Almost done...

Our back yard is almost finished, but I just couldn't wait any longer to post the "before and after" pictures. There is one tiny part left to do, and that's to put some pavers down in a couple of areas around the pool - places for chairs and maybe a patio table - but the other side of the yard is done!

Here is what the yard looked like before, maybe a couple of years ago. The previous owners decided to "landscape" by throwing down bermuda grass seed - ALL OVER THE YARD. For any of you familiar with bermuda grass, it's very difficult to get rid of. We starved it, weed sprayed it, and hacked it out of the ground for a little over a year. This picture is from February 2006. Christopher was helping Matt beat on the dead grass a little bit:

Fast forward a year to March 2007. The pool is done, the border for the grass got done, and then we laid sod and threw a few boulders down in the dirt around the lawn. This was just after the sod went down. These next few are composite pictures since we can't get a shot of the whole yard in one picture. The top view is to the east side of the pool, the bottom left view is west of the house, south of the pool, and the bottom right view is the east side of the house, south of the lawn.

Fast forward one more year to March of 2008. The plants are in! Trees, flowers, shrubs, except for the east side of the house, which really won't change much.

Tah dah!!! Just a few short months later, the gravel is in and everything looks much more finished. That big dirt patch just off the pool deck is where the pavers will go so that we can someday get a patio table and chairs. The actual patio is just too small to put anything on and still be able to walk on it. The pictures don't convey the actual changes very well, but it has been quite the process and a lot of work by Matt. If you want to see the real thing, come see us some time!

Texas trip

At the end of May we went to Texas to visit Melisa and Joshua and Amelia. We had a good time and we're grateful for their hospitality! They're also good tour guides.

We went to a snake farm. We actually got to touch the albino reticulated python (I think that's what these are) and I got to hold a ball python too. Too bad we had to fly home or we could have bought one for $40! :)

Then we went to San Antonio and toured the riverwalk and took the boat ride. That's us in the back of the boat. It was hot. And humid. Poor Christopher was just dripping sweat by the end of the ride and even passed up ice cream in favor of cold bottled water. Matt and his dad also explored The Alamo.

We got to go up to the lake house owned by Joshua's boss and the boys got the Sea Doo up and running. Matt went out first with his mom and Christopher.

After Matt & his dad flew back to AZ to go back to work, Grandma and I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese one morning while Melisa got some shopping done. They were both quite excited when Chuck E. came out to visit. Christopher had to show him his new cars.

A crib box makes for great play time. Amelia was quite content, in bunny ears and pajamas, to color in one of the boxes, while Christopher and Grandma had a fun time driving the other one on all sorts of errands.

1st year of "preschool" - Done!

We did a home-based preschool this past year with two other moms and we rotated which house the boys went to each week (2 days a week). We could hardly believe when it was done, but in May we ended the year. And we absolutely had to have a "graduation" party!

With cute hats.
And diplomas.
And pictures with the moms who taught these sweet boys at Joy School. Miss Karen and Decker are to my right in the blue shirts and Miss Nylene and Caleb are on the other side. It was a fun year for the boys and we're doing it again next year.