Beautiful Arizona Fall

I love fall in Arizona. It is the most pleasant weather anywhere on earth. The breeze is cool, the sun is warm, and it is just perfect for playing outside. I never thought I could love having a backyard as much as I do right now. We bought this house because of its great big backyard (well, one of the reasons) but it was completely unlandscaped, and even just a year ago it looked like this (that's Bedelia by the fence. She looks so tiny!) :
It was full of weeds and thorns and hard dirt, nothing kids could play in. Almost exactly a year ago I had a dream of what I wanted the backyard to become and I was yearning for someplace safe I could shoo the kids to where they could be kids and I could be me. So thanks to our family friends the Gallaghers, my parents and our friends the Dyes, we created this:


The shadowy place in the corner is where the kids can dig and make a mess... Dallan went outside after they were taking naps today and they are going to get a stern talking to about what places are appropriate for their dirt to go.
It has been a lot of fun (and hard work) to get our yard to the point it's at. And I still have more I want to do to it, LOTS more. But I am so extremely grateful we were able to do what we did last winter/spring so that the girls have had someplace they can go each day where I am not worried about their safety and they can enjoy the beautiful outdoors and a beautiful Arizona fall! (Not to mention all the cleaning and reed making I'm getting done while they happily play.)