Our Backyard Project: Start to Finish

Now that our pool and dream backyard are complete, I've been wanting to document the whole "story" of things here on the blog. It's our family scrapbook after all and since this was a huge project for us, YEARS in the making, I wanted to have everything in one spot/post. 

So, to start from the beginning, I've always wanted a pool. Haha. It's been a dream or "want" of mine since childhood. And then when we got married I knew it was a pretty lofty, long-term goal and something that definitely wouldn't happen until we moved into our forever home. (Well if you know the story of our years spent longing to move back to the hometown you know that there was a time we didn't know when we'd ever get to move. It felt like a long shot for years.) At the very beginning it was just my dream, but Terrell came around and pretty soon wanted it almost as much as me. 

Once Terrell got a new job and we finally did move and then finally did find our "forever home", my top priority was a pool. Or my almost top priority I should say. The house itself was probably most important with the pool as a close second. 😊 

When we found our home we even had the county guy come and check to make sure we could put in a pool before closing on the house. I remember Terrell saying to me, Is this really going to change anything if they say we can't put a pool in? And I said, yes, I think so. I love the house but can't imagine it being for us, forever, without a pool. So I guess you could say it was a VERY big deal to me. 

Long story short.... we had several pool guys come out and talk to us and give us estimates and ideas our very first summer in our house. But we decided to wait. Terrell is extremely patient with these things. Me not so much. Haha! FINALLY, once I received a job offer and signed a contract, we knew it was time to move forward with our plans. We had found the pool company we wanted to go with, had determined a time frame for everything, made plans to have a new septic system installed (since the current one was right in the way of the future pool), and began thinking about what sort of deck we'd like. 

These are pictures of what our deck looked like before....

There were no stairs and no way to get from the deck to the backyard.... and even if there were stairs, they would probably lead to the area right outside of our basement, not our backyard.

So Terrell and I talked and looked up pictures and tried to get a vision of what we'd want, what we could afford, etc.... and then one day Terrell's dad said he thought that he could do it for us with Terrell's help. We were thrilled!! If he was up for it, so were we! 

So then began the plans... Terrell's dad helped us with our "vision" and he drew up some different plans for us and we talked about it and then talked about it some more. And after finally making some final decisions about what we wanted it was time to get started! 

Demolition of the old deck began in August! We were SO excited as the beginning stages of our backyard project were officially underway!

Terrell's dad was the architect, master mind, and project manager of EVERYTHING deck related. He of course ran all of his decisions and questions by us, but he did it all. He and Terrell both worked on demolition and "reconstruction" off and on when they could for months. My dad even helped a few times when the work required a 3 man job. We loved seeing the progress and were so grateful we didn't have to hire someone to do it for us because our finished product would've turned out a LOT different. 

In November we had our new septic system installed and our backyard changed dramatically. And there was no more playing in back or going out in the back. All of our outside time was in the driveway, the front yard, or taking walks and bike rides around the neighborhood. 😊

In December, our pool guys came and broke ground! Terrell was home for all the initial digging and sent me this picture while I was at school... 

Then the boys and I had the best surprise when we got home!!

Within the same week or somewhere close, the walls were up and we could see the outline!

Then there was a break in the work for the holidays and things resumed again in mid January!

We also continued to make progress on our deck. Terrell had a little more time to work and help out during the Winter but most of the work fell on my father-in-law. He still works full time but at some point during the process the deck just about took over as his full time job! 😊

January was our biggest month of progress. The pool was "installed", the yard was graded, the flooring of the deck was completed, and the concrete around the pool was poured. It was all super exciting!

In late January, the day of Garrison's 9th birthday party actually, the concrete, liner, diving board, EVERYTHING, was ready to go.... so we got to fill her up!! 😊 (And this picture was taken the next morning.)

February rolled around and we had some warm days when the boys could put their feet in! The backyard was still a disaster zone, but our pool was ready to go!

And then the waiting began. We had to decide on a fence guy, decide on a landscaper, meet with them both, and then wait for the weather to be just right so they could come and get started. It felt like a long wait. But once Spring arrived and we had some dry days, the work began and everything turned out perfect!

Our fence was finished in early April...

And our deck came closer and closer to being done too!

After the fencing was complete, it was time for sod and the new look of our backyard finally came to be. We chose to fence part of the yard and leave our wooded area with our trampoline and little play set outside of the fence.

Our deck was complete and ready for use in May and turned out beautiful. We can't thank my father-in-law enough. It was a true labor of love.

In May our backyard was finally fully complete as well! A dream realized. 😊

We just love our 2 level deck and its' perfect shape and design.

The furniture is one of my favorite things too. We eat outside as often as we can now. 

And of course the pool has absolutely made our summer. 😊

The boys also have plenty of space to play in the backyard... either inside the fence in the area to the right of the pool or outside of the fence on the trampoline and playset... which they've done plenty of both this summer. Mostly in wet bathing suits!

This is a look at our fence from the top of our driveway. We've talked about staining it but I really love it the way it is.

My new favorite view ever.

The five of us are definitely in love and enjoying every square inch of our new backyard. I mean, Summer has become even better and changed in a way we are all blessed by and grateful for. And the best part is that even though the pool is only for Spring and Summer, our view, our deck, and our backyard are year round and going to be used lots in every season. I'm already thinking of Christmas décor back here. 😊

We are looking forward to years and years of fun and are so thankful we pursued our dream and made it happen!