Backyard shenanigans

The munchkin and I just returned from trip to Kansas City.  It was really great to see my friends and (re)introduce them to our little sunshine.  But that is not the synopsis of this post.  My friends, it's time for a little bit of shameless husband bragging.  :)

This was our backyard.

Notice the giant pile of rocks right in the middle of the yard.  Yes, it's a "fire pit."  The former owners had two huge Adirondacks lounge chairs there too.  It might be nice for some, but for a couple with young children, it's an invitation for trouble.  #1: We are currently in the middle of a massive drought.  Therefore, we are under a burning ban.  Burning ban = no using backyard fire pit.  #2: In Texas, a small pile of logs is also known as a perfect hiding place for snakes.  Toddlers and snakes don't mix...in my opinion anyway.  Actually in my opinion snakes mix with nothing and should be blotted out from the earth.  But I digress...

Thus far in our excursion into home ownership, we haven't touched the yard.  I think we've mowed once, and I've been watering the fig and grapefruit trees, but other than that...nothing.  The reason: simple...it's summer in Texas.  Everything is dead.  We are in a severe drought and lawn watering is restricted.  Anything I plant will most likely die.  Therefore, we've decided to wait to plant new things until the fall.  However, there are still some projects that we can do now.   So, while Juliet and I were busy galavanting across parts of west-central Missouri, my amazing hubby went to work removing the "fire pit."  

He started by clearing all the rocks and wood.  He needed to buy a wheelbarrow for this because there were so many rocks.  Here's a photo of all the rocks he moved.

And the wood:

However, once he took away all the rocks and wood, he discovered why the previous homeowner put the fire pit there in the first place.  Hubster found FIVE stumps hidden beneath all the rocks and wood.  Needless to say, this required another trip to the hardware store, this time for stump-dissolver and an ax.  It's funny how guys go into the hardware store with one thing on the list and come out with something totally different and yet somehow, more expensive.  Any guesses as to what the hubby bought instead of the ax??  A chainsaw.  Well, in his defense, the ax was $30 and the chainsaw was $50.  I probably would have bought the chainsaw too.  

Hubster ended up ripping out all five stumps.  The job took him most of Saturday and all of Sunday afternoon.  He did have to borrow the neighbors ax to remove some roots and ended up breaking the ax, so he had to buy an ax afterall.  However, the money and his efforts were well worth it.  Here's the yard now.  

Ahhhh...much better.  Seriously ladies...you should be jealous.  My husband rocks...no pun intended!