Painting and Patio Progress

I'm sure everyone remembers that wild day back in January when my mr. came crashing through the ceiling. Well, the hole has been patched and painted for months but as you can see, it just wasn't quite right.

In an original attempt to remedy our big problem I had brought a sample piece of ceiling into the local hardware store to have them match the color. I love to paint but painting ceilings is a horrid task, one I avoid at all costs. Therefore, I stressed over and over to the woman working that it needed to be a perfect match. (I was determined to only paint the patched area.) She acted annoyed, so I very reluctantly let up. I then went home and painted and of course, it didn't match. The color was right but the existing finish was satin and she had sold me an entire gallon of flat paint. SO FRUSTRATING. I spent months in denial, struggling to convince myself that no one would notice. Because I had made our 'situation' so public, people had a tendency to walk through my front door, point, and giggle. I could no longer deny that it was bad when my mom said she'd come down to fix it for me. 

We tackled the project together but her endurance put me to shame. 

She even did an extra room.

(She's crazy-cool that way.)

While we painted, Brian and Dad set the forms for our new patio. The weather was far from cooperative. Here they sit in the garage, taking a quick break during an especially terrific downpour.

Dad leveling the forms...

[Bro-in-law]Brian, Tess, and Kiddos came to help too.

We recently turned a panel of fence on the far side of the house into a gate so we needed to reinforce the posts while we had a truckload of concrete at our dispense.

Sidewalk forms.

Patio Forms.

The guys worked quickly leaving us with time for a quick lunch before the truck arrived.

Polish Sausages, Cheetos, and Grapes it was! I had just bought a huge container of green grapes at Costco. Take a look at this happy guy and you can guess who bought the other lunch ingredients. It wasn't our most nutritious lunch but the kids sure thought it was great. :) 

Shortly after lunch the truck arrived. Sydni and Kolt were allowed to postpone their naps in order to observe the action. This was their reaction. I love their concerned expressions and clutched hands. So cute.

And so it began...

Little Boss Lady Sydni.

Sydni was itching to "accidentally" get dirty.

One foot deep tracks through my yard. No big deal.

Removing the forms that hugged the side of the house in order to finish floating and troweling...

In order for the truck to fit in our backyard we had to cut down one apple tree (too big to transplant) and remove several panels of fence. 

Oh Tess, our Brians and their gooberish faces...so entertaining!

Setting the posts for the new gates.

Someday, hopefully sooner rather than later (because Finn is seriously missing his freedom), there will be a walk-through gate over the sidewalk as well as a big double gate into the backyard. This one will be wide enough for a truck or RV to fit through.

Scrubbing the patio furniture...

Before:

Way too many large growth trees planted too close to the fence and to one another. 

 The patio in the process of being dug.

 Brian going to town breaking up the concrete pad outside our sliding glass door.

He released a lot of aggression that day. (The facial expressions were quite something!)

After:

(There's still a lot to do.)

Lots of debris clean-up...

Although I've been plugging away on removing trees, there's more to be dug...more grass to plant too.

Windows and doors need washing and a new step needs to be built.

Dirt needs to be filled in along the concrete and grass needs to be planted.

And while my sweet peas have yet to realize that it's no longer June...

...my recently transplanted rhubarb plants are happy as can be! I can hardly wait for my first crop! This rhubarb plant has been growing strong since it belonged to my Great, Great Grandpa Oltman. (My Grandma Jane's grandpa.) He was an avid gardener and had passed a start from his plant onto my Grandpa Al and Grandma Jane, who later gave a start to my parents, who have now given me two starts. Not only delicious, but sentimental too. :)

The patio now looks like this. 

It still lacks a lot of cuteness but I have every intention of loving on it when we return from camping.

A very random collaboration.

My new sidewalk! Things are going to be so much less messy now.

We're looking forward to good times to come in our ever-improving backyard. :)