Yard Project

Ok- so a little background on this post.  When we first moved into our house 3 years ago in April of 2005, our front yard had just recently been professionally landscaped by the previous owner.  She had done the back yard as well and with all that she did in front and back, she had spent thousands and thousands of dollars.  It was all very beautiful, but we did think it was odd that our front yard had no grass.  We were the only family that we knew that had no grass in front- just bushes, flowers, big, decorative landscaping rocks, and beauty bark.  We didn't think a whole lot of it then because it was very pretty when we moved in.  All of the bushes and flowers were new, so they were tiny, the beauty bark was new and fresh and there was no weeds or moss.  We would have preferred grass, but, again, it was pretty and we were just excited to be in our new house.  That summer, our yard maintenance was minimal- we probably had to weed our yard maybe 3 or 4 times for a few minutes each time.  There just isn't very many weeds that pop up in new landscaping with fresh bark.  Our neighbors always commented how lucky we were not to have grass to mow and how good we had it with our "easy" yard.  That first summer, we agreed.  It was easy- we hardly had to do a thing.  Still, as pretty as it was, it would have been nice to be able to use our front yard- the only place we could sit out front was on a big rock, and we couldn't really walk on all the landscaping.  But easy is easy, right?

So here are some pictures of our newly landscaped yard the day we moved in in 2005.  These are bad pictures (I had to scan them) but you can see how small all the plants are and how nicely groomed everything is.  No weeds and lots of space in between each plant/flower.

The first summer of up keeping our "easy" yard passed quickly.  Fall came after that first summer, which brought trimming and pruning for the winter.  The small bushes had grown a bit and it was quite a bit of work getting everything trimmed back down to size and ready for the winter.  The next summer, everything was not as easy as the first summer.  The plants all grew at a rapid rate- tall, wide and growing together.  The beauty bark started to disintegrate and disappear, moss started growing in its place and weeds started popping up all over the place.  Pruning and trimming that next fall was even worse and the next summer was the same- bigger, out of control plants that were no longer pretty, less bark, more moss, and tons of weeds.  We got behind on weeding and up keeping and our yard got away from us.  

Fast forward 3 years to the present.  Easy and pretty quickly changed into...... 

THIS!  I refer to our yard in this state as the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve got kicked out. "... cursed is the ground for thy sake... Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee..." (Genesis 3:17-18).   It once was pretty, but soon became cursed.  This picture above and the two below were taken at the beginning of May of this year.

This overgrown mass of green ugliness used to small, pretty plants that had distinct shape and size.  Now we can't even see past it to see our neighbors!

The weeds were many and tall!  We had Chloe stand next to this weed to show how tall it was.  Chloe is 40 inches, so this weed is at least that tall!

Embarrassingly enough, our yard was so overgrown and out of control, we had no idea that a bird had built a fine little nest into the ground in between 2 over grown bushes.  We stumbled upon it when we were weeding at the beginning of May.

Chloe is holding one of two bird eggs we found, and she cared for those eggs for the rest of the day like a little mother bird.  We put the nest and eggs in the house and she would run in and check on them every few minutes.

So, the first Saturday in May we decided to take care of our disgusting front yard once and for all.  We spent the entire morning and afternoon ripping out all the bushes and weeds.  We left just the pretty flowering plants and the big, decorative rocks.

Here is the progress we made that first day.  It looks a lot better, but we still have a long way to go.

Notice all the green moss and weeds..... yuck.  We were undecided if we would just rip out all the big plants, weed really well and then just lay new beauty bark, or rip EVERYTHING out and put in sod.  We debated and debated, then just decided to go for it all and put in sod, which is what we have desperately wanted anyway for the past 3 years.  Putting in new bark would have been the easiest and the cheapest.....  we had a lot of work ahead of us.

Notice in the pictures above the huge, decorative rocks.  There were about 10 of those in our front yard that we needed to get rid of.  Sounds easy, but it's not.  First of all, each of them weighs probably 300- 500 pounds each (too heavy to just pick up and throw away).  Secondly, even if we could pick them up somehow, we have no truck or any way to haul them away.  Even if we figured that out, the local dump does not allow rocks that heavy to be dumped, so we physically had no means of getting rid of these rocks ourselves.  We were stuck between a rock and a hard place, literally.  

