Lazy Deck Days

Almost 6 years ago, we moved from a small apartment into our present home. We were sooo excited. Our apartment always had this gigantic puddle before the front door and I was so happy not to hop over it anymore. And John was thrilled that we had our own washer and dryer. We were so ecstatic, that we did not even seem to notice that our backyard was just one huge dirt bowl.
But as the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years, I'm sure our neighbors took notice---they must have been less-than-thrilled about our dust blowing into their backyards. And then the weeds came. Oh my goodness. They were as tall as John's shoulders every spring. We thought long and hard what to do, but nothing really seemed feasible. No time, no money. However, John could not bear to pull weeds for much longer. As we sat in our dirt/weed concoction one evening, I thought about our lazy vacations to Hume Lake and how nice it was lounging on Grandma's deck--everyone fighting over who got to nap on the oversized cushioned chaise lounge. I felt very inspired by those lazy days spent on Grandma's deck. But, I realized it was going to take a miracle to make anything happen in my desert backyard that I lovingly refered to as "Gahena". However, my dad is very handy and came to our rescue. To him, nothing seemed impossible. "Whatever you want, Davi" he would always say.

John and dad started working on the deck in the Spring of '05. I was pregnant wtih Calvin at the time and as they worked, I happily envisioned feeding my new baby on the deck with Finn playing in the yard. It was quite the labor of love, as dad snuck away for many weekends, sometimes working in 90 and 100+ degree heat. Here are some photos of the various stages.

My original plans for the deck had more of a cottage feel, but dad decided it was going to be more barn-ish due to it's boxy nature. Whatever dad does, I always end up liking way better though! When we first got our new wood, I remember saying that I wanted it to look old & distressed--dad told me to set the wood in a field for cows to pee on:) We stained it greyish and white instead:

And the weeds still plauged us till last spring, when we finally put grass in. It was one of the most exciting days of my life. Now I could finally sit in my backyard.



And this deck has inspired great laziness indeed. Ellie and Lorie came over last week and we were supposed to take a walk. Instead, we lounged around on the deck in our pj's and polished off a whole plate of cookies instead.

It seems every time I come outside to play with the boys, I get sucked onto this couch...a cool breeze with the sun warming me up. I can't move one inch. The boys run and play and their laughter fills the air. They pick me flowers off the neighbors fence because we don't have any flowers of our own yet.

And I will never, ever, ever take grass for granted again. After having dirt for 5 years, this green stuff will always be special to me.

Gretch and I, hanging out with the babies

Ollie and Lijah playing in the grass

Mike jugging

Special thanks to dad and John for all their hard work. I LOVE playing in my backyard!!

Time for TUBBY BYE-BYE