Proud - Our Backyard

This week, I had a goal - make the backyard safe for Aaron. Previously, this is what it looked like:

Those weeds are all pokey - the nasty ones that unless you have ridiculously thick leather gloves, you ain't pullin' 'em out of the ground. And by the time I tackled the project this week, they were all bigger. And our backyard, seriously, I don't know who designed it ... there is half a retaining wall in one spot with a 3 foot drop behind it, wooden beams in another, stepping stones, a brick path that goes no where ... I mean, really - whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

Our end goal is to have almost all of it level with the patio, a shed in the back corner, and a garden between the 2 retaining walls with everything but the garden being covered with grass... but this week, I just wanted Aaron to be able to go outside and play and not worry that he is going to throw his ball in the weeds and try to fish it out on his own.

So yesterday I planned to put in 30 minutes of yard work, but Aaron loved being outside so much and I was feeling good, so we ended up putting in 2 hours worth ... I had previously worked on pulling weeds, but it wasn't for long and the area I had worked in was already over grown by the time I got back to it. Mostly, the other times I have done yard work, it has been pulling the fabric stuff that is supposed to stop the weeds from growing out from under the rocks. Yesterday, I got most of the weeds, moved the wood beams, discovered more bricks under the wood and moved those, and racked/shoveled wood chips and rocks to the lower areas. When Eric got home, he pulled out the metal poles that were holding the wood beams in place.

Then today, I had simply planned to get rid of the rest of the weeds but again, I was feeling pretty good (sore from yesterday but well enough to keep working) and Aaron was having a blast (poor kid woke before 6 and his nap was less than an hour (part of which was on the couch), but he loves outside so much) and so I raked rocks from one side of the yard to the other - again to fill in the lower areas. I have decided, that was a bad idea - and I am borrowing a wheel barrel.

Here is what our backyard now looks like - still needs a TON of work, but we are well on our way!

I shocked myself when I realized that my week goal had been accomplished in 2 afternoons. SCORE! I was sooooooooooooooo proud that I decided we were going to eat dinner outside :-) I moved the kitchen table and chairs outside and we ate there. (after all the work I did, we had a very simple but delicious dinner)

Aaron is such a good helper when we are outside - making sure I don't have an ouchie, rushing over to, "help you!" as I am pulling fabric or pushing the trash can or shoveling... I plan to stop by the store this week and buy him a small shovel so he can feel like he is helping without getting frustrated with the big shovel.

I'm looking forward to when the yard is grass and not all dirt and rock - the outfit in this picture is the second outfit from today because he comes in so dirty ... or, as I'm working, he comes to me and says, "I eat it." I have told myself he is eating dirt ... and not bugs. Not much better, but for some reason, I feel better about it.