I can do hard things... with my moms help

This is what our deck used to look like. A few years back I decided to paint it (okay have Lars paint it) the color of our off white house trim. Not my brightest moment considering we live in an OLD part of town with massive (think take out your home in severe weather) trees ALL OVER. So after many failed - and broken - pressure washing tries this is what we were left with.

I have been complaining about this deck and our backyard for a while now. Well, after Lars spoiled me with the best Mothers Day shopping weekend with my mom and sister and an afternoon at a foot spa (so worth another post) with my mom, sister and sister-in-law I decided I needed to show him some love.

So I decided that I can do hard things... with my mom's help.

Here is our deck now:I know it is not the best picture, and yes the leaves are already all over it. But all of the spindles got painted and the deck floor is a chocolate brown (3 coats thank you very much) way more sensible.The kids' area also got washed as well as the area around our shed. Now our only task for this summer is laying down weed barriers and new mulch for the areas bordering our fence. Too bad my mom couldn't stay for another week because with her help I could probably finish our yard and maybe even our master bathroom - that's right, it's still not done!

Thanks mom - we miss you already and not just for the manual labor!