I spent 3 days calling contractors and landscapers, trying to get bids on how much it would cost for someone to haul away the rocks for us.  I quickly became discouraged when everyone said prices like "$500 minimum" or "$1000" or $200 per rock" (are you kidding me?) and more outrageous bids like that.  We were hoping that we could find a landscaper that would jump at the change to come and get perfectly good landscaping rocks that they could reuse in their landscaping business, as these rocks are very expensive to buy.  We hoped they would see that us giving them the rocks would be such a great deal that they would not charge us at all.  Unfortunately, free wasn't going to happen, but we finally got lucky and came across a guy who said he'd take care of the rocks for $200 total.  We jumped on that- it was the cheapest bid we'd gotten by a wide margin.  He also had the equipment to haul away not only the rocks, but carry off all of the extra dirt that had been used in the landscaping process and level out our front yard to make the dirt even with our driveway, for a small fee more.  (If you can notice in the pictures above, the ground is lumpy and dirt is piled up much higher than the driveway. )  We were grateful for his abilities, as we didn't have the means to haul away the extra dirt, and it is very expensive to dump dirt as well.

After we finally got the big rocks hauled away, we still had to deal with all of the small rocks that were put in when the former owner landscaped .  She had lined all the driveway edges with rocks (you can see those in the very first pictures when we moved in) .  Not a big deal until we need them all out!  When my dad was down, he and Ben spent an entire afternoon shoveling rocks out of the yard.  This picture shows just one of many wheel barrow load of rocks that they hauled away that day.  Chloe and I also did our part.  Ben and Dad just worked the outside perimeter of the yard, but Chloe and I went out one afternoon and spent a few hours picking up all the rocks that had gotten moved to the middle of the yard when the guy came out and leveled it all.  Surprisingly, Chloe was a huge help and we got done twice as fast as if I had to do it by myself.  3 year olds are great, cheap labor!

So here is what the yard looked like after EVERYTHING was taken out of it, plants, big rocks, small rocks and all.  It is all ready for sod to be laid

We had sod delivered last Saturday morning.

Here is my sod laying man, laying the first piece of sod.

As soon as Chloe saw Ben laying the sod, she ran into the garage and found Ben's tape measurer.

She came back telling us that she need to measure everything and would do just that, announcing "Yep, 2 inches!"

And here, after 3 years of hassle with our yard and one long month of hard work to prep it, is our finished yard with sod, FINALLY!  

Here is the side view where all of the HUGE bushes used to be (if you scroll back up you can see them).  It looks so much nicer now.

We are so excited to finally have sod and to have a yard that will be easily manageable.  No more weeds, and no more pruning.  It is so refreshing to be able to walk outside and see grass rather than weeds as big as plants and plants bigger than our cars.  It was an unsettling, stressful feeling.  We are no longer the eye sore of the neighborhood, thank goodness (we felt so bad for our neighbors having to live next to this mess for so long).  Hooray for grass!  Our dream for 3 years.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  My dad came into town and we had such a great time with him.  He flew in Saturday morning and we put him to work right away..... we were getting our yard ready to put sod in and he willingly  helped pick up rocks and level things out.  We owe you big time, Dad! 

Papa brought Chloe a present (she loves presents....)- her own, big girl baseball glove!  You can't be a part of our family without your own baseball glove.  She looks so cute in it.

Saturday was a beautiful day, so we went to the elementary school park to try out Chloe's new glove.  Here she is batting with a little help from Papa.

I loved this picture.  She's giving outfield a try..... no ball will get past her and her cool new glove!

Well, the ball got hit past her and she's running to go get it....

She found the ball, and just like the major-leaguers, she threw her glove off and threw that ball in as fast and as hard as she could.

Dad and I got to play catch for quite some time.  I have so many wonderful baseball memories growing up, whether it was playing on a softball team, playing catch with Dad and my siblings, or playing a softball game in our backyard.  We are a baseball loving family and I love it.

