For several years now Juli and I have dreamed of having a larger outdoor space in our backyard. Our vision included a sidewalk along the side of the house and a modest concrete pad. This week our ideas turned into a reality.

What started out as a small and pathetic concrete pad more than 6 years ago cultivated into 1500 sq.ft. of concrete patio with more space and potential for family fun and entertainment.

Beginning last Saturday at 6:30am, and ending Tuesday afternoon, an ambitious crew of workers cut out our sod (which we donated to needy family members for re-planting…your welcome Mother Earth), dug up dirt, demolished existing concrete pads, moved sprinkler heads, put up forms, wheeled in over 30 tons of sand and poured a great looking concrete patio.

Here are some photos of the transformation:

So now that it’s here, what’s next? We’re currently scheming up the perfect way to celebrate with family and friends. Have any ideas? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Over the past few weeks, Juli (and I stress Juli) has been doing some painting around the house and getting the walls coated with something other than the cheap paint the builders threw on.

The first mission was the basement. Down the stairs, in the tv room, and down the hall. The whole process took over a week, but man does it look nice. The color down there is a warm yellow that adds some much needed life. The color goes really well with the floor and furniture. All we need now are some lamps, art on the wall and a nice flat-screen tv.

The second mission was the master bedroom. This little project (although still in progress) is coming along nicely. We (again, I mean Juli) coated the walls with a deep brown that has a surprising resemblance to coffee. The room has a warm tone now and feels nice to walk into.

In addition to the painting this past weekend, Juli also spent some time cutting peonies from the front garden and hot pokers from the side garden. Both look awesome in the house. New plants were added to the front of the house, so I imagine in about a week or so we’ll have some nice colorful flowers to look at. That’s about all the excitement we’ve had around here lately.

Hopefully before the end of the summer we’ll also have a nice large patio in the backyard. Keep your fingers crossed.

The best of the best of Julian’s birthday week. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate. See the original images on Flickr.

Last Sunday marked Juli’s second triumphant 1/2 marathon finish. This time in Dallas, the 13.1 mile course ran from City Hall, up and around to Southern Methodist University and back down and around to Fair Park.

Juli was shooting for a run time of 2 hours and 15 minutes but actually finished with a time of 2 hours and 7 minutes, a full 8 minutes ahead of schedule!

You can view additional photos of Juli’s marathon run, as well as the rest of our trip, on Facebook.