Yard metamorphosis

So the reason I've been MIA so long- the yard.  We've tried to get some major work done this year, and with the help of a lot of family, it's coming together.  I was going to wait to post about this until it was all grown in and perfect, but I just can't wait anymore.  

Our house when we first moved in:

{Summer 2008}

A little red house, so so cute, but with some things that we wanted to change.

Goodbye huge tree that was wonderful in many ways but too close to the house and hello new windows:

{Spring 2009}

Goodbye to the curb that bisected the property:

{Spring 2010}

Goodbye grass (we had to take it out so we could level the yard and give the entire property a nice grade):

{Early summer 2010}

Not pictured: the ugliest non-lawn ever.  There's a gap in between these two pictures of about 4 months.  We spent the rest of our lawn budget on getting an air conditioning unit for the summer (so worth it), and so after the grass was removed, the weeds came up like crazy and everything was bumpy and awful.  It was the crappiest lawn ever.

It's flat!  (It mostly was, at least.  We still had to work on the grade in several places.  Oh, and we still have to fix the back.)

{Fall 2010}

A new sprinkler system as of this spring (this is where the process started feeling more constructive and less destructive):

{Spring 2011}

The last of the stump gone, a final grade, and grass seed!

{Spring 2011}

My picket fence.  I adore it.  Also, you can't tell in this picture, but there's a green tint on the dirt now that is actually the grass sprouting:

{Early summer 2011}

And finally, grass:

Coming in late summer 2011.

Still a lot to do.  The back has definitely suffered with all the focus on the front, but hopefully we'll be able to make some progress on it before winter.  Hopefully.  The biggest lesson I've learned from this is that everything yard-wise takes at least twice as long and costs twice as much. 

Other yard progress includes a vegetable garden, which I'm going to post about now.