Okay friends. I’m about to show you our sanctuary, our little piece of paradise, our backyard!

Being from Wisconsin, I am used to homes being on big lots. I grew up on more than an acre and Joe grew up on FIVE acres! We got used to the small lots in AZ when it was just the two of us, but my heart broke thinking about our kiddos growing up without a REAL yard. A yard that they could have room to run. A yard with mature trees. A yard that makes you feel small.

It was always a dream of ours to have a big yard here in Arizona, but we put it on the “probably not gonna happen” shelf. But oh, how God provided! Our new house is just shy of a third of an acre. Granted that is not BIG compared to what we grew up on, it is HUGE for AZ standards. And that’s not all…it has mature trees! Citrus trees and desert trees and my favorite of all, the olive tree.

This yard is a dream come true for us. It was hand picked for us by God, we’re sure! It checks all of our boxes and more. When I see Bella running down our little grass hill giggling with delight and getting lost in adventure while searching for olives and oranges, my heart overflows. Thanks be to God for providing more than we could ask for!

Welcome to our yard!

Section 1: The Main Space

This is the area that we spend most of our time. It has plenty of room of run and it houses the swing set and our outdoor dining area.

Section 2: The Pool Area

Section 3: Our work in progress

Let me tell you a bit about what we’ve been doing on this section. It’s kind of a long story, but I like stories, don’t you?

So, the night before we moved in we were at the house painting and unpacking some small stuff when there was a HUGE thunderstorm. After the rain let up and we were getting ready to leave, we looked out in the backyard and saw that TWO of our big trees were knocked over. Seriously?? We hadn’t even moved in yet. Sad face :(.

But it wasn’t the end of the world. We had our great lawn crew remove the trees and we thought we were done.

WRONG!

We soon realized that the gravel/rocks were an invitation for our dogs to dig and roll around in the dirt. Not cool dogs, not cool!

So we came up with a new plan. Grass (and pavers)! Hooray!

It took a LOT longer than we thought, but it turned out great in the end. Below is a before and after.

And another B + A.

Last on the to-do list for this side is the playhouse. Oh, the plans I have for this!! But in the meantime, Bella sure loves it as is :)

And that, my friends, is our new yard. Thanks for stopping by!