Friday, September 5, 2008

Summer Projects...Completed!

The two biggest projects on our To-Do list this summer were 1. Landscaping and 2. Building a Deck.

The landscaping has been an ongoing project all summer. Erik and I began picking out plants in April, and Mom helped me a lot in the afternoons while Malachi was napping. We landscaped the entire front of the house in the spring, and then we finished the side by the garage and the back by the deck this week.

I think we are favorite customers at Pickett Run Farm, the Mennonite-owned garden center near Bainbridge. Malachi has even become friends with the children there and their pet kittens!

The landscaping is now at a stopping point until next spring, and...

The deck is finished!!

We began building on July 28th, complete with a Litter family picnic (all the guys were told to come ready to work, the ladies watched from the air-conditioned kitchen), and the final screw went in on September 4th.

We had a lot of help from Uncle Joe, Uncle Mark, Aunt Laura, and some other family members and friends, but Erik and I did the majority of work in two hour shifts after long days at the store (at least for Erik), which is why it took over a month to finish.

I do have to brag a little, though. After finishing some landscaping that didn't take as much time as anticipated, Mom and I decided to tackle the last of the construction....the railing. We worked for about 4 hours Thursday afternoon and completed the project ourselves. Erik happily looked on as he played with Malachi.

We are so happy to have these projects behind us and to be able to use our new area now, even though we still have some cleaning up to do and returns to make.

Come on over to the Allsops' and we'll fire up the grill!

2 comments:

J, H, A, M and O said...

It looks so good! I can't wait to see it in person later this month. I am impressed especially with the railing.

Sharp Family said...

i love your home! hopefully get to see the inside sometime!