Enjoying the Backyard

We moved into our house the end of January and after being vacant for over a year you can only imagine what the backyard looked like. A JUNGLE. The weeds were so bad that after calling in a landscaper it was determined that nothing could save our grass or rocks. They were too weed infested and if we didn't just get rid of them and start over we'd always be fighting a weed problem. Just what we always wanted. So we decided to take it all out and start over. WOW what a process that was!!!

A month ago or so we finally finished. (Although we still have lots of planting to do.) Its been so nice to start using the backyard in the evening when it cools down a bit. We have a mister system in our swing set, a fountain, and a water hose that all help us stay cool while hanging out in the hot Arizona summer evenings.

A few days ago we had a great time playing in the backyard. Here are some fun photos from that night.

What kids doesn't like spraying their friends with a water hose!! We have water guns on the swing set so Jarom is spraying back with the hose.
Here is Hyrum cruising around our backyard track with a wiggle car. Last Christmas I found these cars on ebay. I was remembered having something like it growing up and LOVED them. Of course these are the new and improved versions, but they are basically the same. I wasn't sure how the kids would like them, but they were the best gift they got for Christmas. They played with them non-stop. WOO-HOO! I always love it when I make a good gift purchase. I am terrible at buying people gifts. I never know what to get.

We love love love our sunken tramp with basketball hoop. The kids are on it constantly (even Brea). All the neighborhood kids love it too. That was definitly money well spent.
Here is another picture of the kids riding bikes in the backyard. I LOVE that they can do that. There aren't any cars that can hit them in the backyard.

Did I mention we have a fountain in our backyard?!!! I have always wanted a safe water feature the kids can play in, and I finally have one. I love this fountain. Its right by our backyard couch and chair so I can sit next to it, enjoy the water sounds, and watch the kids play in it. We are still trying to figure out how to take care of it though. Last week Scott ordered some stuff to put in the fountain that is suppose to help keep the water clean. YEA!!! I hope it works.
Here's Brea getting in on the backyard fun. This was the first time she was able to sit on the wiggle car without falling off. She really likes being outside. She especially loves playing in the sprinklers. She doesn't mind getting sprayed. What a cutie.
Well despite all our efforts we have found three weeds in our raised planters. I am still at a loss for how we are getting weeds in topsoil that our landscaper brought in to fill the planters. Oh well! Anyway we kind of forgot to pull the weed when it was little so a few nights ago Scott pulled it. Can you believe the size of that thing. WOW!! Now that's a weed. Scott was laughing all the way to the garbage can because it was so ridiculously big.