Wordless Wednesday

Backyard Remodel

When we bought our house, we knew the backyard needed a lot of work.

The grass was half dead. Most of the sprinklers didn't work. It was in bad shape. 

As you can see from the picture below, half of the yard was also covered in ugly rocks.

Our back cement wall was covered in some type of vine that was way beyond pruning. 

It took days to cut down and we ended up making multiple trips with a dump trailer to get rid of it. 

Some of the vines were so thick that we couldn't even ax through them.

The vines were a nightmare. 

I actually liked this ground cover, but it was also a little over grown and we ended up pulling it all out. 

After all the rocks got moved, Trevor started rota-tilling the ground. 

We put new sprinklers in and drain pipes (since our backyard floods easily).

Look at those BIG muscles!!!!

The majority of the summer the backyard was just dirt. Ruby was constantly dirty and it was sore sight. 

A few weeks ago we finally had a free weekend to put sod in! 

A group of Trevor's friends came over to help, and the job got done in no time! 

This summer we have had a few problems with Ruby destroying plants, so a dog kennel was a MUST!

Before....

After...

And here is the finished backyard! 

Lights that automatically come on at night. 

The backyard is much cooler now that there is grass and it just looks so much better. 

Ruby will be staying in the dog kennel until the grass is rooted. If we left her loose back there for even a couple hours the grass would be destroyed. 

We haven't planted much in the planters yet, I waiting till next spring to add lots of colorful flowers. 

It ended up being a lot of hard work, but it was totally worth it because it looks amazing. 

I'm so glad this project is finally done!

Sunday Snapshot "Deer Hunting"

This weekend we headed to the mountains to go deer hunting. 

It was the opening weekend and a lot of other people had the same idea as us which made the hunting conditions difficult. 

We woke up early early early, 4am early, Saturday morning, to get in place before the deer started wandering. We pretty much hiked straight up a mountain, at 10,000 ft elevation. My lungs were burning! I haven't had that kind of a workout in a long time. The hunting was great up on that mountain but the views sure were! We hiked about 8 miles Saturday. My legs are so sore!

We hiked up and down some steep terrain. 

Gotta wear hunter orange to stay safe! 

 Due to the hot summer we have had, no fires were allowed. 

When the sun went down, we went to bed, which means we went to bed at 7:30! 

Friday night, Trevor woke up in the middle of the night and didn't know what time it was but he was wide awake so he assumed it was time to get up. He got up, got dressed, and headed out into the dark (keep in mind we were planning on getting up at 4:00 am to go hunting). He got in the truck to check the time, and realized it was only 11:30pm. We all laughed about it the next morning :)

We found the perfect little campsite right next to the river. 

We threw a couple watermelons into the river to keep them ice cold. 

Trevor didn't get a deer this weekend, but we still had a great time. We will probably end up going back in a few weeks to try our luck again! 

rock the shot

This shot was taken the first week we got Ruby. I miss the puppy days when she was little enough to hold and snuggle. I miss how she was timid and never wanted to stray far from my side. 

All that has changed. 

She is now a wild puppy getting into mischief left and right. 

I will never get tired of looking at those puppy eyes though. 

Check out more pet photos at www.rocktheshotforum.com 

Sunday Snapshot "Eagle Meadows"

Last weekend we packed up the Rock Crawlers and head to the mountains to camp and four-wheel. 

We set up camp, cooked dinner, and enjoyed a nice fire. 

Sunday we got the toys ready and headed out on the trail. 

I love being in the mountains. So much beauty created by God. 

Winching the jeep so it doesn't roll over.

Ruby!

My Husband :)

Nobody rolled and nobody broke down so it was a great weekend! 

Monday we headed home dirty and in dire need of showers. 

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Favorite Photo Friday "Honeymoon"

For our honeymoon, Trevor and I decided to drive along the coast on the 101 back to California. 

We didn't have many plans other than stopping at the redwood forest.

It was actually really nice and relaxing. If we saw something interesting we would stop. We stopped a lot along the ocean just admiring the view. That part of the coast is really unique because there are lots of rocks jutting up from the ocean. 

Our first stop was Gold Beach, on the edge of the Oregon border. 

We went to a few of the tourist sites in town, ate some really yummy food, and then headed to the Redwood Forest which was a few hours away. 

I got to visit the Redwood Forest last summer too. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing all the tall beautiful trees. I think my favorite part is the way the light comes through the branches. 

Because it was so warm inland, the beach was really foggy. I might be strange, but I really like the fog. 

The cool weather was a nice change too. I think I'm ready for fall already :)

In Fort Bragg, we went exploring and found an old train yard. 

Overall, it was a really relaxing trip. It was fun to go exploring and not have to be anywhere at a certain time. We plan on going on a cruise for our real honeymoon sometime this winter. 

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