It's a concrete deal

We have talked about getting our patio extended in the backyard for a very long time. Probably for a few years it has been mentioned and dreamed of, but we've never taken any steps to do it because we just weren't sure if we'd be staying in this house. Well, we finally decided that we'll probably be staying here for at least a few more years so we might as well fix things up how we want!

Time to extend the patio with another slab of concrete!

The boys watching the forms being put in.

We had a great friend from our ward who made this happen. His name is Peni F., and he offered to do this for us, all we had to do was pay for the concrete and supplies. We were both surprised by his offer since we only asked him who he knew for us to conctact since his brother does concrete for a living. He started by coming out one evening last week and put in the forms so it would be ready for a Saturday morning pour.

The backyard seemed a really good place to start since it's summer and all. I've had a lot of dreams for this backyard, and this has been the first step in making this a place for us to enjoy hanging out as a family.

We had to bring in a yard of gravel for  more fill. This is Sat. morning before everyone arrived.

The Saturday morning pour was scheduled for 8am. All of this came together beautifully. We had 3 extra men to help wheel concrete back, Peni and his brother smoothing out the concrete, and lots of kids watching all the excitement. It was amazing, and both Mike and I are so happy with how smoothly everything went. All the help was amazing. We love missionaries, and home teachers! The only problem we encountered through the whole thing was the concrete truck. They called just after 8 to say that a tire had blown. They were sending another truck out, but it would be a little bit. I think it got there about 9ish finally. In the mean time it was like a party in the backyard. I wish I would have gotten some pictures of it all! There were haircuts, donuts, and a little football throwing. What better way to kill time?!

This was the most intense part because time is of the essence once that concrete is mixed! I could tell that hubby was a little stressed! This mobil mix place truck is great because they mix exactly what you need.

 When it was all poured they spent a few hours smoothing it over, and waiting for it to harden a little more. Everyone was finally able to leave at about 12pm. It looks beautiful! We are so excited to have this extra patio space! I was beat after it all, and I didn't even have to move any concrete. It was a lot of mental exhaustion though.