Labor Day laboring - LIGHTS!!!

 I'm now OBSESSED with the backyard.  I mean, I loved it before, but holy cow.  We'd been talking about putting lights up for awhile, but sometimes you just need your dad in town to be the extra set of hands (and provide the extra years of home improvement wisdom).  The end product literally looks like it was done by a professional.  Can't WAIT for the weather to cool down so we can start dining al fresco!

*Lights are from Target and we used 3 strands for about 75 feet of porch to cover.  It was tedious but to get them as straight and tight across as I wanted, they used a staple gun to staple between every other bulb.  That's SERIOUS dedication - my boys sure love me :)

And a tip I found by doing some research - the bulbs are super fragile, so it was recommended to take the bulbs off to actually hang the lights, then screw them back on once the strand is up.  Took a little bit of extra time, but it was well worth the peace of mind as we're not 100% sure about the replacement bulb situation. It's for this reason I'd also recommend picking up an extra box*

Of course, dad couldn't let the weekend pass without
getting us some plants.  The man LOVES his yard :)

And the full nighttime view :)

Labor day laboring - RV gate

Old, falling apart, warped wood removed

 Dad made a visit to the desert to check out the new digs and help with a few projects.  The boys were at it  all weekend and we have some beautiful new additions in the front and backyards thanks to their hard work! So grateful to have such an easy going, generous, fun and loving dad :) 
First up was the RV gate (yes, we have an RV gate, and no, we do not have an RV) - the wood was rotting, and basically the fence was falling apart.  A half day's worth of Home Depot and hard work outside and we have a beautiful new gate!

Pretty new wood perfectly sized and drilled in!

Finished!  Stained and lovely :)