Shredded Tires Make My House Look Better

We have spent the past two weekends sprucing up the outside of our house.  Well, I should clarify: Jim has spent the last two weekends sprucing up the front of the house.  I have spent the past two weekends entertaining our children.  :-)

It isn't very often that I approach our house from the front, but a few weeks ago I walked to a neighbor's house to deliver something, and when I walked back home I cut through the yard and looked at this:

Nice, huh?  And really, this picture is better than it had been because we just replaced those bushes about a month or two ago.  The other ones were already dead and hadn't survived their first year here.

We decided it was finally time to put down some mulch and increase our curb appeal.  Plus, we didn't want to fork over more money to replace more bushes just because they couldn't stay hydrated.  So, we decided to go with rubber mulch.  Even though it is more expensive upfront, it lasts a ton longer and we won't have to replace it every few years.

We each made a few trips to Sam's Club to pick up bags of mulch and cart them home in our little Hondas.  (You wouldn't believe me if I told you the things we have fit in those little cars over the years!)

In between storm threats, we got started...

(I didn't make Brennan wear a helmet to help.  He was riding his bike.  Just thought I'd dispel any over-protective-mommy rumors.)

Anyway, here is the result of all the time and money.

Instead of this...

We now have this...

Jim claims that other than needing to buy a few bags here and there to fill in gaps, we shouldn't need to replace this stuff for a decade. Sounds good to me!!

Check out how the house has changed in less than one year:

July 3rd, 2010

June 19, 2011

The two boys enjoying popsicles are definitely better in the first photo, but other than that, I think we're moving in the right direction.

Have you been busy sprucing up your home lately?