A Busy June with Landscaping and Grant Writing

To say that my June 2014 was busy would be an understatement. I guess I could say the chaos started when we decided to completely renovate the backyard at the end of May. It's something we have wanted to do since we moved in three years ago, but other projects have taken priority. To keep it on the cheap (as we always try to do), we wanted to do the work ourselves. With a baby we knew it would be tough for Colin and I to do it ourselves, so we enlisted the help of my family.  My parents are extremely hard-working and they enjoy doing work outside. We confirmed that they were on board to help us with the project during Memorial Day week (during my dad's "vacation" to NC) and then I set out to try and have everything coordinated to ensure delivery when we would be ready.

This is what our backyard looked like on Friday May 23rd

With the help of a hydraulic tiller, it looked like this on Sunday May 25th 

After getting 13 cubic yards of soil, this is the yard on Monday, May 26th

And finally, after four adults spent a full day laying sod, 

this is the yard on Wednesday, May 28th

My brother ended up joining us that week for his "vacation" and we put him to work laying sod on Wednesday.  The four adults working in teams of two helped us get all four pallets down. It took three and a half pallets to cover the entire backyard and we got about half a pallet down in the front. We hadn't planned to do the entire front since our neighbors don't have great lawns, but I was able to negotiate more sod because we had a significant amount of pieces that came damaged. We used the bad pieces to patch some of the gaps or along the edges of the lawn and had to wait until mid-June to get another pallet and a half of sod, which now covers almost the entire front.  

With the added sod for the front lawn and a decision to build a below-ground fire pit and cement patio, the project went from a week-long project to a month-long project.  My dad was the champ for doing so much of the manual labor of blending the tilled and new topsoil and leveling it off. My brother was a trooper for laying sod while he wasn't feeling well. And my mom was so helpful in taking care of Rose so both Colin and I could help. Colin worked non-stop, tilling the entire yard and scooping out the area for the fire pit. I got to take a break from the physical labor to use the hydraulic equipment to level the tilled dirt and bring the topsoil to the backyard from the front.  I must have made about 40 trips back and forth with the machine. But, it was a lot easier than spreading the dirt! 

Colin and my dad break up tree roots and figure out how to make the fire pit

I get to level off the dirt with the hydraulic machine

A covered pallet sits in the front yard while we work in the back

The finished front yard

Two pallets of sod ready to be put down

Team Val and Nikki lay sod on one side of the yard

Team Mark and Colin lay sod on the second side of the yard

Once we got all the sod down, we all tried to relax a bit the rest of the week. After all, it was my last week working part time from home before going back to the office full time. Unfortunately for me, that last week of May was also when a federal grant was released - which meant the month of June would include writing a grant. At the beginning of the month it felt like I had lots of time. But by the end of the month, after countless meetings and what felt like endless writing, I was exhausted! It didn't help that most evenings and weekends I was chipping away at our morphed landscaping project.  Because of the additional sod we received mid-June and not having our reinforcements to help (except my mom to watch Rose), Colin and I spent an entire Saturday manually tilling soil, spreading topsoil, and laying sod.

Three cubic yards of soil and and extra pallet of sod for the front yard -
just a fraction of the entire landscaping project

The finished (unplanned) side yard

The fire-pit was a challenge because we had to dig a hole that would accommodate a large cubic cement base in an area with lots of tree roots. The hydraulic machine was extremely helpful, but my dad and Colin still had to dig a fair amount.  Once we had the pit down, the more tedious project of building a cement stone patio begin. We probably spent about 30 hours mixing concrete and filling molds during the month of June. That doesn't include the many trips to Lowe's to buy the 80lb bags! Some of the time has been done on weekends and a fair amount has been done week nights.  

Fire-pit in the ground and the beginnings of a cement patio

My dad and I filling cement patio molds

We finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on the patio and only have a few corner sections to complete and sand to fill between the molds. The space will certainly be used - especially when the weather cools down and the days are short (and mosquitoes are less prevalent). I am really looking forward to enjoying the fruit of our labor! I'm now in the market for a hammock since there is a perfect spot for it between the two trees where the patio and grass meet.

Patio mostly done
Perfect spot for a hammock between the trees to the right in this image

Patio close up

The grass (Zeon Zoysia) has been coming in beautifully, except for a few patches where we think Darwin has been peeing. We have some calls out to the professionals and are trying to re-train Darwin to pee off the grass. Thanks to my dad visiting again last week, we now also have a raised garden bed with some herbs planted. Hopefully it is not too late in the summer. 

The new lawn after a month and freshly made and planted raised garden bed

The lawn leading to the patio area

Thanks to beautiful weather the entire July 4th weekend, we all spent a lot of time out on the deck enjoying the yard (and a few hours trying to finish up the patio).  I see lots of playing in the yard and lounging on the patio in our future!  I cannot thank my family enough for all the help they have provided.