Patio Project 2009

Summer vacation is finally here! I thought it would be fun to tackle one of my major "to-do's" on the list.

Here's the "before" picture. The previous owners had a small patio in the back corner of the backyard. I had to take it out in order to put in the fence (a project that I DIDN'T do myself!) We've been talking about adding another patio since then.

So the digging begins. Matthew was a big help. He was in charge of digging out all the roots from all the dirt. He called them "little trees that were buried in the ground."

Of course, Adam couldn't resist a big dirt pile!

Here's one of me trying to remove the biggest root I encountered in the "big dig." I hope I didn't kill the tree by removing it and the others. After all, it's the tree that provides the shade all day long in the back corner.

The mega root!

Once the hole was complete, it was time to fill it up again, first with a gravel layer, then sand. Here's me laying out the pavers and hoping they were level.

And TA-DA!! The final product! It turned out really nice. Now, just imagine a nice patio swing instead of the chaise lounge, and it will be complete (with a little landscaping too in the corner). I guess I can be handy around the house. It must be all those HGTV shows we watch every weekend. Just don't ask me to remodel a bathroom!!

Now, the rest of my vacation will be recovering, with a bottle of Tylenol nearby!