Backyard Update

In the beginning of September, we gave our backyard a bit of a makeover. I have always loved spending time in our backyard, and we are fortunate to back up to a treeline. It feels relatively private for living in a Ryan Homes development, and my husband has done a fabulous job of landscaping our yard. We built our original deck within just a few months of moving into our home in 2007, and we added the patio a year later. We have a dining table and a grill on the deck, and a firepit on the patio, and we tend to spend most of our outside time on the patio.

We had talked about putting a hot tub in the backyard for years because we have always loved sitting in hot tubs when we go on vacation. However, the thought of spending that much money on one item put us off for many, many years. We also knew that if we did ever get a hot tub, it would take up a pretty big area on the existing deck. We knew we would have to do some work to our existing deck to reinforce it for the weight, or recess it into the deck, and we talked about our ideas literally for years!

This summer, the timing finally felt right and we decided to go for it.

We bought a hot tub in August, and just recently finished expanding our deck, and I am really enjoying our new Jacuzzi hot tub. It can comfortably fit 6-7 people, and it has a lounge seat and two "cool down" seats, which are essentially just raised seats perfect for kids (and myself.) Avery and Kendall are really enjoying it, and we are keeping the temperature in the high 90's for now (as opposed to the low 100's) so it's not too warm for them. Growing up, my parents actually had a hot tub in their basement, and I remember my sister and I "swimming" in it, so I knew Avery would enjoy it too. Travis loves teaching Avery fun games like Marco Polo and Sharks and Minnows.

Before it was delivered, Travis had to take apart our existing deck and reinforce it for the weight, and also run the electrical wiring, which were decent sized projects. At the same time, he greatly expanded out existing deck, with my help of course. It took him about 2 weeks to get everything ready, but it was well worth it. We discovered that Avery also apparently loves building decks haha. At her preschool open house, she told her teachers that her favorite activity to do with her family is "build decks." How cute is that?

I have used the hot tub almost every day since we got it. It really is the perfect way to relax after a long day, and I'm excited to continue using it as the weather cools.