Friday, January 17, 2014

Backyard Before and After Pics

Did I ever show y'all what our backyard used to look like when the boys were little? Well, here's a pic...


Yep, that's the same backyard. :) When we built this house almost 14 years ago, our boys were 6 and 1, so we made sure they had plenty of backyard space to run and play in. I knew that before long, the playset would come down and I could have a pretty backyard again. :) But, oh the fun we had in that backyard when the boys were little!

In the upper right of the pic below, you can see where the playground used to be. It was in that far back corner. Disclaimer...these pics were taken last summer when everything was green and blooming. It definitely doesn't look like this in January! :)




Here's looking straight on at that back corner. Back in the day, if you were to walk straight forward, you'd bump into a pirate ship. :) 



That arbor is right behind where the fort and slide used to be.

adirondack chairs

The pic below is pretty much from the same point of view as the first pic with the playground. My, it looks different now. :)



Y'all have heard me talk about this before, but this is the furniture my hubby made out of the wood from the playset. When they dismantled the playset, he kept a lot of the wood and used it to make these adirondack chairs and bench. It's so nice to still have a little piece of the playset back here. :)

outdoor furniture made from dismantled playset

This was the former home of a pirate ship, wave climber, fort, slide, and log cabin. Along with numerous motorized jeeps, fire trucks, play gas pumps, diggers, and hot wheels cars by the millions (and a cozy coupe or two) 





Here are a few more pics of the olden days...


Below, you can see there was nothing planted along the back fence yet. You can also get a little glimpse of the tiny bald cypress to the right of the log cabin. That's one of the fastest growing trees I've ever seen. You can see how the once red jeep was now bleached almost white from the sun. 



You can see the bald cypress is starting to get bigger.



Again...there was absolutely nothing along the back fence. :) We refrained from planting a lot of trees/bushes back then because we wanted the boys to have plenty of room for soccer, football, baseball, etc.




These are all pictures of a picture, so the quality isn't that great. 

You can see in the pic below that I finally started to plant a few things along the fence, but the playset was still getting daily use. By the way, that's one of the grandpas pushing someone around in a gigaball. Lol!

Then one day when the boys were a little older, we started the demolition of the beloved playset. The boys helped take it down. You can see I had already planted a few things in the background. A lot of that wood was about to be transformed into an adirondack chair and bench. :)



When my youngest was 10, he put together that arbor all by himself! We still have it today. 



Here's one more look at the playground in its prime. :) I spent many an hour sitting on that park bench watching the boys play. 



When we had the house built, we just marked off where the playground would go, so they wouldn't put grass down there. It was nice because we just put down some weed guard on top of the soil, then had the mulch delivered. The mulch we used is called "playground mulch." It's light colored so it won't stain and it provided a great cushion for all those little falls that took place. :) We did have to periodically bring in more mulch every couple of years or so, just to beef up the protection. 

Happy times, indeed! Thanks for going down memory lane with me!

~Lisa

I'm joining these parties: By Stephanie LynnDwellings The Heart of Your HomeMaria Elena's DecorSavvy Southern StyleWe Are That FamilyImparting GraceChic On A Shoestring DecoratingI Heart NaptimeJennifer RizzoA Stroll Thru LifeThe Blissful BeeLiz Marie BlogI Should Be Mopping The FloorCommon GroundCraftberry Bush




29 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, your big yard tortures me. We had a fort in our backyard too when the boys were little. So many happy times out there....we watched fireworks, had to go get stitches from a fall, and buried a dog right out there. Your yard inspires me!

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  2. You have a beautiful yard.....it's great that you were able to change it now that your kids are older. We are planning to re-landscape our yard this year. I don't exactly have a green thumb so I'm not sure what we will end up with!!?? LOL!!!
    Have a great weekend!!
    ~Des

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  3. Aww, how lovely! That is like every kid's dream backyard! Looks like you all had lots if fun, too!
    And I love how you've transformed it over the years!

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  4. Wow they were really lucky to have such an awesome yard.

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  5. You have one of the prettiest back yards! I love that the wood from the play set was re-purposed into furniture too. So clever! It saves money and is sentimental!

