Landscaping!

I don't know if you remember what the yard looked like up until last week- it could be summed up in one word- sand! Besides the pool there wasn't much else. And even if we put some pots and such they were soon swallowed up in drifts of desert sands. It was lovely for the kids - they made piles of drippy castles and dumped buckets of golden sand into the pool...but the sand piles didn't end there. I have literally swept dust pans full of sand that have blown into my kitchen and hallways. A slight crack in the window lets in a thin layer of sand film. I feel like I spend half my day wiping things down.
Finally we received a decent bid for sprinklers, sod and shrubs. Quite affordable and really we don't have a large yard anyhow. Amazing thing: there was some money left over in the bid for some shade trees. We are now proud gardeners of 2 orange trees and two banana trees, not to mention some tomato plants, strawberries and peppers. I can't begin to tell you how good it felt to plant something! I think of all the things I miss the most, it's our garden - and the yard - and yes, even the mowing!

Sullivan, Grace and our friend Olivia goofing off in the backyard.

Our two banana trees.

Orange tree - in full bloom! Smells wonderful!

Sullivan and his designated dinosaur digging ground!

The kids in the front yard!