In the Backyard with Lukey and Kenzie

Lukey and Kenzie spent their first week of summer vacation at our house as they always do.  It was far too rainy this year to do everything we had hoped to do but we did manage to do quite a bit and we had fun.  We even got quite a bit accomplished with some new additions to the backyard due to the help of Lukey and Kenzie!

Lukey helped me assemble this new pergola.  We've always had some umbrellas to shade ourselves from the sun but the big umbrellas were problematic in a number of ways.  The wind would grab them and they would break as they slammed to the ground.  Replacing them every few years was getting expensive so it was time to look for another option.  I was tired of spending money on umbrellas that, really, were less than ideal anyway.  

I found this pergola at Wayfair and it was 40% off.  I also found a decent outdoor sectional couch with a coffee table.  I saved both and then showed Sheila...  she liked the idea so we purchased both.  These new items arrived shortly after Lukey and Kenzie arrived at our house in four big, heavy boxes and we started sorting out all the parts immediately.

After a few hours of assembling, it started raining so we packed up the tools and went indoors.  We finished the job the following morning while Sheila and Kenzie assembled the large couch and coffee table.  Kenzie and Lukey were a huge help!  It would have taken me about four days to put these items together by myself.  Hmmm...  actually, there is no way I could have assembled this myself because some assembly required about four hands!  It was a blessing that these items arrived while Lukey and Kenzie were staying with us.

For now, we have it located in the area seen in the photos.  We'll try it here for this season and then decide where we want to place it permanently.  Once we decide on that, I'll install a patio with patio blocks underneath the pergola.  

Just hours before Kenzie and Lukey arrived at our house, Sheila and I picked up flowers for our planters, window boxes and our garden window.  Kenzie helped Sheila with all the planting while Lukey and I started assembling the pergola.  The flowers are looking great!

It was a big relief to get all of this accomplished...  finally!  We're about a month behind schedule due to daily rain over the past six weeks or so.  We had to make two unplanned trips to Long Island too so that set us back a bit also.  Our summer season is so incredibly short that I'm feeling very pressured for time now.  I only get to do any major renovations in the summer and I'm now very short on time.  

All that being said, Lukey and Kenzie were a big help in getting our backyard all set up over this past week.  And, they were able to enjoy the backyard for a few days and evenings themselves!