Backyard Project - Weekend #1

We decided to do it finally, after 6 years of home ownership....re-doing the backyard.  Our goal was to do it before Anna was born so she could have a nice place to play but it never happened, so now our goal is before Little Law #2 is due and I think we'll get 90% by the end of June arrival. Anna is very excited, "flower beds and grass all over"

Backyard before: green, we thought kept telling ourselves it was grass when in fact it was was just hardy weeds that we kept mowing. LOTS of moles and up towards the top was purely sand.

Ugly walkway

 Greg rented a sod cutter to cut up the weeds so they were easy t o rake up. Dad, Greg and I raked and removed all debris all day. We also cut out all those lovely weeds that are growing there on the fence as well as the weeds over the back fence. 

Mom keeping Anna busy as the labor continues behind her. All things considered Anna was a great girl yesterday and took a 2 1/2 hour nap she was so tired. 

End of Day 1, backyard cleared.

Beginning of Day 2: Install irrigation, outline the flower beds, and do a final rake of the whole backyard to remove final weeds or whatever else we were growing back there. 

Next weekend: 5 pallets of Zoysia sod being delivered.  

Also to come, I'm in charge of a corner of our yard where I will put in a clothesline and sandbox for this summer. In actuality, I'll plan it and Greg will do most of the work since we're nearing 8 months pregnant! 

Squirt Bottle & Undies

Little Law

Little Law is growing nicely. Dr said all looks well, going back for our second ultrasound next week, will post pics then. As for now, he/she is kicking the crud out of me, scoots his/her tush right up against me and wiggles all around. Much more active than Anna was. Anna's names: for brother he will be "horsey" and for sister she will be "pig". Nice.

Spring Break

What an awesome spring break we had together as a family. Greg, Anna and I got to visit family and friends in many states and spend some quality time together just the 3 of us on our road trip.

Friday: Left for VA early early and arrrived at Aunt Gret's & Jenna's at 10 am. Good thing we got there early because Anna was not feeling well and we ended up taking her to a walk-in to get an antibitic. Way to start the vaca. Aim, Chris, Kona, Mom, Dad, Mitchell and Mindee all arrive shortly after and we had a great family night together. No pictures for Friday, but here is one of Anna after we told her to go get a shirt:

Saturday: After traveling 8 more hours in the car to LI, we finally arrived! Hooray! Nanny, Nonny and Aunt Kay were so excited! We enjoyed the afternoon together, had some delicious pizza and just hung out. Anna was super excited to see Snowy and have a dog to play with since we left Syd with Gram and Pop.

Sunday: Happy Easter! We woke up and had a big 'ol breakfast together and spend the morning together. After nap we went over to Aunt Anny's for an Easter Egg hunt and dinner. Anna was able to meet Aunt Anny, Uncle Bobby, Bryan and Linsday, and Matt and Susan. Anna liked watching Bryan and Matt skate board, sitting with Nonny. Seriously who's cuter than her? 

Monday: NYC time! Oh what fun! We went to Toys'R'us, lunch at Virgils, took a nap in the middle of the city, the Central Park Zoo, Disney store, cupcakes, carousel rides in Bryant Park, and got to ride "Thomas the train" twice! It was good to be back in the city. Wish we had more time to explore. 

Tuesday: In the morning we went to the famous duck pond that Daddy used to go to when he was little. Anna fed the ducks "french toast". Then Nanny and Nonny treated Anna to ice cream before dinner, what a lucky girl!, and enjoyed a nice dinner at home to end the day. 

Wednesday: We went to the mall and had lunch with Trevor, Colleen, thier son Graham and new daughter Reese. Great catching up with them while the kids played. After that, we drove out east to see the Lemmen and DeMasi family. Great times seeing everyone again. Miss it lots!

Thursday: Our last full day in NY so we spent the morning doing to the St. James General Store, drove up to the north shore beach near Greg's house, and the had more family over for dinner. Perfect way to end our trip. 

Friday: Since we were only driving to DC we decided to leave a bit later so we could have the morning to say goodbye. It was sad,  but also happy because Anna got to experience a great week with Nanny, Nonny and Aunt Kay at an age that hopefully she'll remember. For Greg and I it was a great week of relaxation, exactly what we needed. Anna will miss the stairs! 

We spent Friday night with Jon and Atlee in DC, great to catch up with them. Then we left bright and early on Saturday morning and were home safe and sound in Wilmington before lunch. On our way home it worked out perfectly to meet Aim and Chris for lunch right off 95, Anna was very surprised to see them! Mom and Dad brought over a delicious BBQ for us so we didn't have to cook and enjoyed some much needed Anna time. Couldn't have asked for a better spring break. Love to everyone we saw!