It's the Little Things in Life

It's been way too long since I've had a post and I'm feeling awfully guilty about it. Honestly, not too much has happened over the last couple weeks. We're just chugging along with school and other activities. We do, however, have a couple new additions to our house which have improved our quality of life (not that it needed to be improved, but the little things can really make a difference). The first item was gifted to us from my aunt and uncle who just happen to be moving and will not have room for it at their new place. They gave us a patio table with four chairs. While a patio table might not seem that exciting, it has been such a huge addition to our house. Since we took ownership of the table, we have eaten almost every meal outside and it has been wonderful. There's just something about eating outside that is so serene and relaxing. Here's the table (with my tablecloth on it and a silly little guy): The second item we added to our house isn't actually in the house, it's in the back yard. We finally fenced our yard a couple months ago and have been loving how much space we have back there. We never realized how big our yard was until it was fenced. At first we weren't sure what we wanted to put back there, we just knew it was a big fun space for the kids and dog to run around in. They just have to learn to dodge golf balls every now and then. We toyed with the idea of putting up a swing set for the kids but they are just so much maintenance and they really do take up a lot of space (the swing set that is, not the kids). Plus Allison is almost 7 so I'm not sure how many more years she would really use it. So as of now, the swing set isn't going to happen. I did decide, however, that I needed a nice place to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. I've already been made fun of for it, but I'm standing my ground because I think it's cool and I'm loving every minute on it: One more view from afar: And here's a picture of the other side of our yard since I never really posted any since our fence went up: And yes, that is a little doggie door on the bottom there - it took a few times but Riley eventually figured it out. You may also notice the big blue ball in the picture. That's our new jumbo fun ball. They may not have gotten a swing set but who needs one when you have a jumbo fun ball! Here's a couple more pictures of everyone having fun in the jumbo fun ball: