the pavilion.

You may have noticed a new addition to our backyard. Allow me to introduce our pavilion.

The desire to create some sort of “outdoor room” played a big part in our house-buying decision, and because finding a yard of decent size is difficult in downtown neighborhoods, it narrowed our options considerably. But we stood firm and were thrilled with the yard possibilities when we decided on our house.

When we moved in (July of 2013) the backyard was fairly overgrown with ivy and pine trees, but we loved the little screened back porch and immediately had visions of doing something with the concrete slab out back.

Last year David fought back lots and lots of overgrowth (with help from Spencer, John and Jerry), built a play house, we had a fence installed and 8 pine trees removed.

Finally we were ready to turn our attention to the outdoor room. Spencer designed plans for a pavilion (shelter? covering? We still don’t know what to call it). After David’s dad moved down, the two of them set to work with the hope of having it finished for our adoption fundraiser/party. They worked . . .

. . . and worked some more  . . .

And now we have our outdoor room! It’s perfect. The addition of the hand-me-down trampoline has been awesome. I’ve never been a trampoline fan but now I highly recommend them as a great way to give your kids exercise and hours of fun with their friends.

We’ve already enjoyed the pavilion for our CPC New Members’ class and adoption party, and have had folks over for s’mores. On weekends, the four of us like to gather around for a pre-dinner fire pit. We had it wired with electrical outlets so that we can add ceiling fans in the summer.

Needless to say, we love our pavilion.