"In the backyard...since last summer. Almost nothing left. Just some pieces of the roots..."

Song from Guster - "Backyard." Look for a lot of these types of songs as we begin DAY TWO of our BACKYARD RENOVATIONS.

      First, I know that I haven't yet posted before and afters of our home renovations. I thought I could use the pictures from our contractors; but they made the final CD "read only" and I can't copy the pictures I was counting on. I will get around to finding my own set someday. To make up for the lapse, I am posting the daily saga of our backyard renovations. I know that I need to find a shot of our entire "before" backyard. I'll try for that tomorrow.

So, these are the only DAY ONE pics I could get with a baby on my hip and a 3 year old screaming :) Also, Buck had the day off of school:

First, they removed the termite-infested patio cover from the 70's 

Next, they removed the wrought iron that was surrounding our pool. The pool has been drained previously. 

The boys loved that they would climb up and knock down the wood and then saw it all into navigable pieces. So fun. Day one also saw the death of the slide, diving board and all yard knick knacks (most from the previous owner).
DAY 2:

Big Bobcats showed up at 8 am and started ripping up the back 

 no turning back!

 Our fearless contractor, Gary

 A few hours later, most of the places we had concrete are now piles of dirt.

 The first neighbor "just stopping by" - i.e., walking into our backyard to look without an invitation :)

 Our boys were impatiently waiting to get into those deserted tractors

 The king of all he surveys! (and his dad)

 Some of the shots are to compare with tomorrow (when even more is gone)

 Everyone's favorite Macadamia nut tree will be remaining 

 Tomorrow's concrete blocks the view from our bedroom. I cannot wait for it to go!

 Our backyard toys are safe behind bars

 Buck pretending to sleep 

 H-P looking happy as he suffers through getting his top 2 front teeth (the rabbit teeth!)

day 3 tomorrow!