I've posted before about some house updates we've made (and so much has changed since then!) but I think the most drastic changes to our property have been in the backyard.  We bought the house in 2013, and when we did, this is what the back yard looked like:

Beautiful and a little bit out of control.  We got Custom Lawns to come out and take care of the...um...overgrowth (amazing) and then Talbert Fencing and Gutters took care of the rest of our privacy fence.  Also amazing.  Again, here are the before and afters of that 2014 project.

GUYS LOOK AT THE 2017 UPDATE.

We're so excited.  Believe it or not, that's the same corner of the yard!!  We now have a "playground," as Charlotte calls it.  About $50 in landscape edging, a $17 mallet, and a three trips hauling mulch from my parents house  (Custom Lawns is doing incredible work clearing out their cedar trees) later, and WE HAVE A STINKIN' PLAYGROUND.  I really think there was no sweating on our parts getting this done--it was time intensive, but not labor intensive.  That's easy for me to say, though--Jeff did most of the work.  Guy works like 94 hours a week and then comes home and jumps right in with my "plans."  He really is the best.  

Also, side note, our parents are incredible.  With this particular project, my parents really stepped in and helped, but Jeff's parents are just as quick to help as well.  If we ever want to do a project on our own, we're going to really have to keep it a secret, because these folks are seriously selfless and ready to serve.

One of our neighbors (biased but right) says that we live on the best street in Van Alstyne.  Now I'm starting to think that when, someday, we have to sell this house (booooooo), we may have another selling point! BACKYARD OF THE MONTH!!  (That's not real.  I wish it was.)

Here are a few more before-and-after shots, plus the wreaths I hung before Charlotte's birthday party.  The actual wreaths are from Hobby Lobby (about $10 total, with that magical 40% off coupon that you can ALWAYS use) and then the flowers are from our local party store, and at 70% off they were about $5.  Couple that with the confidence I got from attending a Thistle Floral Design Workshop and BOOM.  $15 for two wreaths.

Here's before, with my trusty mallet-weilding assistant:

And here's after.  So excited that when it rains, we can still go out the next day and play without getting totally muddy.