They even cleaned behind the shed

Holy crap. When J and I decided that THIS summer is the summer we are going to take care of our shambles of a backyard, we had no idea what we were getting into. We looked at our bank account, decided on a number we were okay with for the work, and then started discussing what we wanted done.

By discussing, I mean arguing.

It wasn't pretty, and it lasted a long time. The crazy thing is, once we backed off a little and looked at what the other was saying, we realized we wanted the same things, we just needed to negotiate the details. For example, we both wanted a fire pit - we just wanted it in different places in the yard. Why were we arguing over that? That seems so silly.

We finally agreed on what we were going to do. We had a plan, and, because THIS is the summer, I spent my first few days out of school on the phone. I called all sorts of people and scheduled all sorts of things. The problem with this, though, is that I had NO idea who to call. A few years ago we called a landscape company to come out and give us a bid on what we wanted done then, but he never followed through. And this was a guy who was a friend of a friend...if you can't trust someone you "know," who can you trust? We were pretty apprehensive.

Our parents don't live around here, so we couldn't call them for advice. When I opened the phone book, there were fifteen pages of companies under landscaping alone. I admit, I got really overwhelmed. Then I thought about my neighbor - she has someone come do her yard every week. I thought maybe she would have some ideas or advice. I went and looked up her phone number and called. It was a surprisingly pleasant call. You see, we are NOT very close to our neighbors at all. The people in our neighborhood are nice enough, but everyone keeps to themselves for the most part. I had only ever spoken to this lady one time about a month after we moved in. I know she and J had chatted a few times in the yard over the last few years, but we've lived here six years and I can count our conversations on one hand.

Anyway, Linda, my neighbor, said she loved Nacho, her yard guy. She told me that he mostly does lawn maintenance, but that he's been trying to talk her into letting him put sprinklers in her yard for awhile now. She suggested I call him and see what he thought. So I did.

He said he could come over that Friday when his crew was at Linda's house, and we could talk then. I agreed, hung up the phone, and had a mini-panic attack. This is pretty stressful - we're considering spending a lot of money, and there are no guarantees. This isn't like going to Wal-Mart, buying something and then returning it. This is the type of thing you just have to move forward with, and trust that you are making the right decisions.

Nacho came over on Friday, I walked him through the jungle we call our back yard, and told him what we wanted to do. He took notes and some measurements, and then told me he'd call me back with a quote. He said if we chose to use his company, that it was "a big yob, but we can do it in about a week."

That was music to my ears. My gut told me he was an honest type of fellow, and several people in our neighborhood have used his services regularly for a long time. When he came back with the quote, it was within the range J and I had agreed on, so I went ahead and told him we wanted him to do the work.

There were several things that had to happen, though, before Nacho and his crew could come work their magic on our yard. We had to take down the pool, pour a concrete pad, and have several limbs of our giant mulberry tree removed.

We called a concrete guy in to come give us a bid - $3100. We said, thanks, but no thanks. That's way out of our budget. Then we decided that this would be a DIY project, and J called his dad. His dad agreed to help us, so we just needed to get started.

We bribed one of J's friends with beer and grilled hamburgers to come over here and help take down and move the pool. Thank goodness for Sean - there's NO way I could have helped J pick that up and carry it clear across the yard to the shed.

Thanks to Dad H. and his three or four weekend trips over here, and a lot of hard work on his and J's part, the concrete is now finished. (And, FYI, we are now the proud owners of a portable concrete mixer...if you ever find yourself in need of one, come borrow it or make an offer...I may just sell it to you!)

While we were camping I had the tree service come take care of the trees. (I trusted them - we had used them once before a few years ago, and they were fantastic!)

Now it's time for Nacho to get started. His crew came Monday morning to do the clean up, and they are coming back Friday (tomorrow) to start digging up the old sprinklers and putting in new. Next week they'll finish the sprinklers and then lay new sod.

I was here while they were working, but I wasn't really paying attention to what they were doing. I assumed they would be cutting down the weeds and maybe starting to pull up some of the old grass, but only in the areas they would be laying new sod.

I was wrong. They cleaned EVERYTHING. They weeded up against the house and a flower bed that hasn't been touched in six years. They moved all the crap on the deck and got rid of leaves that have been trapped between the screen door and sliding door. They cleaned all the old rotting leaves off the wood stack. They cleaned up the side of the garage. They even cleaned behind the shed.

I am not embarrassed to admit I did a little happy dance when I saw everything that had been done. If the rest of their work is half as good as what they did already, we're getting one hell of a deal.

I wish I had thought to take pictures of all this as it was going on, but I didn't. I'm sure I've got some pictures of how hideous the yard was a few weeks ago...I'll for sure do before and after even if I can't do the during.

I can't wait to see what they do tomorrow!