The first day we had the keys we couldn't wait to start making some changes in the backyard!!!
We love to be outdoors, and with as much as we knew we would be enjoying the pool area, we couldn't wait to rip out a lot of the sago palms and shrub bushes that were growing out of control and blocking the view of the pool.
These are two pics I took with my phone during our home inspection before the house was officially ours.
The sago to the right of the spa was so big that you couldn't even walk around it.
And the one at the front/shallow side of the pool was so big that when you first stepped out the back door, you could hardly even see the pool.
The first day we had the keys,the girls were of course DYING to get in the pool.
We had been so busy working inside, and knew that we weren't going to get much more done with their nonstop "When can we swim? Now can we swim? When can we swim?" So we told them it's going to be cold, but if you want to go ahead. And they went right ahead and jumped in.
Since we had to be out there watching them, Mr. H went right ahead and started to trim back some of the sagos.
This one touched the side of that retaining wall and you couldn't walk past it.
This is the view stepping outside the house. See how much those trees blocked the pool?!?!
The very next day our gardeners from our old house came to do this house for the first time, and we asked if they could get the sagos out. He said no problem.
As soon as those first two went down I was SO happy. I LOVE how that opened up the whole area.
Poor Juan though, that was tough work!!!
What a difference!!! And if you scroll up through a couple pics you can kind of see some of the tall shrubs that were overgrown along both sides of the kitchen window. (You can see them pretty good in the very first pic of this post.) I wish I had more before pics of that, but it was nice to see those gone too.
The shrubs that remain are actually nice because they hide all of the pool equipment.
The girls have been so excited about the pool.
Hannah is always out there cleaning it. And Claire likes to dip her mermaids in it. ;)
Last Friday night we went to The Islands for dinner, and when we got back the girls got to check out the pool lights for the first time. They were giddy. Of course as luck would have it, the next night the spa light burned out. Mr. H did a little research on that and hopefully we get it fixed soon.
Saturday we picked out some gardenia bushes and Mr. H planted those underneath the kitchen window where those tall ugly shrubs used to be. I can't wait until they are blooming and I can smell gardenia flowers from my kitchen!
Saturday we worked inside and out all day getting things spruced up to host our very first BBQ/Swim party for Mother's Day.
We hung our new outdoor clock from Lowe's.
The blue solar lights around the yard were a fun purchase at Home Depot. They had lots of colors and at night they look so pretty!
The bbq/fireplace island is another thing we were SO excited about when we first saw the house! We can't wait to cook out here all summer. The fridge is already stocked with waters, sodas and beer to enjoy poolside. And we just picked up that outdoor trashcan to the left of the fireplace at Sam's Club.
We can't wait to paint it too. You can see a sample of the color we are going to use. The blue tiles have pops of that color throughout and we can't wait to see how it turns out! I'd also love to get a red umbrella and some fun red patio furniture for in front of the fireplace. And a couple of barstools for the bar.
See the pool equipment hidden nicely back here?
There's also a huge Toughshed back here that's wonderful for storage. And the girls trampoline that they bought from the little girl who used to live here.
And a before pic of the gate on the side of the house. I didn't get a before pic before Mr. H started to paint it, but the left side is what it all looked like before. He spray painted it oil rubbed bronze and it looks much better than it did before.
I'll end this with a few pics from Mother's Day...
Mr. H cannonballed into the pool and splashed everybody in the spa with cold water. Hee Hee.
It was such a fun day. My Mom was here. And her Mom was here. And other moms were here. We broke in the bbq. It was perfect.