Mitchell was our cheerleader on the sidelines at the park.

This was our first time going to the school park and Chloe loved it!  Never having been there before, we saw this really funny dog sign and had Daisy pose in front of it.  The funny part, if you can't read it is after calling attention to dog owners to pick up after their dog, it reads, "Attention Dogs: Grrr Ruff Ruff. Woof.  Good Dog."

The kids with Papa on Sunday morning, all ready for church.

On Memorial Day, we went into downtown where they have the annual Folklife Festival at the Seattle Center.  They had a bunch of street performers, dancers, random acts, information booths and everything else you can imagine.  They also had some kid rides and we let Chloe go on a few.  She was really excited to do it, but was acting grumpy about it.

Here she is on the car ride looking very grumpy......

A half smile......

Finally!  A big smile on the roller coaster with Dad (it took some convincing to get her to go on this ride).

Mitch spent most of the day in the backpack and loved looking at all the activities going on around him.

He was so exhausted and finally fell asleep sitting up, which looked so uncomfortable.

Ahhh... finally found a comfy spot.

And what would a visit from Papa Blakeslee be without going to a Mariner game??  I don't think Dad has ever come down during baseball season and NOT gone to a game with us.  It's something we always do when he is here and we love it.  Mariners played the Boston Red Socks, the Yanks biggest rivals.

We sat in Center Field close enough to the fence to home runs (we were soooo close to catching David Ortiz's home run.....)  Here's Chloe ready to catch a home run that comes her way.

Mitch was a good boy at the game- his first Mariner game!

He especially loves his front pack.

And REALLY loves his mommy.....

After the game we wanted to get a family picture, but Chloe was grumpy (again), and refused to be in the picture.  Oh well- it was 4 hours past her bedtime, so her crankiness was understandable.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend and loved having Dad visit.  Oh- and the Mariner's lost to the Red Socks the night we were there, but went on to beat them the next 2 nights.  Go figure.  We'll catch a winning game next time!

Tag Time

I've been tagged by a number of people lately, with 2 different tags.  Here goes:

Tag # 1

3 Joys:

1. My family

2. Sunshine and beautiful weather

3. Ice cream

3 Fears:

1. Spiders- have always been deathly afraid and I "fear" I always will be

2. That I'll get fat again

3. Losing a loved one unexpectedly

3 Goals:

1.  To keep a journal my whole life

2. To someday write/publish a children's book

3. To stay healthy and fit (see Fears)

3 Obsessions/collections: 

1. Ice cream (see Joys)- I'm definitely obsessed and often collect gallons at a time!

2. Keeping my house clean.

3. Making lists!  I make a list everyday of what I need to do that day, I make lists of what I want to do for the month, lists of things to buy, you name it.  I even add things to my lists that I forgot to write down just so I can check it off and know I accomplished it.  I am obsessed for sure.

3 Random Facts about me:

1.  I count stairs as I climb them (weird, I know and I count many other random things I see or do)

2.  I love plain white rice- I love it by itself, but could eat it with almost any meal as well.

3. I am big into hands and notice every one's hands.  I can't stand yucky fingernails or even weird or gross looking hands.  Luckily, Ben passed my hand test and has wonderful hands (whew).

Tag # 2

1. What was I doing 10 years ago:  Well, I was 14 years old, just finishing up 8th grade (OK, no cracks about my age anyone from my ward....).  I played city league softball that year (like all summers) and at the beginning of June during one of my games, playing 3rd base, I broke my ankle.  It was my first broken bone ever and it was bad!  I had to have surgery to put some screws in my leg (surgery later to remove them too) and I spent the entire summer (hot, Idaho summer) on crutches and in a cast.  I missed the rest of softball season, had to sit on the sidelines of my basketball camp and watch, couldn't go swimming when we went camping, couldn't play high school volleyball my freshman year and missed out on lots of other fun!  The perks- I got to quit my job of hoeing beets (worst job ever) and didn't have to help weed the family garden for the rest of the summer (second worst job ever).  Also- my mom felt so bad for me that I pretty much got whatever I asked for that summer.  It was the best.  

