backyard transformation

we have lived in our home for about a year and a half now. when we first purchased it, this is what the backyard looked like:

as we were focusing on things inside, it stayed this way for a little while, but slowly we began to fix it up. first, we had the fence fixed and painted...along with the storage shed after we moved that into the

far corner. 

 after that, we created an oval, bordered it with bricks, and grew some grass. then ordered 13 tons of rock and shoveled it ourselves because it saved us over a grand and honestly the weather has been so nice this winter i really didn't mind it much at all. once the grass grew in, we set up a play area on one side with a sandbox, some toys, and a swing that we built from a wooden, thrift store chair. we finished our pallet table (previous post) and called it a day (or more like a few months). here's our backyard now:

it is incredible the difference. where we once never really went back there (because what was the point?), now we play outside at least once a day if not more!