Spring on The Deck

If only I knew what was in store for me on Sunday I would have picked up Saturday and given it a big ole hug - because it was just about as perfect as Sunday was terrible.  (There were lots of lovely things about Sunday - really!  But it ended with such a bang that the rest of the day was overshadowed by fallout from the explosion.)  Saturday was sunny.  Saturday was warm.  On Saturday no one was sick.  We took long walks before lunch, snacked on the deck, and ran barefoot through the grass.  It was the calm before the storm.

I could spend all day every day on this deck, and once again I am so glad that we have it.  We gave up on finding the time to wash and treat the wood and just pulled the table and chairs up already.  If we get the time/money it will take us minutes to move the table and chairs below - but in the meantime we all get to enjoy our extra room.

Until noon the deck is in full shade  - making it a lovely cool place to start off a hot day.  In the afternoon the sun blazes down, but the umbrellas provide a tropical looking bit of shade, and help to cool the inside of the house too.  I love when the umbrellas are up.  I'm like a kid that way - I feel like the umbrellas make a whole new world for us.

There's a different kind of light on the deck.  There's different rules on the deck.  Apart from no jumping over the edge, and don't break the table - this is just about as relaxed as this house gets.

On Saturday, the best part of our outdoor oasis was that it took one for the team and allowed lunch, snacks, and dinner to be scattered about it's planks, thus sparing the kitchen floor for just one day.  I was super calm the whole time the kids were eating too and didn't once do that restrained scream/whisper to leave their plate flat on the table, or to stop playing with that, put the cup down - I SAID put.it.Down!  It was a great break for all of us really - like our mini vacation destination only steps from your backdoor!  

Look at these happy faces - it's a good thing they don't know Cinderella's castle is real yet.  They are almost as easily impressed as their mother with an umbrella.