Preparing for Will's baptism

In preparing for Will's baptism, the biggest thing we wanted to get done was fixing our backyard so we could enjoy it on the day of. So many people didn't even know we had an outdoor space, because it looked so terrible. It was a patchy weed field that wouldn't yield grass, so we decided to make it into a kid- and eco-friendly rock yard. We wanted something that would be low maintenance, wouldn't require water, and would be safe for the kids should they walk on it barefoot, fall down, sit on it, etc. An added bonus to a small rock yard is that Avonlea Jane can play in it with her sand toys as well.

David clearing out the weeds

Oh, no, the truck is coming almost three hours early!

Four tons of pea gravel

Our drainage ditch

Covering the yard with landscape fabric first

Avonlea Jane found a dragonfly

The finished product (minus furniture and plants). Our new fence will probably be put up in July.

We used our extra rock in place of mulch

Enjoying time with Brandy who arrived on Friday before the baptism

David, Margaret, and Brandy play with the kids.

On Saturday, Brandy, Margaret, Anna, Will and I visited the Beauport Sleeper-McCann House in Gloucester.

The view of Gloucester Harbor from the house

Having fun walking around downtown Salem

Uncle Dillon doing headstand push-ups on Saturday afternoon

Opening presents with Grandpa

Tuckered boy after a day full of family fun