Summer Break...

I thought I'd take a little break from writing about school to write about a fun home project that our family recently completed.  Yes...completed! I "pinned" it last year to complete last summer, but now we have actually done it!

I have a four year old little boy who loves cars and trucks, and I came across a project on Pinterest from the Lowe's website that looked like the perfect outdoor play area for him! This was the inspiration...

We wanted a bigger road, so our little guy could drive his dump truck on it, so we used 2x8x16" concrete pavers.  We also used pea pebbles instead of sand, and created two areas, so he could carry rocks from one to the other.

While my mom was visiting, we painted bricks to resemble houses and buildings.

First we used an indoor/outdoor primer on all of the bricks.

Then, we added the color.

And, finally...the details.

We are not landscaping experts, so there may have been a better way to do this part, but we put newspaper down, then covered it with black plastic weed barrier.  We then laid out the concrete pavers and added the rocks.  Then, we dug a small pit around the perimeter and added plastic edging to contain the mulch.  We used rubber mulch, which was probably the most expensive part, but we thought it would be the best thing for little knees.

This is the finished project.  It was pretty easy, and it's a big hit already!

Our neighbor has a swimming pool, so we had to add that.

And, of course, a hotel this big also needs a pool!

I'd love to hear about some of your summer projects!

~Ella Jane