No, we're not putting a pool in our front yard!

I remember the good, old days (about two weeks ago), when our front yard looked like this...

Then a backhoe arrived...

to dig up our yard...

and a big chunk of a our sidewalk!

And dig and dig...

and dig and dig...

Oh, and unexpectedly remove one of our three trees (in addition to the spruce by the front door). (#sadness)

And dig and dig...

So here we are. There's a lot of dirt in the front yard, BUT our sewer pipe was completely replaced and we'll never have to worry about it crumbling, clogging or backing up into our house. (None of these things ever happened, but the plumbers who looked at our pipes were shocked that we hadn't had any trouble.) And since our basement is completely finished, the decision was a no-brainer: better safe than sorry!

For now, we'll wait for the dirt to settle and then, ultimately, a landscaper will level the yard and put down topsoil and grass seed. And I think we'll need another tree! Until then, it looks like Bugs Bunny took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and ended up in front of our house. Might be a fun Halloween gag!

P.S.  Fingers crossed that Google doesn't drive by in the next 9 months and snap a "street view" of our home. It's seen better days!