Yes, that's a birthday balloon in the pool. My five year old was completely attached to it for some reason. I promise these kids have more than enough pool toys. If you follow me on Instagram you know this!
Oh, and as a disclaimer for those breaking out in a cold sweat over the fire and the kids being so close, the kids are not allowed on the rocks while the fire pits are on. Even when they are off, they are only allowed on the two lower shelves since they are wide and flat. We're making up the rules as we go along, but we realized a few things the first night. We also realized beach balls and fire did not mix the hard way. ;) You can see my little guy gathering up the airborne toys for me in the last picture. They still have plenty of toys to play with that don't go airborne, but I can't say they are that interested. I love seeing them make up games as they race each other swimming across the pool. It's nice to see them use their imaginations again!
My five year old can swim the width of the pool, but not the length. We bought him a thin Speedo life vest from Target and it has been the best thing ever. Not only does it give me piece of mind, but his swimming skills have improved dramatically and he can enjoy the entire pool instead of just the sun ledge and hot tub (aka baby pool). I wish I had known about these sooner. I only knew about the thick ones that are really uncomfortable and make swimming difficult. If you have little kids, you've got to get one!
In case you're wondering, Mario does like being outside by the pool. "By the pool" are the key words. He does not like being in the pool, but the kids wanted to see if he could swim. Luckily for Mario, he's a natural born swimmer. When he gets a little nervous around the boys he heads inside where he can safely watch what's going on from the window.
When I showed you the pool last week the deck had not been acid washed so it looked a little chalky. I was thrilled to see it when I came home from work Thursday. It's the color it's supposed to be and the best part is we're not tracking that chalky mess in the house any more.
I love how it matches the flagstone coping so nicely.
Irrigation and grass were added this weekend. We've been the DIY route before with both of these projects, so we know the extra money to pay someone else to do it is well worth it. The areas along the fence were intentionally left alone because we're going to add flowerbeds. I'm hoping to find something that grows tall fast so we have a little privacy when we're outside. The fence isn't the most attractive thing to look at either.
When it does get cool outside we want to be able to sit near the fire pits. My five year old is looking forward to making "snores." That's the reason for the half circles behind the fire pits. We're going to place large pieces of flagstone here to make a patio for chairs or benches. We need to move the sod from behind the other rocks because there will be plants here instead. I'm hoping to find something that will soften the line of the rocks and drape over them a bit.
We've been so busy enjoying the pool that we haven't made too much progress on the beams, but we did get all four of them boxed in. Before, we just had the two front ones done. We just need to add the trim and paint them next. Eventually, I'd love to add a tongue and groove ceiling on the porch with a fan, but the landscape is taking priority right now.
I also found LED candles at Target for the lanterns. It makes such a difference to have these on at night. I'm just crossing my fingers no one kicks them. My husband already broke one trying to put the candle in it. He said he just turned it over and the glass came out. Hmmm...imagine that. Thankfully, Lowe's had one left.
I still haven't shown you all the outdoor serving pieces I have. I keep forgetting to take pictures when we have parties. Don't worry. We have pool parties several times a week!