Our new deck

Seth and I have been slowly trying to make some additions to our house-or just some modifications if you will, to make it more "homey" for us but also to add to the value of it as we go! About 2 weeks ago, we did another big upgrade (or Seth and Dustin and Poppa did-not so much me) and added a brand new deck to the backyard! And it is sooo amazing. I am so thankful that we did it, it has already made such a huge impact on our little family and the time we can spend together outside.

The Before: We didnt have much option in regards to hanging out -in the backyard-which we LOVE to do! We love to grill out, relax, sit around and just chat, and of course watch Elem playing with his toys and having fun just like a little boy should! As you can see from the pic below, our backyard didnt have much of anything for us to sit or stand on other than grass. And we barley even had enough room to put the grill when you first walked outside the back door.


With the help of Uncle Dustin, Poppa and of course Seth-they were able to build the frame, do all the decking, and everything in 2 days! I am shocked at how fast they move, but when you ask them to get something done and you actually get the materials purchased for them to do it, they do not dissapoint!

The After:


And of course little Elem Zane too-he was out there with the best of them trying to help in every single way that he possibly could. I have never seen a little boy want to help out and do some "hard work" as he likes to call it, more than he does. He wants to be grown up so bad, it just melts my heart. He worked and worked and worked, literally from the second he woke up till the second we made him go to bed, he would be out there digging, and digging, and digging, and working with his "tools" on that deck! It was just adorable, and I love that he got a chance to help out as much as he could.


On the flip side, Elem is still "working" on the deck. Haha. He is still digging up the dirt from the corners of the deck where the main pieces are that hold the posts in the ground. So we had to make a quick trip to Lowes this morning to grab some top soil to fill the wholes in the ground that Elem kind of dug up a little too much, and to give him some dirt of his own to just go crazy with! I never thought I would see the day where I would actually have to go and buy some dirt from the store, but apparently that is what you have to do when you have such an outside kind of little boy, and not enough dirt outside for him to do his thing! The deck has turned out so great, and we have been using it every single day. We just couldn't not be prouder, and hope to use it in a couple of weeks when we celebrate Elem's 3rd birthday! Thanks so much to Seth, Uncle Dustin, and Poppa for working so hard to make this new addition for our family! It is perfect.