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Backyard progress

rectangle-pool-backyard-layout
I love this time of year.  I got the kids off to school one morning a few days ago and was cleaning upstairs when I walked by one of our french doors and the morning light was streaming across our backyard.  It was such beautiful natural light!  I had to stop and take it all in.  And then take a picture.  :)  We are lucky that because of our weather we can really use our backyard all year long, but everything looks more beautiful in the Spring!  Our yard is still new so it’s fun to see plants and flowers finally blooming.  It’s still a work in progress and there is a lot I want to eventually do, but after living with such a small yard for so long in our previous house, having all of this space and grass for the kids to run and play on feels like a dream!  I’m going to do a post at some point with more details on our back yard because I get lots of questions about our trampoline, fire pit and bike trail so that will be coming soon!

We are finally getting ready to order outdoor furniture and I’m so excited!  It will be wonderful to have cozy seating areas and lounge chairs to sit on by the pool.
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Every time we visit one of the Hawaiian islands my absolute favorite thing is the color of the ocean.  It is so BLUE.  And not just one shade of blue, but every shade of blue.  Navy and turquoise and teal and indigo…  It’s just breathtaking and I could stare at it all day!
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So when I came across these gorgeous outdoor pillows from Pottery Barn it was love at first sight!  If I can’t be in Maui every day I’ll just try to recreate the feeling as best as I can.  :)  Operation furnish the backyard is in full force!  I have the design figured out and most of the furniture ordered.  I’m especially excited to be able to entertain more.  We’ve had a few parties in our yard, but with nothing other than a handful of folding chairs to sit on I haven’t been that motivated to have friends over.  Add that to my not so hot cooking skills and I haven’t felt like I’d make the best hostess.  ;)  But with the yard finally decorated I’ll be ready!  It will be so cute no one will care about the lousy food!

At least that’s the plan.  :)
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Couple more pics I snapped a few days ago in the yard.  El drives me crazy doing her gymnastics all over the house.  She is getting really good.  And it is seriously scaring me.  The other night she was doing back handsprings down our hallway and I felt my heart leap out of my chest!  I feel like I’m just holding my breath in anticipation of a trip to the emergency room with this girl!  Thank goodness I can send her to the trampoline or our makeshift gym to practice where it’s at least a little bit safer.  Moms of teens – is this what it feels like when your child starts driving?  Or worse!?  I don’t think I’m cut out for this stuff.
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Of course after El puts on a show my little buddy has to show off with a few of his tricks.
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Ta-da!  He’s clutching to a map of Disneyland.  His beloved “treasure map” of course.  :)
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Two of my three musketeers dipping their feet in the pool.  :)
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And since I’m rambling about my lousy cooking skills (again), emergency room scares, and treasure maps and totally NOT sticking to the point of this post (what was the point of this post?) I might as well show you my latest progress in the living room.  We have a table!  Another one!  And that’s it.  Ha!  My end table came and we have no couch to set it at the end of.  Couch is backordered another month.  :(  Man I’m having a hard time being patient!  Everything for this room is picked out and ordered.  Major accomplishment for me since I’m such a slow decorator.  Now I just want to snap my fingers and have it all here!  I’ll have to be patient I guess.

And brush up on my pizza ordering cooking skills in the meantime.

:)

xoxo, Erin
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26 thoughts on “Backyard progress

  1. Erin!!! Your backyard rocks! It looks like a picture out of a magazine. It’s so, so beautiful and I know you and your family will make so many memories there. Wow. Just wow. I would love to snoop around your house one day to see how beautiful everything is. I feel like I can’t have any “nice” stuff around because my son ruins EVERYTHING. I guess one day I will miss that, right? Oh, and I’m right there with ya about the driving stuff – I am going to be a nervous wreck when he starts driving. I told my husband that he will just live with us forever and we can drive him where he needs to go. Needless to say, I don’t think that will be an option! Anyway, loved your post today (as always). Have a great Thursday!
    Shannon in PA
    http://thebusybrunette.blogspot.com/

    1. Love that Shannon – not even making driving an option! Hmm.. hadn’t thought of that. :) We were in that stage with our kids for so long! I had nothing nice for years. It feels good to finally not worry as much about everything getting ruined! But yes – there are definitely things I miss about those baby/toddler stages so try to enjoy it while you can! You’ll blink and it will be over. Thank you sweet friend! xo

  2. Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous view you have there, Erin! I can imagine your excited anticipation. Spring is a lovely time of year. I look forward to seeing future posts on your backyard. I know they will be gorgeous! Those pillows you found are lovely. Your kids look so happy doing what they love to do. Hey, who needs cooking skills when you have the views you have. No one will care when they are immersed in all that beauty. :) Bummer about the backorders. It is hard to be patient, I’m sure. Have a great day!