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  6. Hi..I'm bj from Sweet Nothings. Not sure how I got to your blog...saw that you were from Texas so thought I'd come over and say HOWDY. :)
    Your yard is just amazing...so beautiful. My yard went from swings and slides and play pools to looking beautiful and back to swings and slides and play pools for grands. Then the yard was pretty again...then, we moved into our son's pool house behind his pretty home and now we have a beautiful yard. Can't wait for summer so we can putter around out in it. :)
    Come over to this this Texas Great-Grandmother sometime. :)

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  7. What a fun thing to see and the memories that you have record of is wonderful. I'll bet the kids have very fond memories of that yard and all the fun they had growing up there. Your son did a great job on that arbor. I see that bj (above me) found you. If you don't know her yet you will love her when you do! Blessings to you- xo Diana

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  8. Can I come over and sit outside with you before the heat sets in? :) It's just gorgeous! I love all the plants and flowers and wow, what a difference. I'm sure the boys had a ton of fun out there ~ sweet memories for sure. Thanks so much for sharing!

    xo
    Pat

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  9. Love your back yard and your roses. Your son did a great job on the arbor too! What a great idea too on reusing the wood from the playground for furniture too! Have a great weekend, Lisa.

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  10. You had the perfect playground for your kids when they were little. I love how you recycled the lumber from it to make backyard furniture and an arbor. What a great idea! Your backyard is so pretty now. We need to work on ours this Spring since we had it dug up for our new septic field line. It has been so cold that we don't spend any time out there now. Looking forward to Spring!

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  11. What a fantastic yard and play area you had for your kids...that's LOVE!! We had that, too, but boy, that man of yours is something else to re purpose that wood! And you have one mighty green thumb! How absolutely beautiful your yard is! :)

    XO,
    Jane

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  12. Your yard is so nice and big! You used it just perfectly. It was a fabulous play yard before and a charming oasis now. Gorgeous!
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  13. Oh man...I'll bet all the kids wanted to come to your house to play! That was an awesome play area that you provided for your kiddos. Now, it has become a gorgeous play area for you! I think I remember seeing some of your gardening pics last year...the pics look familiar. I love how your husband recycled the wood for the chairs! Thanks for sharing these great memories!

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    1. Thanks, Luisa! It was definitely a popular spot to play. :) I'm so glad my hubby thought to recycle the wood in that way. I love those adirondack chairs. Good times, for sure!

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  14. You did an amazing job and all those pretty colors remind me how much I miss summer!! ;)

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    1. I'm actually starting to miss all the pretty colors of summer too! I'm just dreaming of my Spring garden. It'll be here before we know it. :)

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  15. What fun memories and your yard is huge and stunning. Love it. Thanks for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

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  16. It's been many, many years for me & a few states away, but I still remember those wonderful days when our children were little & hanging out like a bunch of monkeys on the swing set. How nice that you were able to recycle the wood into those beautiful adirondack chairs -- great job!

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  17. What a fantastic yard, now and then! Nice to look back, isn't it? Oh the memories that were made in your yard by your children must be just awesome! Great post!

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  18. I am curious. Where did you get the patio topper? I love that the top is retractable.

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    1. Hi Liz! We got the entire pergola at Target a few years ago. It's part of the Smith and Hawkens line. The canopy does retract, which is nice. We've since had to purchase a replacement canopy from gardenwinds.com. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. :)

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  19. Your backyard is very lovely and what wonderful memories you have from the old play set to your furniture. Thanks for sharing.
    Mary

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  20. Great story and beautiful yard. Good things come to all who wait...

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  21. That's so sweet that you made furniture out of the playset! What a great way to preserve those memories!

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    1. Thank you, Melinda! I think about those sweet memories every time I sit out there. :) Hope you have a great weekend!

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  22. what a charming and lovely haven
    you've created in your backyard

    i would love for you to share
    at Fridays Unfolded this week!

    Alison
    Nancherrow

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alison! Thanks for the sweet comment on my backyard! I can't wait for Spring, when things will start to green up again. :)

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  23. Isn't it nice to look back? Love your yard now, perfect like your indoors Lisa, but I also enjoyed seeing all the memories you made there way back when... how time flies doesn't it?!

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