What we've been doing this month!

This was a giant undertaking. I underestimated how much work this would be: or just plain had it all wrong. I thought certain things would be hard just to find that it was easy, and the things I thought would be a breeze were gruelling. Now I know. Here were our steps to make our new patio!

This was our messy and non-functioning backyard. The shrubs on the right covered our A/C unit. We moved them (easier than I thought) to continue a hedge down the side of the grass. Once we moved 5 shrubs, we removed all that grass. Then, we had 3 irrigation lines to either move or just cap off. This was all done in one weekend.

Our neighbor Benny came over the following weekend to help Dan make cuts in the concrete slab that came with the house (and was attached to the house). Once Benny helped Dan make the cuts, Dan spent ALL DAY with a chipping hammer to remove all that concrete. (this was horrible...and I was no help this weekend as I couldn't move a singe piece by myself)

Pavers delivered! And look at how thick that concrete was! Another neighbor, Matt, came over with his truck and helped Dan load all of it up. We got permission from the builders in our neighborhood to dump it in the construction dumpsters which saved us tons of time and lots of money. Thanks to yet another neighbor, David, for getting us that permission!

Dirt tamped, trees moved, concrete out. Ready for the sand!

Or I guess I should say, "ready for the landscape fabric".

Weekend 3: Isaac helps mama bring all 2 yards of sand from the driveway to the backyard.

Dan busy leveling and tamping the base sand.

Week 4: Pavers in place. This took both Dan and I working all day Sunday, plus me during the nap hours that following week, then Dan finishing it up the following Saturday morning. I totally underestimated how hard this part would be. But the more you spend making it perfect now the longer it will hold up, right? RIGHT!?

Finally. 4 weeks later, top sand in. Patio finished!

Now, of course, I'm in the market for a set of chairs! And my goal is to find a vine/trellis to pot around the A/C unit to cover it up.... With time it will be decorated and beautiful. I'm just so happy that after 4 years of talking about this job its done! And always nice to have the satisfaction of doing something yourself. :)