These first pictures were taken when we bought the house. I don't know what this structure was supposed to be: planter box? fancy sandbox? homemade hot tub? It had water pipes running to it for whatever reason. It wasn't anything we would ever use, so we had it removed along with the horrible mosiac block patio and had a new concrete patio poured. That's Kyle digging in the dirt, in case you were wondering.
The fence was in pretty bad shape. It fell a few times when it got windy and was being held together by rope in a couple of spots. We removed the dead grape vine and the clothes line pole that was cemented into the ground. If I remember right, we found a few more cinder blocks buried in the backyard (there were at least 15 buried in the front yard).
And as beautiful as that brick pillar was, it also got ripped out.
These next pictures were taken a few years later. That big pile of trash is from the re-building of our patio, which partially collapsed in a big rain storm and then we discovered wasn't build correctly in the first place. The tree was mostly dead (and ugly), so we had it cut down.
This is the same photo, just a few years later. We put in a block wall and new gates (no we aren't building a separatist compound - that's they way they build fences that last here in AZ), we extended the brick patio to the back of the house and around to the cement patio, and we built a couple of garden boxes.
Here are some close ups of the garden taken today. We've planted tomatoes, corn, broccoli, yellow onions, jalepenos, carrots, green onions, and watermelon. We tried lettuce and peas, but the lettuce never came up at all, and they peas did great for a couple of weeks and then died. I guess it's the wrong season for those.
And thanks for a wonderful family in our ward whose kids have grown up, we got this awesome swing set for free. And we scored the table and chairs at a yard sale for $25.
The next step was installing the sprinkler system which Clint did with the help of his dad and brother.
Once that was complete, it was time for the sod to be delivered. Horray!
While Clint and his helpers laid the sod, I finished painting the back of the house.
And then it was all finished! I love my backyard!
But not as much as the kids do!
Okay, little side note here. That area that's still dirt will eventually be more cement patio. We decided it made more sense to connect the patio with the RV parking area, than to put grass there. And we're planning on planting a tree or two sometime in the future as well. So I guess technically the backyard isn't finished, but it's good enough for me.
One backyard...Five years in the making.
Then came the entertainment. This first song was so sweet. It made me tear up a bit. It's hard to understand the words, so I'm going to include them.
He really wanted the front seat, but a little girl beat us to it, so we decided the caboose was better anyway. 
Thanks for a great day Hayden!
