Getting down and dirty

So, let me share with you the big daddio of projects that took me and my man from young and spry to this:
           

IT.WAS.SO.HARD.  Doesn't he look PISSED?

This debacle all started when we decided to get a quote for a quick n dirty paver patio on the north side of our house, where we have a sunporch that leads to nowhere.  Well, it led to weeds and flagstones we had laid there until further notice:

               

This pic is after we removed a bunch of sod and started digging.  Again, not a true 'before' picture.  Sue me. 

           

Wouldn't it be delightful to step out of the sunporch onto a patio?   With a margarita in hand and Jack Johnson playing in the background?  Ah, yes my friends.  We had a dream.  One quote for $8200 (!!) later, our dreams were dashed and we were doing the work ourselves.  Poo.  So we went to the stone place and ordered our pavers, supplies and, just because we wanted things to be more difficult, huge blocks for a seat wall. 

Then we did this:

              

And this:
           
 And then me and my mom did this:

 

 

Let's get a close up of our paver-laying skills, shall we?

 

About two years weeks, 11 tons of gravel, 2 tons of sand, 4 pallets of stone, 8 cubic yards of dug out dirt, 1 million trips to Home Desperate, 1 day of online patio table ordering and 6 hours of mulching and decorating later, we ended up with this:

          
           

                 

             

A 300 sq ft patio completed just before our summer party.  And I mean, hours before. We still need to cut, reconfigure and use concrete adhesive on the seat wall.  And we still need to figure out what to do with all the leftover pavers, but for now we are chillin out, maxin, relaxin all cool. 
Yeah....who am I kidding?  There is no relaxing at this house.  Nevah.  We can still have a celebratory brewskie, though.

Me and my mom, the man and my dad.  This is not our patio, and was taken way before we even thought of the project, but you get the idea.
Thanks to mom, dad, brother, and everyone that helped us with this project.  And thanks to everyone who came over to 'break in' the patio for hiding beer cans all over our landscaping!  You jokesters, you.