It’s a common spring site, dandelions. And no matter how hard you try, your lawn is bound to get them. But when you have kids, dandelions are an even more likely occurrence. Most kids like to blow dandelion seeds because it’s so much fun (you know you still want to). But my kids have a plan to get dandelions to take over the yard. I saw this plan in action this afternoon when the kids were out enjoying the sprinkler.

To accomplish this they first needed to obtain some dandelion seeds. So, naturally, they visited our neighbor’s yard, which has an abundance of dandelions, and brought them back into our yard.

Then they needed to get those seeds all over our backyard. So, upon returning with the dandelions, they realized that simply blowing the seeds into the air was not good enough to ensure a mass take over of our yard by the dandelions. So they decided to let the sprinkler shoot the dandelion seeds into our lawn.

This is the heart of their plan. They needed to evenly distribute and provide nourishment for these seeds. Our sprinkler, with its swirling columns of water, provided their best bet. You see, seeds need water to grow, and by allowing the sprinkler to shoot the seeds this accomplishes both even spreading and feeding at the same time. They were in effect saying, “Here little dandelion seeds, take these drops of water and go find a place of your own in this vast world we call our backyard. May these drops bury you deep into the soil where you may take root and grow strong. Be fruitful and multiply, making even more dandelions after your own kind.”

So, now I have well-watered dandelion seeds spread throughout my backyard. And thus I will have a mass take over of dandelions.

Not a bad time to clean the refrigerator

Over labor day I worked on planting bushes and Kevin surprised me one Saturday by spreading all the mulch.  I think it’s finally looking pretty good.

Here are some before and after pictures.

The front yard when we moved in:

The front yard this spring just after seeding:

Currently:

Close up of my cute plants

Back yard BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now we have moles!!!!!  Can you believe it! Can you see their runway?!

Here’s some pictures of the finished product… he did a great job!

One of our neighbors behind us (not the grumpy old man), came over last weekend and helped Kevin hang siding.  He came back the next day and wanted to take a picture of Ethan and Kevin in front of the shed.  Here’s how the picture turned out!  I LOVE IT!

(sorry the quality’s not that great… i had to scan it)

Our good friend Jens came over to help all day on Saturday and some Sunday afternoon!!  Thanks for all you help Jens!!

He ended up finishing all the siding and some of the trim on Monday.  Next weekend he’ll shingle the roof and hopefully we’ll be able to paint it. (Any suggestions on what to paint it?  Our house is white with green shutters and a green roof… what do you think about a green roof, light beige siding and white trim???)

My hubby workin’ hard!

Ethan was a big helper too (I’ll have more pictures of him later – had to get out the SLR for some better shots).

Pray for nice weather this coming weekend so we can get it all done.

Ethan loved all the action in our front yard. He would stand at the window and watch the big truck and backhoe tear up the driveway and yard. The workers enjoyed “showing off” for him too.

One of the guys (your typical, stereotype construction worker) decided to take a short cut and not help break up a larger piece of concrete to put in the backhoe to then transport to the dump truck… instead he decided he would use his own weight to balance it on the bucket while the driver of the backhoe would lift it to the dumptruck. They were successful in their endeavor until the guy was making his way down when the driver moved a gear and, “crunch”, his hand got smashed in the gears of the bucket! I was, of course, out taking pictures when it all happened and, ugh…. all I could think was “oh my gosh… it just cut off his hand!” Needless to say they all left and took him to the hospital, and the guy was back working in 3 hours! He ended up only breaking a finger. Such excitement!

Besides the “finger” incedent, everything was going great and on schedule until they started in on the stump. We were told in the beginning that they could pull out this monsterous tree stump no problem and that they would do it for no charge. We knew cottonwood trees were known for their massive root systems so we made sure it was ok with them to do it… they said ‘no problem’… boy were they kicking themselves when they started in on the whole process. It set them back a whole day just to get the stump out! At one point they had dug a trench all the way around the stump about 5-6′ deep and it wouldn’t even budge!!! They finally managed to pry it loose but not without a lot of frustration!

The pictures should tell the rest of the story… check out the album by clicking on the picture below.

driveway

BEFORE:

DURING:

Fire wood anyone???

AFTER:

There are still a few more smaller trees that need to come down but look… you can see our house!!!

Next is the driveway. We should have a new one by next week. Yay!!!

Gram and Gramp were pros at cleaning the windows which desperately needed it! Look at the difference from the top left window to the right in this picture!

Kevin’s parents joined in on the fun too… they came down from Detroit! Thanks!!!

Gotta love the church family. Jens and Melissa were gracious enough to help us AND our pastor (painting and moving the same time we were) all in one day. We love you guys!

Kris and Heather also joined us from Detroit. They never quit! They painted 3 rooms for us, in 2 they put 2nd coats on!!!! What a blessing they were to have help!

Mom and dad (not in the picture) were huge helps too! Working late into the night many times to help us get things done. And then the following weekend helping us move in! Always going above and beyond! We so appreciate and love you!

Even Ethan wanted to get in on the painting. He grabbed his paint brush and bucket and knew what to do by watching us over and over dip our brush into the bucket and paint on the wall.

But he soon needed a break!