the Spring projects have BEGUN!

It can't be spring without the Spring projects and, well.... lets just say our projects are a definite sign of Spring. We have already laid out a bunch that we will be starting soon.

I wanted a pond when we lived in Virginia but everytime we anticipated buying the supplies, there would be something to tell us it wasn't a good idea. The main reason we never were able to put in my pond was that our yard flooded several times a year. We would end up with blue crabs walking across our yard sideways haha... but anyway, it would have been impossible to keep everything IN that we wanted in, and everything OUT that we wanted out. Our poor fish would have washed away and into the salty bay, which they wouldn't have enjoyed I'm sure. Plus, I don't think the crabs would enjoy being in a pond. So, with that said, it was on top of my list of things I wanted to do with the next house we bought. I have a place picked out in the yard and have started digging so that we can do the project in time for Mother's Day.

The only problem with the pond situation now is that the dog/the kid are going to be fascinated with it. The only solution for that would be to have water that they COULD go in. We've wanted a pool since our last house (and the flooding situation made that dream impossible too) so again, we decided we would do that with our next house. I just can't see myself having time to maintain a huge pool right now, plus, we're going to be at the lake a lot this summer so that makes it even more impossible to maintain it when we're 45 minutes away. Since it's so important to us that Owen keeps up with his swimming, while enjoying the summer, we've decided to get one of these until we have the time to build and maintain an in-ground pool (when our kids are older and less crazy as the toddler stages most likely!)
We had a pool just like this in Virginia because with Brian going out to sea so much, and me going to NY ocassionally while he was gone, it made sense to have something carefree. I used it throughout my pregnancy and even our dog enjoyed it! It was pretty durable too, we never had any problems with it. We actually ended up putting it out by the curb before we moved because we couldn't take it with us. Someone picked it up like 10 minutes after we put it out there haha.
So now I just have to dig out the ground and level it up a little bit so that the pool will be on completely flat ground without any sharp roots or stumps sticking up.

Last but not least, the playground for Owen. Many of you moms have probably noticed that you don't get much for the money when it comes to playgrounds/swing sets. A lot that I've seen are just so flimsy looking that I can't imagine having it hold up to a boy. Plus, do I want my son on something that doesn't seem safe? Luckily, my husband is really handy. He built such an elaborate deck at our old house. The building inspector said that the house would be gone, but the deck would still be there. After looking at some playgrounds, Brian decided he was just going to build one himself. He is SO excited to get started on this project. My dad is probably going to come help him with it, so it will be nice for them. This is what it's going to look like:


Brian just picked up Owen to go put him to bed and Owen said "Mommy, I can't wait for my playground! Playgrounds are so fun!". I'm sure the rest of the neighborhood kids would agree....