2.  What is on my to-do lift for today? (Ahhh, a list! My favorite!  See first Tag above....)  Exercise, pick up rocks from the dirt in the front lawn so we can lay sod tomorrow, order sod, blog, put laundry away (a never ending chore) and write in my journal.  

3.  What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire? Take a big trip with all my family, hire someone to clean my house for the rest of my life, blow a couple grand on a shopping spree, buy a bigger SUV, then give the rest to Ben to invest (that would totally make his day!)

4. 3 Bad habits: (Just 3?)  1: Constantly cleaning the house- I often find myself cleaning up toys while the kids are still playing with them (I'm getting better at just sitting back and letting them play and make a mess and then clean up at the end).  I clean all the time and it takes up a lot of my time and my kids often suffer, but I'm trying to be better and limit myself.  2: Not taking out the garbage- I let it pile up and pile up, then I push it down to make more room and then 9 times out of 10 I just wait for Ben to get home and make him do it.  Taking the garbage out is so easy, but I just don't do it.  Bad habit.  3: As much as I am obsessed with cleaning, I HATE putting clean laundry away and HATE doing dishes.  I let those 2 things pile up way too long until I just can't stand it any longer.  I let the laundry pile up higher and longer than the dishes, though (probably because the laundry is hidden upstairs where no one can see and it doesn't get smelly if it's been too long....)

5. Places I've lived: Salt Lake City, UT (born there), Burley, Idaho for the majority of my childhood, Logan, UT (college), Kent, WA and currently Auburn, WA.

6. Places I have worked: Only 1 Dollar (Dollar store in Burley), hoed beets for a local farmer, BABA (Burley Amateur Baseball Association) at the Concession stands, BABA as an Umpire for softball.

7. Things people don't know about me:  Well, I admitted to some pretty random facts in my earlier tag above, but I guess one more is that I have an impeccable memory for dates and details.  One of my goals is to keep a journal for my whole life (I started around age 7 or so) but have had periods where I go months without keeping one (or I've lost portions of my journal on the computer when the hard drive crashed), but I always go back and write for those months and I can remember months and years ago what I did on that date and how I felt.  I also can remember people's birthdays really well and still remember random people's birthdays from high school or my past that I no longer see or keep in touch with.  This also goes for anniversaries and other random dates. I can also remember what I was wearing (exact outfit, color and all) on certain dates when there is no photographs to remind me and can be called upon to recall a date of the day someone said something or of an unrecorded event.  It's kind of crazy really but comes in handy quite often.  

Another thing, which can also be one of my bad habits, is I'm a big over reactor.  I'm sure it annoys my poor husband and brings more drama into our lives then is needed.

And one last thing- I write A LOT and can't seem to stop.  Thus the obsessive journal keeping and the LENGTH OF THIS BLOG.  I apologize.  

Disclaimer: And just because I have mentioned several times that I am obsessed with cleaning does NOT mean that my house is clean and perfect.  It's far from that, which is why I'm always cleaning it....

The only person I tag on this is Amanda, because she just started a blog and needs stuff to put on it!! :) ha ha

No More Pups!

I've been waiting almost 12 weeks to say this- all of our pups are gone, finally!  We just sold our last puppy on Monday and we now have none.  We sent 12 pups to 12 great homes in just under 12 weeks.  We were hoping to do it all in 8 weeks or so, but it didn't quite happen.  Oh well.  It was another fun experience, but we are glad to have them gone (especially once they start chewing everything, digging and ripping up my yard!)  

Chloe has absolutely loved every minute of it.  With our last litter last summer, she didn't have a preference for which one she held and never picked a favorite.  But this litter, as soon as the pups were old enough to get out of their box and walk around, she picked a favorite- she loved the little black runt and called her "Little baby girl."  She could pick out that pup with her eyes closed, even when all 12 were bunched up together.  Every time I would go outside to see what she was up to, Chloe would be hauling around her little baby girl like a baby doll.  She loved all of them, but had a special sweet spot for the darling little runt. 

