Our backyard

Okay, now it is time to play a little catch up.  If you may remember, we had our deck destroyed by the overhang roof.  This summer we were able to tear out the deck, and Brandon's parents came out for two weeks to help us do some work on the backyard.  (A big huge thank you to them.  Nothing would have happened without them.  I was pregnant and useless.)  I felt so bad though, it was so hot while they were here and working.  I did try and keep them hydrated. 

They started with our window well that was made of railroad ties and was rotting away.  They ripped out all the old ties, and then filled it with cement bricks. 

 This was the pile of wood that they pulled out of the window well. 

 They then pieced together the bricks in layers.  They definitely got their workout in; we had about 2.5 tons of brick which they loaded on the trailer, then took it off, then hauled it over and stacked it up.  Again, I was useless in that endeavor.  Though to clarify, Grandma didn't lift any bricks either, but she did help to level etc. 

 They made it so perfect, even our kids can climb up and out from the window if necessary. 

 They also ripped up all the nasty wood that was around our trampoline (which was loose and dangerous).  Grandpa even fixed one of the railroad ties that was rotting out under the trampoline.  (They line the edge- railroad ties must have been a big thing back when this house was built.  Wouldn't be my first choice...)  I wish I had gotten a picture of Brittany and Grandma holding up the trampoline while Grandpa worked underneath.  It was pretty awesome!  Poor Brittany didn't know what she was getting into when she came down to spend the day.

 And the final major improvement they helped us with was pouring a cement patio and walkway.  Brandon and Grandpa worked until 2am one night to finish up all the prep work, and then they had a truck come the next day to pour the cement.  They were very tired when that was all done.

 This was just after it had been pour and finished. 

 And this is the final product- the walkway.  Now we can go out to the garbage cans from one of our back doors. 

 And the patio.  It is a lot smaller than our deck was, and it makes the backyard seem so much bigger.  They did such a nice job on everything.  I love how it all turned out. 

We had planned on putting in sprinklers and planting grass, but when Rachel was born that changed our plans slightly.  So we will get to that next year.  I can deal with one more winter of muddy dog feet.  *sigh...
But we made so much progress this summer I can't complain at all!  And again, a big huge thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Garner for all their help.  Someday we will have an amazing backyard.