The Deck - FINITO!

I have the most beautiful deck in my backyard! I could (and probably should) say WE have the most beautiful deck in OUR backyard, but I'm feeling very possessive at the moment. I am so proud of my husband for working so hard for so long on this project!

Jonathan began by taking out the grass on March 13th. He has worked many evenings and weekends since then to build us a beautiful deck that we can use for many, many years. I don't remember the last Saturday he was able to sleep in or even just relax and has constantly been thinking about materials, decisions to be made, and the next steps in the process. Besides that he's also been helping prepare for Aaron inside, doing a lot of rearranging, organizing and generally helping me out as I've gotten further along.

Here's a before picture (from last spring when I at least had some plants growing)

If you've missed out on the process, these are the posts I've made from the beginning:
The Deck (Part 1)
The Deck (Part 2)
The Deck (Part 3)

This weekend was #10 on the project.

Wednesday/Thursday morning - my dad cut boards for the upper deck
Saturday - Jonathan and dad spent the entire day attaching the deck boards on the upper area
Sunday - Afternoon shopping trip to get the last of the materials
Monday (4th of July) - worked ALL DAY on the finishing touches. (vertical boards along the edges to finish them off and railings along the top)

When I say "all day" on Monday, they worked from 7:30 until around 10 minutes before GG brought dinner over for the 4th of July. They even considered working after dinner, but Jonathan drew the line... it had been a very long day!

Weekend 10 - working on the upper deck

They needed the shade - we had highs in the upper 90s this weekend with very little breeze. 

Weekend 10 - Saturday evening

Weekend 10 - enjoying a few minutes of outside time before Caleb's bedtime

Weekend 10 - Monday, working on the rails

This part was tedious, it took a lot of patience to make sure everything lined up just right. 

Weekend 10 - Monday evening (It's SO pretty!)

We added the glider today (Wednesday), we have a second one but haven't had a chance to put it together yet. 

Ignore the dying plants...the drought is not kind to plants : (

Caleb and I have enjoyed playing out on the deck early in the morning (before 9) and Jonathan has joined us a few evenings playing outside for just a few minutes. It's already been such a blessing and I know we'll have lots of fun times out there in the future! 

Thank you, Jonathan, for building us such a beautiful outdoor space to enjoy for many years to come! (And thanks, Pops, for helping!) I feel so blessed every time I look out in my (ok...our) backyard!