Patio

Before: This is after the first contractor dug it up, before it was finished.
When it snowed, we had a red neck ice skating rink.

After! (We still need to do some landscaping, so ignore the weeds and dead grass.)

I found this playhouse at a garage sale for $40! I was so excited!

Last August, we hired a contractor to put a concrete slab, basketball hoop, french drain, and retaining wall in our backyard. He gave us the cheapest rate, but seemed like a good guy, so we went ahead and broke the #1 rule of hiring contractors: don't hire the cheapest guy!!! Long story short, this guy ended up being "Slim Shady" after taking our deposit, digging up the backyard, then doing nothing else for several months. It was excuse after excuse for why he couldn't come out. We fired him and waited until Jerry got another job, 7 months later, and then hired someone else to finish the job. It ended up costing a lot more, but we couldn't be happier with the results! It is so nice to have a fun place for the kids to play and ride their bikes instead of a soggy, squishy back yard!