Backyard Makeover

When we bought our house, the backyard left much to be desired. Sure, it was spacious, and on a corner lot, but there were parts of it I knew we had to work on. I knew we would need a fence, for starters. After living here for 2 years we finally got our fence. It was one of the best investments of my life! I no longer have to walk the dogs and I feel more comfortable with Brady playing in an enclosed space. It also gave our property "definition" and provided a bit more privacy.

There was also a section of shrubbery, weeds and vines on the right hand side of the yard that I hated. I referred to it as "the jungle." I am terrified of snakes and I felt like the whole thing was a snake den. While James was gone in the spring, my parents came over with an arsenal of tools and tore the jungle down. It had almost regrown by the time James returned but he spent several more weekends on it and it is now gone!

One of the other things I was not fond of was the monstrous fort left here by the previous owners. While sturdy, it was old and a bit too high off the ground for my accident-prone son. I had planned to tear it down this summer until my mom had a great idea. Instead of hauling it away, she suggested, why don't you cut the bottom half off, paint it, and make it a playhouse for the kids? What a great idea! It was so big and heavy we had to wait for an occasion where multiple people could help tip it over to cut the bottom off. That happened when we had a cook-out with some friends. It took 5 Marines, but they did it!

On the right, you can see the fort and "jungle." Don't mind the mess, it was a birthday party! 

After it was tipped and James sawed off the bottom, we took a family trip to Lowe's. We couldn't agree on a color to paint it, of course, and ended up choosing yellow for the house and gray for the roof. I also picked up some color changing solar garden stakes and ordered string lights from Amazon. I spent a couple of weeks sanding, priming and painting the playhouse. It was a slow moving process due to rain and kids. 

Before I even started on the playhouse, I had ordered a fire pit from Amazon. I decided it would go nicely in our new space. I wanted to put some rocks around it to prevent the kids from getting too close to the flame. Here is my "go-by" from Pinterest: 

Nice and simple! 

I loved the design, but as I tend to do, I went a little overboard. I figured, why not construct an entire patio? James, as he tends to do, rolled his eyes but loved the idea! He enlisted one of our friends to help, in exchange for a few dinners. The weather was not on our side, but after a couple of weekends we had a patio!

The day the guys finished it! 

I loved the addition of the river rocks. 

The almost-finished playhouse. 

The husband surprised me with chairs I wanted! Now all we need to do is put out some grass seed. 

Pretty lights at night. Loving our new space! 

We plan on keeping our New Bern house, even though we will be moving in the near future. I love my home and it's location. I enjoy these projects and trips to Lowe's. I wouldn't trade our time spent together for anything. I look forward to great memories and future years spent at our house by the lake.