Backyard Oasis

For the last couple of weeks we have been working on getting our backyard put in. It took about a week. We are so happy to have a beautiful and green yard to spend time together in. When we first moved in the backyard resembled the planet Mars. We were almost a little scared to go back there since there were red ants, broken glass, and all kinds of spiders. Here are the before pictures:

Our nice dirt patch

This is a really tacky homemade cement fountain being removed from the back corner

We can't walk on the grass yet, but we can walk around it and smell it and look at it, which is good enough for now. I planted a garden this week so we are excited to see that grow in as well. One day when we have a little more cash we'll plant trees and shrubs, but we are just so thrilled to have grass for now. Here is how it looks back there now:

Our House, In the Middle of Our Street

The kitchen

The front room (we'll actually have furniture in it tomorrow!)

The backyard. This will be our project for the next several months.

A view of the cul-de-sac we live on (you can see our car on the right)

The front of the house. Yeah! The front yard needs a little work.

Ben's office

Tommy contemplating escrow

We moved into our new home about 10 days ago and we love it! The house is beautiful. Ben has been working hard to fix the things that were broken (two toilets, the garage door, the dishwasher, and the washer and dryer so far) while Crystal has been working hard to unpack and clean. Tommy has been working hard to learn how to make new sounds, grow front teeth, and roll over. We've been busy!! We love Goodyear so far and we feel like this is right where we need to be for now. Our neighborhood is quiet and beautiful with a park in the middle where we go walk almost every day. We feel extremely lucky and blessed to be living in such a nice place. Our ward is full of young families so it looks like Tommy will grow up with lots of little friends.

Tommy's Many Faces

Lately Tommy loves diaper changes and baths a whole lot. He gives us the most smiles during those times. He also thinks his thumb tastes really good. Tommy is growing up so fast we can hardly believe it. He is already starting to get his little hands on everything he can reach. We are so scared for when this kid becomes mobile!

In other news, we are moving into our house next week! We can hardly wait! We'll be posting pictures of the house soon.