{patio project}

when we built our house, the builders put a wood deck on the back.  it was pretty small and after having to stain it one summer i decided i did not want a wooden deck.  some call it lazy, okay i probably call it lazy, too. ;) so we had a concrete slab put in.  we liked it at first but it started settling and water would pool.  we also wanted to put a pergola or something to block the sun because it gets really toasty out there during the day.  so we started getting bids from a few contractors.  

of course what we wanted was out of our budget.  i couldn't believe how much a built in grill and bar area added to the project so we decided to do without it.  when we saw how much it was going to cost for the company to take out the concrete we also decided to do that ourselves too.  there's perks to having a dad who works for a concrete company so we got the jackhammer for free.  my dad and john tore up the entire slab. i was shopping while this was being done.  we needed groceries...and a few other things. ha! by the time i came home, it was finished.  they worked hard and saved us some major mulah! we had planned on leaving the concrete steps and lay pavers over them, but it was decided that we needed to take them out.  so the guys were back at it, and i helped this time.  i even ran the jackhammer for a few seconds.  it was so heavy john had to keep his hands on it, too.  

here it is, the finished product.  they finally got the rocks and plants in this week.  the pavers have been done for a few weeks but the weather hasn't been cooperating for them to get back here to finish it up.  the rocks are way more brown in these pictures because they are covered with dirt and dust.  they won't be so brown when we get a good rain.  i can't wait until spring and summer when we can use it.  i'm keeping my eye out for some lawn furniture and chairs to make it nice and cozy.  

you may have noticed-no pergola, one of the main reasons we started this project.  the original plans had a shade sail but we weren't sold on it so we are still hoping to incorporate a pergola at some point.  i now have some inside projects in the works for christmas break. i can't wait!