Lawn, Baby, Lawn!

As many of you know, we embarked on an ambitious project to rip out the "jungle" in our backyard and install a lawn. Many people lent assistance in this project. Greg and Doug ripped out all the plants. My Dad and Gerald from Overlake School helped jackhammer out the concrete. Kathy took Clara out for lots of walks while the rest of us rototilled and removed giant roots and weeds. Even my mom helped load up the concrete into the truck to take it to the dump. And Sarah came with us to City People's Garden Shop, good-naturedly following Clara around the store while Greg and I picked out the grass seed. It was truly a group effort. Greg and I finally put down grass seed at the end of September, and I made sure to keep the seed wet for the last 6 weeks. It was a huge undertaking, requiring us to become naysayers to many social invitations we would have otherwise accepted and gain a little muscle in the making.

Well, now we are enjoying the "grass" of our efforts. We are looking forward to the spring when we can let Clara run wild in the backyard without fear of her being swallowed up by the "jungle". Big thank yous to everyone who helped create this beautiful outdoor space that we will enjoy for years to come!

We also want to send out a belated Happy Birthday and a special Get Well Soon wishes to Clara's Grandpa Armitage who is recovering from shoulder surgery (not brought about by hauling out concrete, thank goodness!) We also want to wish Russell (aka Uncle Fun) a happy birthday on Nov. 5. So many reasons to celebrate this fall!