Trenches? We don't need no stinkin' trenches!

News on the landscaping front is all a-buzzin! Ok, maybe we're the only dorks excited about the whole thing but it's so exciting to see some progress.

In a "wow, we really are adults" moment this weekend, we spent a grip of time at a stone yard followed by a place called Backyard Escapes. Right next door to, I kid you not, a pet cemetery. That's ambiance, people.

We were picking out slate for the backyard and have found the perfect one, called Beijing multi-colored. Lots of gorgeous reds and golds, should look awesome next to our red house:
We love the look of random big chunks (which I'm sure is the proper term) rather than 12x12 squares, so this is what it should look like. We plan to slate the courtyard and around the BBQ.
We're having more problems picking out the water feature. Since we live on a busy road, we want a fairly loud fountain to help with the white noise (fair warning: you should probably pee before you come over to our house, otherwise you're going to want to pee approximately every 2 minutes with the Niagra Falls situation we will be having). We're undecided between a pre-fab looking one:
versus a built in one, here's a brochure we're checking out:
Polaris_Powerfall_Brochure

Regardless, that sucker is going to be loud!

We also are looking at a few huge pots for citrus trees: But the biggest progress is that we finally have landscaping dudes crawling all over the backyard now, it's all happening! Yesterday I took another clandestine shot of a landscaper dude, I didn't mean to take a shot of his butt, but when you're peeking through a curtain like a perv, I guess pervy tendencies tend to come out. They jack-hammered like crazy and now we have gas line trenches! Rob surveyed:
The funniest part is we had a "down day" yesterday and were chilling at the house, actually doing a puzzle. I know, we're uber-dorks, don't hate. We don't have shutters yet (been ordered, still waiting) so I was totally embarrassed - all these guys were tromping through the yard working hard meanwhile Rob and I are eating popcorn and doing a puzzle. Nerd Alert! Come on shutters, cover up a sistah!

Today came drain pipes
and the yellow gas piping for the BBQ and heater:
I call this one: pick up your damn cup.
What do you think, G? You approve?

Let's play a rousing game of "what is all this crap?"

I'm going to go ahead and give our landscape crew the benefit of the doubt. It's been super rainy so of course they can't get started, but in the meantime, our backyard has become a storage facility for...well....I'm not really sure.

Ok, these seems fairly easy, I get it.
Hmmm, now we're moving into strange territory. Are these glow sticks? Are we about to host a rave that I wasn't aware we were throwing? Let me bust out my workout tunes and dust off my old glitter eyeshadow.???
What the hell is this old rusty weight circa 1970 Gold's Gym? I better not be paying the crew to practice their squats and improve their glutes.
On a different note, some new models opened up in our 'hood and we got some great landscaping ideas...hopefully our built in BBQ looks fairly similar.

And, grab your shovels and come on over, we'll provide the beer. Now we want an in-ground hot tub and waterfall...a DIY situation, for sure!

G is less than impressed.

Ahhhh, always a good time is had at a wedding!

Wow, a break in landscaping blogs, quel surprise! Hang on to your hats (or is the saying hang on to your butts?), we actually have something else to talk about other than mud, plants, Walters, etc. My good friend/coworker Sara got married this weekend at the historic El Cortez building downtown, it was GORGEOUS! So much fun, plus such an idyllic setting made for a great night.

We sat near my other coworkers MaryLou and Karen and their husbands John and Chris:
The weather was perfect, only slightly cool but sunny and bright (plus, we San Diegoans sure do love busting out our coats on rare occasions)....I can feel the hatred from our peeps in Colorado and the East Coast as we speak :) : This flower girl and ring bearer were the total hit of the event, they were too cute, giggling and holding hands the whole way: And here's Sara, isn't she radiant? such a happy event, there was lots of laughter - a perfect reflection of who Sara and Eric are.And then came the bubbles:

And a ring-bearer pillow fight smack down:Followed by cocktail hour!

Cerviche cheers!
The inside ballroom is absolutely glorious, photos just simply do not do it justice. Or, let's just say photos by our mediocre camera do not do it justice.Dinner was fabulous and a blast sitting with my coworkers:
And now, a boogie break! Rob was quite popular with the ladies: The lovely couple!the bouquet toss, I love Sara's form:
Me and MaryLou in the real pic and in the photo that Rob used as a ruse to catch a shot of the girl in the pink dress - that thing was painted on! I'm no prude but I kept having an urge to go pull it down for her...yikes.Me and Mandy with a whole lotta crazy eyes: Man, you know we love a photo booth. I think we should just go ahead and buy one for our living room - we'd get plenty of use out of it :)
Congratulations to the happy couple! So stoked for you guys!