Backyard Dreaming

Many of our friends and family have never seen our backyard. I would actually venture to say that some didn't even know it existed. The reason for this outdoor mystery is because it's hidden and tucked away behind the addition on the back of our house. The poor yard has sat there neglected for YEARS- and for good reason. It's pretty tiny and is basically filled with weeds and some half-empty oil cans. For the longest time we just pretended like it didn't exist and assumed due to its size that it wouldn't be worth our time and money to put any effort into it.

But after ONLY a few years of grilling out in our driveway (and eating redneck style on our front porch), we started pondering if a backyard and patio was actually a possibility. Then came the entrance of a certain mobile little boy- and we quickly realized that it was becoming a necessity. There is only so much crawling in circles a 12 month old can do on an Astroturf (yes I said Astroturf) front porch before we ALL go insane... plus he currently has an affinity for stairs and railings so the safety factor came into play as well. Therefore, with summer looming, we decided to tackle the outdoor dungeon and make it our own. We have no plans to move anytime soon so we are going to make the best of it.  Max needs a yard and Mommy needs a patio for her Strawberitas. I'm not ashamed. So good.

Here are some lovely pictures from a few months ago. 

 

 

  

 

        

 

OK. So not awful, but not awesome. Upon further review during our walk through, we realized we had much more space than we thought. Go us! However, we had a lot of work to do....

First order of business was the removal of the giant tree to gain more yard space. The tree was nice, but it took up too much room and it prevented ANY sun from hitting the yard.

Then down with the fence! The picket fence looks like an easy removal right? Think again- the posts were buried a few feet down into the ground... firmly planted in concrete. I guess that is normal? We ended up getting a Bobcat because nobody has time to dig out fence posts one by one. 

 

After the fence was out, Nathan leveled out the ground. The Bobcat hardly fit.... but it was a big help.

Don't worry- this was just for a photo op. Max Weldy's first time in a Bobcat. Must. Document. Everything.

 

Not only did we need to level out the ground, but we had to dig some trenches for the drainage. Not very exciting, but very much needed.

 

We also tore out the overgrown bushes behind the addition- getting it ready for some nicer landscaping.

Once we got everything leveled and cleaned up, the space looked huge! We couldn't believe how much room we had. The hardest (and longest) part was definitely all of the prep work with the ground- but it was important to make sure everything was level since we are laying a patio and sod.

Max was especially excited and loved "helping" as much as he could.

The fence and patio pavers are the next step. I'll be back next week with another post. In the meantime here's a sneak peak. I'm in love!

 

-Tricia