Ironically enough, the couple that bought Chloe's Little Baby Girl runt pup named the dog..... Chloe!  We just got an email from them saying that they named the puppy Chloe after our Chloe because they knew that the pup was her favorite one and they loved the name and wanted to name Chloe's favorite one after her.  How sweet!  Chloe was so excited to hear that. 

Here are some pics of the kids with the pups over the last few weeks.

Here was my attempt to get both of the kids with all 12 pups.... pretty hard to do.  It's like trying to get 12 one year olds to sit still for a picture at the same time (impossible).  So, in order to do this, I put Chloe in the welping box, put Mitch on her lap, then piled all the pups in around them.

It worked OK for a minute, until Mitchell started to get cranky.  Upon further inspection, I realized the pups were nipping at his feet.  By the time I got to him, one of the pups had his whole foot in their mouth.  Oops........ Poor Mitch, bad mom......

Mitchell didn't know quite what to think of the pups, but they loved him!

Puppies are like kids...... the cutest when they are sleeping!!

Here is Chloe with her favorite pup- "Little baby girl."  They were inseparable!

Chloe with one of the chocolate pups.  Our last litter was all chocolate, so we thought she'd like the chocolate ones best this time.

I came out to find her in the dog house one day, holding her Little Baby Girl.  Chloe was the biggest helper with the puppies- she probably did more work than I did with them!  She probably would have slept outside with them if we would have let her.

  So far, she hasn't been too sad that they are all gone, although after the last one went to its new home, she turned to me and said, "Daisy needs to have some more pups, like in 2 weeks!"  I told her definitely not, to which she replied, "Well, I'm going to have a baby.... a baby girl, in 2 weeks!"  Better her than me, I guess.

No more pups here for awhile and I'll keep you posted on the baby girl in 2 weeks..... :)

Computer Fun

We just recently bought a new computer, which was long over due.  We bought our first computer right after we got married (almost 5 years ago) and have had the same computer ever since.  It was a great computer for the first 4 years, but recently has had a mind of its own.  It freezes up multiple times each day, will randomly shut its self off in the middle of something (usually something important that wasn't saved), and will even start printing something that I did not tell it to print.  Sitting down to use the computer was kind of like a game- when is it going to shut off this time?  Will this email I'm reading suddenly print itself?  Do I have enough time to write this blog before the computer freezes??  What new clicking noises will I hear this time? (Name that tune, with a twist).  An adrenaline rush, but usually with a frustrating ending.

Ben was in charge of picking out the new computer since he has the knowledge on what's good and what we need (a lot of computer lingo is lost on me).  He takes his job of finding new electronics seriously, and he debated for a few months on whether to go with another PC or to live on the edge and go with a Mac.  At first, I voted for a PC, not wanting to have to relearn how to use a different kind of computer (the Mac).  Ben assured me that albeit slightly different, the Mac would not be hard to learn to use and really was not that different from a PC. We finally decided and bought the iMac 2 weeks ago and love it.  It is so nice to have a computer that runs fast again and that doesn't shut off spontaneously or mid type.  It has a lot of nice features and Chloe's favorite is the musical slide shows that it does of all our pictures we have stored.  She asks to watch a slide show each night before bed.

The thing I like most about it is, as you can see in the picture, the screen is all there is to it.  The actual computer is built in to the monitor- no big box to take up more room on the desk or floor.  And the flat screen panel saves room on the desk- our old dinosaur monitor was so huge that it took up all of our desk space, depth wise.  I think we are the only people who still had the old school monitors.....

Anyway- the old computer, although outdated and dying quickly, still has some use.....

My little computer Engineer loved playing with the old computer while I was on the new one the other day.  He found it fascinating and studied the keyboard and mouse with great care.  Just 7 months old and he already knows how to use the computer properly! 

Chloe came upstairs and found us both on the computer and said excitedly, "Look mom!  Mitchell is checking his email!"  

Only a phrase like that could come out of the mouth of a 3 year old living in this day and age....