Pergola Project

Here's our cement slab before! We have a nice covered deck but with much of my time with the boys spent outside, the extra shade and protection is great! Too bad it's been raining since it was finished so we haven't enjoyed it too much (except for one cookout with our neighbors!).

Jason's progress after about 8 hours. I can say that his attention to detail and pre-planning was invaluable. Part of me was like "hurry up! this is family time that you're just sitting here and staring" but he thought of so many little things I would have forgotten or not known. The saw was our first purchase on E-bay, too!
Ta-Da! We put a shade cloth that provides 75% more shade on the top so it can really be a shaded area and kind of an outdoor living area.

Didn't he just do an awesome job?!?!

Yea, Jason!!!

When shopping for a home in Stillwater, we really wanted a house where the evening sun was not a factor and fortunately, we found a house that faces west, causing our backyard to be in the east. However, we have a large patio on the south side that just wasn't quite right and sunny most of the day. We've been chatting for a bit about fixing it and went the easy way last summer by buying a large "tent" from Lowes. It ripped in about the 3rd storm and was worthless. So Jason was able to start working on our Pergola and finally began building it last Sunday! Here it is and we are thrilled with our new outdoor living space! Isn't he so talented?!?!