Mulch under the deck.

The grass looked really bad around this clump of trees so I put in a bed.  Afton and I both found a rock in the woods.  You can see where they put in our french drain.  It seems to be helping with the drainage.

More under-deck fun

New sandbox for the kiddos

This morning I built this ginormous sandbox for the kids.  It has a fold up top so it doesn't turn into an animal toilet when not in use.  When unfolded it has benches for the kids.  It's kind of ugly cause it's made from treated lumber, leftover stained cedar, one piece of composite decking (18" short of material), and 3 different types of hinge.  Eventually I'll stain it and replace the odd piece of composite decking, but for now it's getting good use.  There is 1350 pounds of sand in this thing.

Deck - almost done

The deck itself went up in no time, but the finishing touches seem to be taking forever.  I spent all day building the stair rail, capping the deck rails, and staining all the cedar.  I also stained the treated posts and beam.  It looks really good with everything matching.  Now I just need to put some fascia boards on the side of the stairs and figure out what I want to do for the top part of the stair rail.

Usable deck

I would like to say a BIG thanks to my dad for all his help with the deck.  We got much more done in one weekend than I thought we would.  We completed everything but the railing and a few fascia pieces.  I started on the railing today and got it built around the perimeter of the deck.  It was not near as fun working on it by myself.  However, now the kids can go out and play, and they really seem to enjoy it.

Deck progress after day 2

These first 2 pictures are actually the end of day 1.

Our back yard is a mud pit, but we're making progress.

We took a dinner break during the tornado warning then went back out to lay some deck boards till dark.

Start of deck

Mom and Dad came out to visit and of course we put them to work right away as usual.  Dad is helping me with the deck while mom is putting some of the finishing touches on the mudroom.