I love our yard.
It's one of main reasons we bought our house a few years ago. And after living here for awhile now, we've come to see that there is so much more to the outside of our house than just our backyard.
We have so many wonderful places to have fun and enjoy the outdoors at home!
Swing Set
Last Fourth of July, we put in a swing set for the kids. The kids play on it nearly everyday from spring through fall. It's the best "home improvement" we've made so far ;) I wish we would've built it sooner - they love it so much!
Backyard
Like I said earlier - it's one of the main reasons we bought this house a few years ago: it's private, large, flat, and has tons of mature trees for shade. Perfection.
It's the best backyard for family time!
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Lots of mature trees = lots of piles of leaves! |
Garden
It's so satisfying to grow your own veggies! We grown lots of veggies (and 1 fruit!) the past 4 summers at this house, but our favorites have been the strawberries, green beans, banana peppers, and cherry tomatoes.
And my fave garden recipes? Homemade garden salsa and strawberry shortcake. What are yours?
Landscaping
This house came with humongous and mostly barren landscaping beds. But over the past 4 springs/summers, we've slowly been improving them...one free "hey-we're-splitting-our-perennials-would-you-like-some" plant at a time.
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Last summer's dining room window garden |
We're not completely done yet, but I love how they are turning out! We just need to add a little ground cover in some spots and let everything grow larger to fill in.
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Our Mary Garden this Spring |
Driveway
What weirdos love their driveway? We do!
We have a pretty large and flat driveway which is perfect for sidewalk chalk and riding bikes - or both!
The only downfall is...
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Training starts early at our house ;) |
Upstairs Patio
This is my new favorite space because we finally got patio furniture for it this summer! Now, we can finally use it! Jim and I love reading out there, having a snack, or chatting - just the two of us.
Walking Trails and Lakes
Now this is my favorite part about our area - the fabulous lakes. We have 2 we can access easily from our house - the Little Lake and the Big Lake. (Very clever names we came up with!)
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Just a little mommy taking her baby for a walk ;) |
They have sidewalks all the way around, wooded islands, fountains, and tons of wildlife like swans, turtles, ducks, frogs, and more. They are just so beautiful...and fun to walk around and enjoy!
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We love watching the swans raise their little one(s) every year! |
When we bought this house, I would've never dreamed how much we would love and enjoy every aspect of our yard. It has the perfect outdoor spaces for our family. We can never move now ;)
So what are your favorite outdoor spaces at home? I'd love to hear about what you and your family enjoy the most!
Hope you're having a beautiful summer!
I'm linking up with these awesome parties!
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The first rose of this summer...St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us! |
What a beautiful neighborhood you live in! We live by a lake and it's one of my favorite things about our area! And my hubby would adore your backyard. He's always wanted a big, flat yard. Have you ever though about getting a zipline?? :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Beautiful area! I love how big the yard is! Cute babies too!
ReplyDeletewww.melaniewynn.com
Your yard is amazing! Seriously. It makes me wish I lived in the suburbs. I love how much fun your kiddos look like they are having out there.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. You have a great yard. What a great area to raise a family in.
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely stunning yard! The picture of the lake truly looks like a postcard. And the "training starts early" caption had me literally laughing out loud :)
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS!!!! I want to move in :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking up! :)
Wow beautiful!!! I'll take spring flowers over snow piles anyday!!! I would love for you to share this and your summer update on Making Memories Mondays still going on!
ReplyDeleteCathy@threekidsandafish{dot}com
What a beautiful yard and so perfect for kids!
ReplyDeleteYou do have a great outdoor space!! I love your flat driveway and how perfect your space is for all seasons :)
ReplyDeleteLove your outdoor space! And don't worry, we love our driveway too. It was actually one of the things my husband was looking for when we bought our house 😉
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was - don't give him any ideas!!! Haha Oh my, would they love that!!! Two of our neighbors have one...maybe we'll have to "borrow" theirs! -Jess
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! -Jess
ReplyDeleteThank you! We sure think so too! We feel so blessed! -Jess
ReplyDeleteI love having a place they can just run and play - they really do love it! Me too :) -Jess
ReplyDeleteI know - the lake is beautiful! And it sure cracked me up too! One night, my husband started snow blowing when I was getting home with the kids. Our son B just jumped out of the car, grabbed his lawn mower, and went to town. He wanted to "mow the snow" like Daddy. Haha Hey, start them liking chores while they're young, right?! Haha -Jess
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it's the best! Thanks for hosting! -Jess
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! And thanks for hosting - I linked it up this week! -Jess
ReplyDeleteThank you! They love it!!! -Jess
ReplyDeleteSomething to look for in your new house! ;) I can see Olive doing all the landscaping now (I just love all the pics of her with your flowers - she is such a doll!) -Jess
ReplyDeleteThank you! We absolutely love it!!!! -Jess
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see we're not alone! Our first house had a really inclined driveway, which stinks for kids and bikes. We actually looked for a flat one too. And this one is perfect! Thanks for stopping by today! -Jess
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you have a great back yard! Such a nice open space.
ReplyDeleteWe have green beans, strawberries and peppers in our garden also. We skipped the banana peppers for hot peppers this year. We love adding them to hot salsa!
I have major driveway envy! :) So many great outdoor spaces! Thank you for sharing with us at Waiting on...Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteIt's like you have a park and yard in one. The lakes, a perfect addition. Just want to squeeze those babies for yours!!
ReplyDelete