Let's get a little "dirt-y"...

The backyard is really coming along. Last Saturday we spent the day stacking bricks and filling them with gravel. Heath made a deal with the kids to come out and help and they all did wonderful. Even Emmett was helpful for a bit. Ben stuck in there for a full 3 hours, Connor and Dillon got off task more often but stayed outside for a lone time too. It was a great project for the family to work on together and now the kids can say they helped. And let me tell you - we both noticed when they were done and no longer had extra hands helping us. It made us both proud.

So here are some pictures of our progress.

 Bottom level stairs.

 10 pallets of bricks.

 Heath is laying the first level. Slow and tedious. You have to get the bricks level. This is what he spend the most time on. I hardly heard him swear at all.

Both levels up. Now just picture it with grass! We are ready to put the cap stones on. But first we have to finish the drainage system and  need some extra dirt to fill things in. Here comes the really dirty part...

 This pile of dirt needs to be moved from the street to the back yard. Don't get out the wheel barrows just yet.

 

We pulled out the big guns for this job. 3 dump trucks full of dirt require the help of a tractor. No, Heath is not driving. We were lucky to find a company that would bring out a bobcat and move the dirt for us (and it is worth every penny.)

So when Heath gets home today I'm ready to go out and get a little dirty. I am really looking forward to having a functional back yard.