So Sad

Earlier today I found out that some members of a family that lives in our old ward were in a terrible car accident as they drove to Utah to pick up their oldest daughter getting off her mission.  The mother, oldest son, and three youngest daughters were in the car.  Two of the daughters were killed and the oldest of the three is in critical condition.

My heart is breaking for this wonderful family.  I don't even know how you go on after such a tragedy.

I wish there was some way I could call "do over" on this day and have it end differently.

But I can't.  So I'll mourn for my friends and the sweet, beautiful girls they have lost.  I'll pray they will be comforted.  And I'll take comfort in the fact that I know they are an eternal family.  They will always miss their girls in this earth life, but they can hold onto the knowledge that they can be with them in the life to follow.

Rest in peace, sweet girls.

Landscaping

When we got home from Italy last year, we noticed that our front lawn was dying.  Or the parts that weren't dying were choked with weeds.  And the bushes were looking terrible. We decided it was time to bite the bullet and have some work done in the spring.  We decided to put in a sprinkler system, re-sod, and rip out and redo all of the landscaping. (By "we" I mean that Robert and I would pay while the crew we hired did the work.  We don't do major work like that anymore.)

Here's a "before" picture of the left side of the house.  The grass looks fairly green, but that's because it was mostly weeds and not grass at all.  

Here's a "before" picture of the right side of the house.  The grass is definitely dead and some of the bushes in the back were dead or dying also.

After much sweat and toil on the part of the guys doing the work, here's a picture of the left side of the house after the work was completed.  Notice the rocks.  Our beds are much deeper now, and the landscaping looks so much more substantial.  There are bushes along the back, but they are very small right now.  In a few years, they will look amazing back there.  Robert really wanted a seating area, so notice the glider.  They made a nice flagstone walkway leading up to it.  Maybe it will be cool enough to enjoy come October....

Here's a close up of the left side of the house.  I really like that large moss covered stone in the corner.  Apparently those are very much in demand and cost more money.  Who knew!

Here's the right side of the house.  I like the way they made the tree and the bed one large landscaped area.  They were very close together and look better landscaped as one.

This is quite possibly my favorite part of the whole thing. They found this random rock shaped like a cowboy boot and placed it strategically to the right of the front door.  It really gives the whole place a Texas flair!

I really like our new landscaping.  I don't cringe when I drive up to our house anymore!  And I know our neighbors are happy we finally got something done!  It's nice to know our yard isn't the worst on the block any more!