Back Yard Makeover

We have always enjoyed our backyard. Just like any house, some things just need fixin' up. We decided we needed a taller fence when the house behind us was on the market. I walked out our back door in my bathing suit (7 or 8 months pregnant), and I could see the realtor and prospective owners standing on their porch. I ran back inside and waited for them to leave. They did not buy the house. I hope it wasn't because of me! It stayed empty for a few more months. This was a perfect time to tear down the fence and put up a new one. Nick built the taller fence last spring. Now we can't see our new neighbors on their porch, and they can't see us.  

Then this spring he tore down the chain link fence along the driveway. 

Those were the only 'before' pictures of the fence I could find. I like how Stephen Small is in both of them. In the second picture he was pointing at a plane. 

Nick is awesome. We didn't have to buy anything but some nails and parts of the door for this new fence. Nick used the panels from the old shorter fence that was lining the back of the yard to create our 'new' fence. I'm so thankful to have a handy husband. 

After

  After a spray with the pressure washer. 

It matches the newer fence now.

The next project was not a fence. We needed some sort of drainage system to help out our yard that seems to be constantly wet.

Fortunately, part of this was already done by the previous owners. They already had the drains in place that lead to the street. We (and yes I helped with the digging) had to dig up this part of our yard to place the drains. It has helped tremendously.

Next was another fence. Our third and final fence was the wrought iron one to protect babies from running into the pool. And yes, Nick built this one too.

We also did a little gardening. I usually have pots of herbs, but they are also baby magnets. We decided to do a garden on the other side of the pool.

We already have a few tomatoes growing, and all of the herbs have grown tremendously since I took this picture. 

I also love having the knock-out roses. I constantly have fresh flowers in the house. 

They are short now, but I think they will look good once they grow a little taller. 

Our neighbor has some that are at least 6 ft tall. They are beautiful!

And finally the pool itself. A lot of people say a pool is a money pit. It can get expensive, but when you enjoy it and use it as much as we do, we don't see it as a waste of money.

A few weeks ago I told you about the rip in the pool liner. This is what our drained liner-less pool looked like for a few days. 

Then our new liner arrived! The hardest part was waiting on it to fill up. 

It took over three days of constantly running the hose.

We haven't gotten our water bill yet.

It may not be perfect, but we like all the transformations.

And we are enjoying the heck out of it!