Getting ready for summer!

I've never been really fond of our back yard. Since moving in, we've done a lot of work back there. The iron fence was covered in honeysuckle & obstructed the view of the yard, so we took that down. Bushes lined the pool & attracted bees & wasps, which aggravated us when we tried to swim, so we removed all those & opened all that up. I like it so much better. And we've had about 9 trees in the back removed, too. But, it's just been blah. Not really sure why I've never attempted to address this area, but this year, I am! I'm ready to tackle it bit by bit. And there's no budget to do that, so I'll have to get creative. Being creative is NOT my best asset.  Heck, it's not even an asset of mine.  Ha!   Nonetheless, I have decided to do my best beautifying this area. I plan on spending a lot of time out here this summer & I want it pretty. I like pretty. I love pretty! (Speaking of landscaping - our home was a Kaleidoscope home - the amount of landscaping out front was outrageous! They had planted so many bushes & plants & such, it was horrible. Pretty, but total overkill. We cleaned all that out & made it uniformed. Looks like a totally different yard than when we moved in. It was hard work, too! Maybe some day I can find before & after photos.)

Anyway...

I don't think I've ever shown photos of the back of our house! Here are a few of the pool area. We did some cleaning today in anticipation of summer. It really is a peaceful area - as a matter of fact, my oldest has been out back reading for the last hour or so. My kids love it out back & now I do, too.

This is the view looking at the back of our house. This year we'll be installing a ceiling fan under the patio, between the recessed lighting. I plan on hanging a flag, planting flowers after I spray paint my old planters, relocating my craft/spray paint table (I know, funny, huh) & hopefully find some sort of furniture to place under there. The plastic containers are full of pool toys & accessories, so they'll be empty soon. I want pretty under there. I also plan on hanging lights, which the kids will love at dark time. Not sure why the top step in the pool is brown - we have no clue what that is. Hubby's going to have to get in & scrub it off.



This is an outside door that leads into our downstairs bathroom. I think we've opened it twice in the 8.5 years we've lived here. I hate that little area & I hate how they did a patch in the pebble stone & it looks like crap. Due to previous foundation issues, that side of the house has lots of those little sloppy patches & they drive me crazy. In the photo above, you can see another one right behind the planter. I sure would love to get those smoothed out & redone. Maybe some day.



This is a pretty view. The entire left side of the iron fence is where the thick honeysuckle was. I remember after we moved in, I spent countless hours out there cutting vine by vine, trying to get it off. One day my husband walked out there & just pushed all of it over the side & it all fell off. Ha! Smart aleck. I want to remove those huge bushes up against the back fence, but my husband wants to keep them. I have no idea why they're there & I have no idea why they didn't take them all the way across the back.  My husband wants them to stay, so for now, they stay. The tall 'trees' behind them actually belong to our neighbors & they are Crape Myrtles! They are the largest, tallest Crape Myrtles I have ever seen! They are beautiful & bloom white.



Wouldn't this view look so much better if they had extended the bushes all the way across? We actually have a very large back yard. That whole side (on the right) extends all the way down the side & to the front. (Nice construction. Again.)  Our pool is very pretty & I'm learning to stop complaining about it. Because it is so old, it is a lot of work, a lot of repairs & a lot of money. At our previous homes, we have always designed our own pools & had them built. This one came with the house & has been a huge adjustment. That said, we are so blessed to have a pool & we all enjoy it so much.



The kids have just been dying to swim. The water is so ice cold! The weather here hasn't been consistently warm like it typically is, so it's taking longer to warm up. Today while playing, they asked to swim again. I obliged, knowing they wouldn't be in there long, & told them just to get in with their clothes on. This one jumped right in & the others followed. They swam for a good hour or so! I couldn't believe it. Kids truly are resilient.



Before we went outside today, we did some cleaning upstairs. All ceiling fans got cleaned with hot water & soap. I hate when they get dusty & blow dust all around when in use. Yuck! I very much dislike dust. I also cleaned the bathroom upstairs. This is the bathroom 6 of us used every day for 2 years. I still can't get over it. Behind me is another itty room that houses the toilet & tub. They actually had a door on that room, separating the sink area from the toilet area. We removed the door - that space is too small to have a door on it. Even though I despise blue, this is a pretty bathroom.



And that is the tour for today! As much as this money pit has drained us & continues to do so, I really love the house. I wish we would have been able to renovate immediately after moving in (which was our goal), but life happens & renovating didn't. We'll get there. :)