Taking The Back Porch Back

We have been cleaning and touching up most of this week so there's not a whole lot to show inside.  I did manage to finish the toy room wall project I have been scheming about. I got this idea from a blog post from My Sister's Suitcase and luckily, they sell the hexagons on Etsy so all I had to do was paint and stick. That's my kind of wall art. 

Since the fence went in (and since the weather has warmed up) we have been spending a lot more time outside trying to get the yard in shape. Brian was at Lowes at 6 AM this morning getting sprinkler supplies (the fence really jacked up the existing sprinkler plan. By 10 he had mowed the lawn, fixed up the sprinklers in the front yard and installed these nifty new handles on the gates. I do not understand how he does it all. 

So since everything was done so early, we thought, "What the heck, let's tackle the back porch."  We cleared it off and put together our new patio furniture.

We had it done in time for a mid-afternoon Memorial Day dinner outside.

Complete with entertainment from Izzypop. 

Now this may not seem like anything to brag about, but you have to understand that half of what you see here was on that back porch. Soooo glad the neighborhood cleanup starts this week!

I realized I didn't post a picture of how the backyard looks now that the side fence is gone. We still have some work to do moving the flowers and planting some sod, but the space really has opened up. Now that the porch has been reclaimed, and we finally have some privacy, it's like we've added a whole new room to the house. It's going to be a great summer. 

Look What I Can Do!

We can wash our hands in the laundry room now!

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

The fence was completed today.

It makes our backyard look a million times better. 

And I don't mind the tree on the other side as much as I thought I would.   It will be nice once we get a few flowers and such there. 

Brian had a great idea to add an area where we can keep garbage cans and other unsightly backyard items. 

I hope we use the newly enclosed side yard as much as we think we will. It basically adds another 50% to our backyard. 

There is a ton of work to do outside still, but this is a big step. 

In other news, we put in all the surround sound speakers.

The fireplace is now in working order.

And we had FHE in the toy room.  Monumental. 

One Week At A Time

This week has been nuts. Brian has been in Florida and we have been crazy busy around here.  We have managed to do a few things though. First, the other two cabinets arrived and we finished putting those up.  Handles are next. 

Secondly I painted Skeeto's car table and got some other fun accessories. I have been moving toys down a box at a time at night. The kids are actually starting to play down there. It is a milestone.

The favorite so far is probably getting the puppet theater back in action. I have to say its one of my favorites too.

On The Fence

Our poor sad fence has been hanging on literally by a thin rope for the past couple years.

Boards are missing, the gate is almost impossible to open sometimes and it is ready to completely fall over on the North side.

Well, it was.

Now it has been forcibly pushed over to make way for a new one. (See Miss Sassypants below.)

It will be taller which will be great for privacy for the kids, but due to city codes, that means we will have to cut the corner of the fence and put it on the other side of the tree.  I will miss that tree in the backyard. But I am excited for a nice corner flower bed potentially. 

And to think we only had to fight with the city for a few weeks.  We are lucky.