{Physical} Labor Day

After getting back from Chicago Sunday night, we grilled out with the fam {and my mom and Phil stayed the night after spoiling keeping Mills for 4 nights}, and then my boys worked in the yard all.day.long (mainly Nicholas & Pappy, but Mills helped, as you can see...)

 No, we don't have child labor laws here in SC...  ;)

Mills' favorite thing right now...and we're the only family without a "ga caht" currently...we've gotta work on that.

Here's the "before" of the bed they did {this was before we lived here, so ignore the junk}...it was full of dead bushes and random other crap that had accumulated...

And the "After"...

 {so fresh, the tags were still on the bushes...ha}  It's kind of a weird-shaped bed, but it's too late to change the size and lay a little sod, so we'll save that for the spring...

 {you'll notice from the empty planters that some of my flowers did not successfully make the move from Charleston}

A much prettier site from the back porch, that's for sure! :)

Monday night we had a last-minute, thrown-together party for some college football, and it was so much fun {minus the fact that my Miami lost, poor hubby}.

 Alto being silly, per the usual.

Everyone brought appetizers...it wasn't cute and festive, but it WAS fabulous and delicious! {probably snapping a pic after everyone had chowed down wasn't ideal} Pizza dip, buffalo chicken dip, chocolate chip cheesecake ball (your recipe, Liz!!!), brownies, chicken fingers, hummus, homemade black bean/corn salsa and chips...yum!

Anna and Kelly

football watchers...

And because I've been so bad at taking pictures recently, Nicholas and I took a self-timed shot after everyone had left...hence the grossocity {yeah, I made that up} of myself and lack of makeup/much-needed lip color...but who's judging, right???

:)

It was a fun, long weekend!