Inground trampolines, decks, and patios: I've looked at hundreds if not thousands of photos of decks, patios, and hot tub installations (which has nothing to do with trampolines) over the last week. You see, I've wanted a nice, finished backyard for almost 19 years now...since we first moved in to our brand new, built from the ground up home. This has been my dream while my husband's dream was a finished basement. He got his wish completed two years ago when my son and his wife needed a place to live for a short time. I'm still waiting on my dream to be fulfilled, but I think I see a light at the end of my very l-o-n-g tunnel! Take a look at this

patio idea 

( just the hot tub and semicircle seating area where a fire pit will be) and imagine it with the screened deck here:

minus the lower deck... that's where the patio will be. The only other thing I'd like is to put a roof over the hot tub so I can hang outdoor curtains around the sides for privacy when we would like it. Something like...

idea for covering the hot tub. 

It is very definitely possible that these ideas way outweigh my budget, especially since the plan is also to level part of the yard and make a fenced area for the dogs. We've already given up on the idea for an extended drive/parking area to handle extra cars when the children visit. But if you don't dream, you don't get! (BTW, the inground trampoline mentioned at the very beginning is my daughter's request.)

And how does all of this fit in with this blog?? Well, I accomplished adding links and photos to it, which means I learned something new!

Now, my daughter and I leave on Sunday for a mission trip in Honduras, so when I return I hope to upload "before" pics of the back yard. And I hope to chronicle the process here from time to time while also interjecting my learning about apps for school, social media, and who knows what else!