Building a new 'outdoor' lifestyle

We are lucky for so many reasons, but there are a few things we are most fortunate for having in our lives.One thing is a home of our own. That we may not pay off until we're old(er) and grey(er), but that we have for ourselves. The other thing is a family full of helpers. We have the best tradesmen, labourers, babysitters, chefs and washer-uper'ers in the country. And they are always available when we need them, and they are as excited as we are at the space we are creating in our backyard.

The work "out the back" began back in July 09. And while I always thought renovating would be fun, and exciting - it's been way more compromise, lost weekends and sweaty hard work than I ever expected. And I'll admit it's been frustrating too. I've felt a lot like I'd 'lost' my husband to the back yard - and at times I wished I could have been working outside with him - rather than working on life inside inside the house. But through it all, Si has worked with the expert staff of family on hand, and has made landscaping and design decisions that I never thought he had in him. And he's tolerated my inability to understand 'concepts' (I need to see it before I can tell whether I like something?) and my nagging to come inside and play with us.

And all the hard work has really come together in the past week - the backyard is looking fabulous. There's still a lot of work to go (building bbq area, fencing, planting vegetable patch and setting up AV to name just a few) but I thought it was time to post some photo's and take the time to thank family for their help and time spent working. We appreciate you so very much.

So here's a photo of the area before we started demolishing :) We have lovely memories of Christmas's and our wedding party in this very yard! But it was looking a bit tired, and needed to be redesigned for our family:


And here's the new patio (there is a massive amount of space under that roof, and we have great plans for it :))

And here's Lola showing Daddy how much she appreciates him (actions totally speak louder than words)

And here's where we're up to at the end of today.. New lawn is laid and we are tired but happy :)

I will continue to post on how we progress in the backyard, and I look forward to sharing many special times our little family spend out in this new space.