We have been working really, really hard on our yard for the past month and a half. While I enjoy yard work, the start-up stuff is not my favorite. Thankfully many hands make less work! Our kids are always (well usually)happy to help!
Having 1.6 acres is a lot different than a small town lot.
On 1.6 acres, we want trees. . . lots of trees.
So I agreed to do something I vowed I would NEVER, EVER do. I planted "sticks."
(Side story here: When I was in early elementary school, my parents bought 40 acres. It was a treeless pasture. It was to become home just as soon as they could afford to build a house on it. One of the first things they did was to plant a shelterbelt. My dad hyped the fact that we were getting trees, big time. I have rarely been as disappointed as I was when we arrived at the land to check out the trees. The "trees" my dad had raved about were nothing more than sticks. They were only about 18 inches high and had absolutely no leaves. I had the extreme (dis)pleasure of weeding those sticks for quite a few years. I did not enjoy them - at all. Thus I vowed to NEVER go near another stick when I was an adult.
I kept that vow for 38 years. I would have kept it forever, but my mother-in-law went to a tree sale. She bought all the trees on my list, BUT some were sticks. When Chad told me, I seriously had a stomach ache. For real. In the end, I agreed to plant them. And now, my children will be able to tell their children how awful growing sticks really is! Ha!
Actually, I decided that we may as well try them. They were super cheap.
Like father, like daughter I suppose.
Ugh!)
Brenna happily helped Chad plant the sticks.
Joshua joined in as well.
He is a great digger - not?!?
If you are going to plant sticks, you will also need to water them.
Good thing I have a lot of helpers.
Sierra makes me smile - always.
Here is Brenna standing next to a Maple stick.
Chad figures in 5 years it may be as tall as Joshua.
(thus my aversion to sticks)
We do have several full grown trees on our property, thank the Lord.
We also have a few mid-size trees, so it is not quite as pathetic as I am making it sound!
I admit, I am milking it.
After Chad hauled in and leveled the black dirt, he taught me to level pavers.
I spent a full day and a half laying a paver edging around the perimeter of the house.
Then Brenna and I FINALLY did something fun!
We went flower/plant shopping.
Brenna has a great eye for color and texture. She also loves to garden. So, I let her choose the perennials for our border. I can't wait to watch the plants grow and remember shopping and planting with my 10 year old Brenna girl. She positively glowed at the greenhouse. Touching this and that, putting plants side by side trying to decide what she liked. An artist in the making, she is.
After she finished helping me plant, she took the following photos of her work.
(OK so this one is really just a weed, but I love how she captured it on film.)
Blue Hydrangea - her favorite of the flowers she chose
Coneflower
Daisy
After the plants and grass seed were in place - it was time to run the sprinklers.
And run the sprinklers.
And run the sprinklers.
Chad and I wake up each morning and carefully count the number of blades of grass that have poked out of the dirt overnight. (That is only a slight exaggeration.) We have joked that sometimes hope is spelled g-r-a-s-s! Not weed, though grass! HA! (Can you tell we are parenting teens.)
We took a break from the toils of yard work to play on the evening of July 4.
(Sorry Gubs. I love this photo.)
Sister love.
Brenna Joy
This photo is SO Jay. It makes me laugh out loud.
It perfectly captures his subtle sense of humor.
Only 4 of our 5 were with us on the 4th.
That is new for me, but I suspect I better get used to it!
Brenna snapped this shot of Chad and I.
I think I told you she has an artistic eye. . .
One of Daddy's girls
Jamison was SO good with Joshua!
He coached him through firework safety.
And no one got hurt OR overly annoyed in the process.
He is such a good big brother.
JG was SO proud to be shooting off fireworks with the big kids!
Tom was quick to clean up with his high power vacuum!
(If we ever get grass and plants to grow, I may be a bit of a neat freak as well! There is no doubt his perfectly landscaped masterpiece is worth keeping clean.)
After the firecrackers were gone, Joshua played with Lucy while he waited for it to get dark.
Finally - the real show began.
I have extremely mixed feelings about fireworks. On one hand, I CAN NOT justify spending money on them when we could go to the Capitol and watch for free. It makes me nearly ill to watch money get blasted in this way. It is not something I grew up with. I do not personally enjoy lighting them off - and if it were up to me, we would never spend another dollar on them.
However, my kids had a blast. They would NOT have had nearly as much fun sitting at the Capitol. They would have been bored. They look forward to this night all year. Memory making is an important investment too.
In the end, I am undecided. For me alone, it is a gigantic waste of money. But is it for the rest of my family? THIS may be the topic of more than one family meeting this coming year.
On the 5th, Chad and Jay were at a jobsite by 7am. I headed outside to begin shoveling and wheel barrowing rock into my edging. It is NOT what I would call a fun day. It was also NOT relaxing. BUT I did get the job done. Actually, we got the job done. I hauled rock from 8 to 4. I was nearly ready to collapse when Chad and Jay got home from work. They helped me haul the last 5 loads. I have never been so thankful for their help. I think I hauled about 5 ton of rock all by myself. Each stone had to be shoveled into the wheelbarrow from a pile in the driveway. Then the load had to be wheeled around the house and dumped into the edging. Then it was leveled into place. Then the process was repeated. I am really glad it that Friday is over!
Saturday, Chad, Jay, and I made a permanent firepit. This was a FUN project. Partially because I love how it turned out and partially because I was surrounded by muscle!
Step 1. Level the spot
Step 2. Measure and mark the area. Chad used a laser for precise leveling.
Step 3. Stack the stones
Step 4. Edge out the fire area with pavers
Step 5. Fill it up with rock. This time, Jay and I took turns hauling and Chad used the tractor bucket where possible. This was WAY less physical then Friday!
Step 6. Take photos.
Eventually we will use rock and pavers to create a path from the firepit to the concrete patio. We will also plant grass all around the firepit. I am really happy with how it turned out!
Here is a fun view of my edging.
I piled up a totem of rocks just like we saw along the coast of Aruba when we were there a few years ago. Chad noticed it right away. Aruba. . . now that is a good memory!
Only one week after we planted them our sticks are coming to life.
After much work. . .
hope blooms.
