For the past year or so, we’ve gone back and forth about building a pool in our back yard. There were pros, there were cons, and while we thought the pros outweighed the cons (especially when it’s 105 degrees in the shade in the middle of August in Texas), we just couldn’t justify the money. Then one day, we woke up and realized we only have a few years left with our oldest son, before he leaves for college. And just like that, we decided to take the plunge.
Literally.
We met with a few builders from the area and signed a contract all in the course of just a few weeks. And now the pool building has begun, just about the same time that we are entering the busiest part of the school year, maybe the busiest part of any school year we’ve faced so far, given that we have a child moving from Middle to High School and another child moving from Elementary to Middle School. Because that’s just how we roll.
Regardless of the crazy timing, there is really nothing we can do to stop the process now, mostly because there’s a really big hole in our backyard. We discussed what the pool company would do if we decided we didn’t want the pool after all. Would they fill the hole back in for us? Charge us a restocking fee? Leave us with a really big mud pit for the boys to enjoy? I’d rather not find out.
Meanwhile, here’s a few pictures from day one of construction, which was late last week.
Our yard…before the equipment showed up:
The “scoop” arrives:
First order of business…smash the sidewalk!
Next, the bushes have to go:
Then the grass:
Finally, the pool is drawn out using spray paint and everyone measures, measures again, then stakes it out and starts to dig:
Little by little, the hole grows and the spa starts to take shape:
When the boys got home from school, Samuel was fascinated by the heavy equipment in our yard:
After sitting on the windowsill for a while, he went and got him a chair from the garage:
Then, temptation got the best of him and he got down in the dirt. Being a 9-year-old boy with a yard full of dirt has its advantages!
By the end of the day, we had a hole that looked a lot like a pool!
More to come!
