Backyard Paradise...

Well, at least that's what we're working towards! With beautiful pink Azalea's, green Hasta's, tree's blooming, and other green bushes/plants blooming, our backyard is looking much brighter than what we've been looking at since we moved in! We got a hammock, a sandbox off of craigslist, set up the girls' picnic table on the deck, our patio set out on the patio, and our newest addition.....a SWINGSET!! Our sweet girls have waited a year and a half for a swingset since leaving our house in Knightdale, and what an awesome one they got! My cousin knew I was looking for one and asked her neighbor, whom she knew didnt use the one they had, and she said, "sure, we'll sell it to her!" A few great parts: 1) the owners have stained and sealed it each year to keep the wood looking great, 2) my uncle, who lives 8 miles from my cousin, offered to hook up his huge trailer to his truck and help Brian take it apart and drive it here from Lexington, 3) my aunt got to come along and visit with my mom who was here visiting (they havent seen each other in years!), 4)Brian had a few great friends come over and help him put it back together, and 5) it was ONLY $200!!! So, our backyard that has been bare, covered in leaves and acorns, no grass, and lots of dirt, is turning into a little piece of paradise for us all! There are several things that have to be done yet, like getting some truck loads of dirt in our back yard (which isnt easy to get to!) to build up the ground because the ground was not level and the swingset is now sitting on concrete stepping stones to make it level. We want to mulch in the entire backyard, especially the area where the swingset is, and I want to plant some flowers back in the back corner where the slide is for the girls! But, as I remind myself, I know this all takes time and cant happen in one weekend, especially when you have rain and thunderstorms off and on all weekend! So for now, we are thankful and loving how things are looking back there! We just keep pulling up baby oak trees that are rooting, picking up acorns, picking up sticks, need to spray weeds, power wash the patio and deck, and stain the deck! And, I've been working very hard pulling weeds in our front flower beds, trimming bushes, putting down new mulch, and hopefully Brian can spray the weeds in the front yard and put down some fertilizer to help the grass look a little healthier! Here are some pics of our exciting Saturday!

Here is the swingset arriving on my uncles trailor!