come over for a BBQ?
 (...and for pictures of Isaac helping to plant those snazzy yellow flowers go see the boys' blog...)