Back yard, etc.

Adrian has owned/lived in this house since it was built in 2001, and I since we were engaged. It has only been since last weekend that the back yard is finally completed.

Two summers ago, we had the trees planted, grass laid down, planters built, etc. Last year, I was very pregnant and then had a newborn, so did not lift a trowel or pull a weed all summer (and neither did Adrian). So, with the help of three teenagers, we made the final push and laid down weedmat in the flower beds, prepared the vegetable garden, planted shrubs and flowers, mowed/edged the grass, shoveled in 4 cubic yards of mulch, and pulled enough weeds and collected enough yard debris to fill up a dumpster. Needless to say, we were all exhausted.

In addition to the better-than-minimum wage the teens earned, they also ate the equivalent of two full meals in the space of six hours, plus pop, plus tea, plus bottled water, plus a few bags of chips. And, on the way home, Adrian bought them all ice cream. If they had stayed any longer, we might have had to BBQ the dog.

I'm growing lettuce, tomatoes, two kinds of peppers, squash and garlic in the garden.

Max still thinks grass is alive and dangerous. So if I sit him on a blanket in the middle of the lawn with some toys, he is essentially marooned. He will NOT move past the edge of the blanket....so that way I can get some planting/weeding done nearby and know he is more or less in one spot. Unfortunately, some day soon he will figure out that the emperor has no clothes, and then I'll have to get the play pen out. I hate the play pen (baby jail), but I admit it is the only way to keep them safe and get anything done that requires two hands.