The pool at my parent’s our house has undergone quite the transformation since it’s original installation. Growing up, my mom was a lifeguard at a local pool where we were members. I remember spending almost every moment of every day in the water from the time I was a little girl until the summer before I turned thirteen. We moved into our house when I was in the first grade and the pool came many years later. We didn’t have any warning, but when we returned from our summer vacation that year, there was a huge hole in the side yard! It was a long time before the concrete was poured and almost that entire summer, we used a giant piece of plywood next to the pool to keep from tracking in red mud. My parents planned to build a pool house for a very long time, but several years ago, they put in the barn and we have loved having some place to get out of the weather. It houses my dad’s woodworking shop, his office, and a huge space to throw parties, but by the end of the summer it will boast a full bathroom and working kitchen. We are so excited to get this project finished.
Under the overhang of the barn has been a combination of grass and stepping stones for the last few summers. We’ve contemplated decking, pea gravel and all manner of other materials, but ultimately decided on concrete because of it’s durability (and cost effectiveness) and because that is something Josh could do himself and save a ton on labor (remember when he was a contractor before he had an office job?). Hudson spent the night with us last Wednesday night and when the concrete truck rolled down the driveway bright and early on Thursday, we were all a little giddy. My mom and I were just as excited as the kids and we all drank our coffee and ate breakfast where we could watch them work.
Josh had his brother and a few of his good friends over to help and they made quick work of our porch area. They poured a huge slab all the way across the front and then it turns on the right side of the barn and ties into the existing concrete there. There is a small ramp up to the pool deck on that side and the kids have loved riding their bikes back and forth along the concrete.
Ella decided to ditch the last day of school, so she spent most of the morning inside. These two, however, could not look away!
The circular stones that my dad is standing on were once concrete tabletops. Josh poured them for my mom many years ago and we’ve been using them out at the pool ever since. This year, she got glass tops for all of the pool tables, so she’s repurposing the concrete rounds as giant stepping stones. They’ve been relocated to a different area, but we’re planning to dig up the grass here and use a combination of stepping stones and pea gravel to bridge the two areas of concrete. We could have poured it all the way out, but my mom didn’t want it to look like a parking lot, so she’s landscaping this area instead.
I asked Sophie to let me grab a picture of her on the last day of first grade and Hudson had to jump in next to her. He is seriously the cutest thing ever! Check out those tiny Chacos?!
We knew we wanted the kids to leave their handprints in the concrete — we have our prints from the original pour in 1992 and then again when we poured the original slab for the barn. The mud was really too wet that morning, but we knew by the time Sophie got home from school it would be too late. I wish I had nabbed a photo of their handprints and the date, but you’ll have to trust that it’s adorable.
Hudson hung out with us for a few hours until his mom came by to pick him up. We all joked that she had no idea we were pouring the patio and came by to get him in her pajamas. It’s a good thing all of these guys are our friends! Hudson was super interested in what they were doing and asking Josh and Patrick tons of questions. They let him help with a few of the finishing tasks and he was in heaven. He really wanted to put on his rain boots and walk around in the wet concrete with the big boys.
How big does he look here?!
Since the pool “opened” we’ve been spending most of our days outside. It took a few extra days to get the water clear, but the kids didn’t care one little bit. They jumped in on the first day and haven’t stopped swimming yet. I’ll warn you that the water is FREEZING and most of the adults don’t get off of the steps. Usually by the time we get back from the beach, the water temperature has come up enough to tolerate. Until then, we’ll happily lay in the shade and watch them play.
Yes, these are all essentially the same photo, but their faces are all a little different and I couldn’t pick a favorite!
Sophie got this Unicorn float for her birthday back in April and it had yet to come out of the box. Over the weekend, we got Poppy to blow it up for them and the thing is huge. I mean really, really big. We had to figure out how to tether it to the rope ring on the side of the pool because the only place it fits is in the water. Nobody wants to wake up after a windstorm and find it acres away in the meadow.
We had a super wet Memorial Day weekend, so we were all thrilled to have a place to get in out of the rain. We had food and about twenty five adults huddled onto the porch while the kids played in the rain for most of the day. We are so lucky to have this place to celebrate with family and friends and I won’t ever take it for granted. My parents do such a beautiful job maintaining everything and they have the greenest thumbs ever — the plants and flower beds out at the pool are always so gorgeous!
I’m sure you’ll see many a photograph from this angle over the summer, so stay tuned!