  3. Wow – what an impressive backyard!! And the pool! One day. I love your decorating style too – we have similar tastes :)

  4. Hi Erin!
    I love your blog & look forward to each of your posts! Your home is so beautiful & inspiring! Love the living room table! Would you mind sharing where you purchased it?
    Have a blessed day,
    Julie

    1. What a sweet thing to say Julie! Thank you so much. :) Yes! The silver table is from Z Gallerie and the larger wood table is from Restoration Hardware (wasn’t sure which one you were talking about?). Thanks again Julie! Enjoy your day! xo

  5. Ok, I have a question about your pool. I don’t see a fence, do you have a safety cover or alarm or do your kids all swim well enough that you don’t worry about it? I only ask because we just purchased a home with a beautiful yard with a pool and I am at a loss of what to do with it. My youngest is 4 and I am constantly worrying about her and the pool. I don’t don’t really want an ugly fence but not sure how else to go about it.
    Your yard is beautiful. I would sit out there all day long

    1. Hi Katie! Oh my word – safety was my biggest concern when we put this pool in! Pools scare me to death with little ones and my youngest still can’t swim. That’s the reason we put in a rectangle pool! It has an automatic cover that goes over it and is on it most of the time. I wrote all about it in this post:

      https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2013/10/new-house-q-post-1/

      Thanks for your sweet comment! So happy you like the yard. :) xo

  6. Wow — your yard and view is simply gorgeous!! Love your many colors of blue plan! My girl would love that trampoline too! Your silver table is so perfect! Can’t wait to see it all come together!

  7. Hi Erin, Your backyard does look amazing. Everything is growing and it looks so pretty. It’s no secret how much I love navy and indigo. It looks great with the teal. Oh…I’m not sure if I mentioned it or not but I am in love with your coffee table. ;) Can’t wait to see it all together.

    xo

  8. Your backyard is gorgeous Erin! I’m keeping photos of the outside of your house, front and back, for whenever we finally get to build our dream house!
    I was wondering, how old was El when she started Gymnastics? My daighter a 3, I’d love for her to be able to do all that. Right now in gymnastics they basically just run around and jump on the trampoline a bit, is that what El did at that age?

    1. Thank you Nancy! So sweet of you. El started gymnastics when she was 4 (totally just doing the same things your daughter is doing now) and went for a couple of years and then we took a two year break (things were too crazy while we were building and doing so much therapy with Kole!) then she started again two years ago. It really has been in the past year that she has started to love it so much and her skills have taken off. I’ve found with stuff like this that it matters so much how much they enjoy it. If you daughter loves gymnastics her skills will improve quickly because she’ll practice a lot. My other daughter doesn’t love it as much and we may pull her out soon because she isn’t spending enough time doing it to show much progress. El is now taking two classes a week and she’ll take three as soon as she makes the competitive team. Plus every day she isn’t in class she is on our trampoline or her beam practicing. We’ve tried lots of things to finally find what our girls love! I guess what I’m saying is the age doesn’t matter as much as how much they love/want to be good at something. Sorry that was a book! ;) xo

      1. Thanks so much for the reply Erin, you’re such a sweetie! Nothing to say sorry for, I love how long a helpful that was. :)
        That totally makes sense,if they love it, they’ll practice and get good no matter what age they start… Thanks again!

  9. Erin, your yard looks dreamy and your home is just so beautiful. Oh and your new table is pretty cool. Do you plan it all in your head, how different pieces of furniture come together? Or do you sketch a plan? Either way, the end result is just gorgeous!

    P.S OMG! I found it. It’s a Hong Kong Orchid tree, the tree with the beautiful pink flowers. My grandma had one of those in her garden and I remember seeing them as a kid. I forgot it’s name and when I saw your first pic, I remembered. Thank You :)

    1. Hi Thelma! Oh yea! So glad you remembered the name! :) You are so sweet to say that about my house. I usually just get an idea for how I want things to look in my head when it comes to furniture, but I was sketching things a lot when we were building. :) Enjoy your weekend!

  10. Hi Erin,

    I “lost” your blog for awhile… maybe when you were making the transition from blogspot? Anyway, it’s been fun catching up. Your home is so beautiful and beautifully decorated and organized. Plus, your posts are fun to read. I hadn’t been reading long enough to hear of your health crisis after the birth of your son so I’m glad you linked back to that. What a scary story! I am so glad that you are able each year to celebrate good health and time together with your family.

    Have a beautiful weekend!

  11. That is an amazing backyard! Our daughter used to make me scared when she figure skated. She’s go so fast and doing jumps!!!! But thankfully, she couldn’t do that all over the house. I love seeing the living room “in progress” makes me realize you don’t have everything done and decorated, just like us.

  12. Hi Erin,

    Will you please do a post about how you put your trampoline into the ground? I would love the details on that. Do the kids ever acidentally jump off the trampoline and land on the ground? Has anyone gotten hurt? I am thinking of getting a trampoline, but It would have to go in the front yard, so I like the idea of putting it in the ground.

    Btw, your house is so beautiful. Sometimes I have to take a break from your blog because my house will never look as nice as yours and it can make me depressed. But I always come back to see what you are up to. You’re such a nice person and your house really is gorgeous. You have really done a good job with it.

    1. Thank you Jen! I’m so glad you like the house. Makes me sad it depresses you sometimes. Certainly not my intention sharing it! I will definitely do a post on our in ground trampoline. Hopefully soon! I just need to find time to get a few more recent pics of it. xo

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