Backyard Bliss

We moved into our home 9 years ago. I loved it right away even though there were some things that I knew I wanted to change.  One of those things was our side yard. Our house is positioned right in the middle of our lot. So we have a decent front & back yard, and an RV gate on the west side of the house where Jared plans to put a storage shed and eventually build out our garage.

However, the east side has always been a mess. it was just dirt. There was some lattice work put up that  served as a fence and a small gazebo type building where you could store pool equipment. It was okay but as I said I didn't love it and knew we would change it one day.

You could also tell that our pool was kinda old. The cool decking was cracked and the plaster definitely needed some work. The bloody toes and fingers that our kids suffered from was a dead giveaway.

So - after saving some money we finally decided to get the side yard fixed up.

Here are a couple of before pictures of the pool area. I never took pics of the dirt because....well...why?

Here are some "progress" shots - above is the old tile and below is the new tile.

We removed the plaster and had the pool redone in pebble tech. No more swimming with socks to protect those toes!

(You think I'm kidding don't you?)

Here's an after shot - with the new pebble tech!

I love how much "bluer' the water looks now! Plus - I don't know if you noticed in the other picture, but there used to be a spa on the backside of the pool. Well, we never used it because there is no way to heat it. So it just sat there unused and dirty. We covered it up and made it into a nice sitting area by the pool.

We also had the whole side yard laid out with pavers, put up a wall to hide the pool pump, built some flower beds and benches and some counter tops.....

And my favorite - is the fire pit!!!

Here is the finished yard. We were using it to host a baby shower. 

I love our new yard. It took a really long time for us to get it done, but I am so glad we saved up and did exactly what we wanted.

Since our yard has been done we've had a ton more get togethers with my friends. I love that we have a nice place to just sit and relax and enjoy each other's company.

Our ward uses it quite a bit too. We live about five houses down from the church so on many mutual nights the youth walk on down to our house and meet around the fire pit and have great little devotionals or swim parties in the summer.

This is what I imagined when Jared and I first started talking about utilizing this space better. There are still just a couple of more things we need to do to it and then it will be perfect. 

Well - now I have a bridal shower to get ready for.

I totally love it!