The Horvath Home Improvement Projects Continue...

We are in a constant state of "home improving" around here. When you live in a house that is almost 50 years old and you don't have the financial resources to do a total remodel, then I guess that is where you live.  We have a l-o-n-g list of projects that we would like to do, and what is at the top of my priority list is not always the same as what is at the top of Steve's list.

I am more of a planner.  I like to know that when we tear out something old, we have not only a plan for what to replace it with, but also the money to buy the materials and the know-how to do the work.  Steve is more of a "let's get a bunch of people together and tear something up" and then we will figure out what to do with the aftermath later.  There are positives and negatives to each of these approaches, but his approach DOES get the job started at least :-)

So we have this patio cover in our backyard that is rather old and unsightly. Lot's of rotten wood, screen doors hanging by one rusty hinge, old screens that are ripped and blowing in the wind.  Nice, I know.  Like I said, there is a lot of work to do around here!  So Steve invited some friends from church over one Saturday this month and they demolished it and hauled it off in about 6 hours, which was rather impressive.

The work crew:


So now we have a nice, open backyard, but no patio cover.

Seth has been enjoying the wide open spaces in the backyard with Jake. Jake and Seth have become buddies, and we love that! Seth runs all over the yard and Jake obediently follows him around while Sadie lays in one spot and supervises :-)

**Disclaimer (I feel like I need one of these on almost every post) Just because I take a picture of it does not mean I endorse it. Seth followed Jake into the dog house, I took a picture of him coming out of the dog house, and then I told him not to go back in there again :-)

This is just a random, funny picture. I was trying to get a picture of Jake and Seth together, and within a matter of 2 seconds, Seth was playing in the dog water and Jake was trying to lick the camera!

If anyone has any experience with patios and you have any suggestions, please let me know! If money was no option (ha!) we would want a Red Cedar patio cover with a flagstone patio.  We are not even sure how much this will cost.  We are just starting to look around at materials and how much installation will cost if we don't do it ourselves (and by doing it "ourselves", I mean we throw "ourselves" on the mercy of our friends who have knowledge and experience in these areas!)  So any suggestions or ideas would be welcome!