Finally a Productive Weekend!

Not everything went according to plan (when does it ever), but we accomplished a decent amount. First and foremost I must say that the awnings are gone and that is reason enough to celebrate. In case you missed it; HERE is why I hate them so. My garden however was not finished which is a bummer but not a huge deal.

Saturday was a glorious day to be doing anything outside. The day started off beautifully and we promptly headed outside after waking up the kids and eating some breakfast. We were going to get cracking on the awnings when one of our neighbors told me they were planning on putting up the fence posts that day. They had talked to us previously about putting up a nice cedar privacy fence, but we had not discussed when this would be done. The neighbor said he had several buddies coming to help out, but of course it is our fence too so hubby said he would help out.

That definitely put a wrench into our plans seeing as how they needed to install a couple dozen fence posts which isn't particularly light work. The neighbors also were redoing some of their walkway with new pavers so hubby helped them sledgehammer and carry away old walkway which definitely wasn't light work. I mowed the lawn and watched the kids while hubs started with the fence business.

Here is a picture taken from our yard looking over at the neighbour's yard where the fence is going up:

 Notice K off to the right and how long the grass was in that area. Hubs was going to mow, but since he had to help with the fence someone had to do it. Luckily the kids were really well behaved while I did that. H just chilled out and enjoyed being outside:

K grabbed his own mower and "helped" me mow the lawn:

He was very proud of himself!

After I mowed the lawn there really wasn't much for me to do. The neighbor had between 4-8 friends helping out with the fence and walkway at any given time so the fence holes were dug up and the poles cemented in within four hours or so. I was lucky and got to sit in the middle of the patio and drink a daiquiri with the neighbor lady. It was a good time and the temperature got up to 80 degrees so it was really nice. The kids took shorter than normal naps and came back outside to check out what was being done. Since it was nice and warm, I busted out one of H's sundresses and matching hats. It was nice because we got to meet some people that live around our block and a few have kids the same age as our kids. Lots of playdate potential in our neighborhood that's for sure!

The neighbors had a big BBQ after the fence posts were up to feed everyone that had helped out. It was a fabulous summer-like day amidst what has been a cold and gloomy spring so far. Here is a shot taken from our front yard looking at the fence and walkway work that was accomplished:

The rest of the fence will be put up in two weeks. The neighbour also committed to helping us with an outdoor project of our own within a week or two. We had been discussing tearing down the big pine tree in our front yard because it is leaning towards the neighbor's house. Now that project is a go for (hopefully) this month and the rusty old flagpole is going down too:

It looks like our property will be looking rather different by the time all these projects are done!

After eating and relaxing for a couple of hours, hubby and I finally got a chance to tackle the awnings. We had taken two down the prior weekend between the rain and thirty degree temperatures. Here is a shot of the very first awning that came down from the side of the house:

The good news was that they came down pretty easily and the siding around where they were on was not faded or scratched so it looks pretty clean. We got going on the awnings as the kids napped a little more Saturday afternoon. We plowed through the ones on the side of the house and then got the ones from the front down:

 By then it was getting late and we had plans to go to a bonfire at a friend's house so we called it quits for the day. All the awnings were off except for the back of the house which would get done in the morning:

The next day, we woke up to another beautiful day though slightly colder. Hubby made me pancakes for mother's day and we headed outside again after breakfast. I set H down for an early nap so that we would only have one kid to tend to while we pulled down the last three awnings. As hubs worked, K took an interest in the ladder and decided he wanted to climb it just like daddy:

He had no fear and climbed all the way to the top. Momma on the other hand, did have a lot of fear, so I was right behind him the whole way. He got to the top without any help and was pretty comfortable. I did have to help him down though.

Soon enough we were done with the awnings. Here is the awning graveyard in our back yard:

We added a few more to it before we were done. The best part is that we discovered the awnings are made of aluminum. This means that we can sell them at the recycling center and receive back an estimated $100 for them. Score!

The awnings are done and I am loving the natural light and unobstructed views from inside my house:

And of course the outside is nice too:

BEFORE

 AFTER

 BEFORE

 AFTER

It does look a little plain for now but eventually we will get some decorative shutters or something. In the meantime, I'm OK with plain because it is much better than ugly!

Stay tuned for what's going on with my garden.