The first nice warm summery weekend is such fun. This year, the warm weekend came on Mother’s Day weekend, which made it feel even more special. Our family likes to spend a lot of time outside. And it almost feels like a holiday when we migrate outdoors with our plants and chairs.
First we swept the patio of leaves and dirt. We put the insect screen back on the gazebo and the cover on the top. We brought out the place mats, citronella candles and wind chimes we’d moved indoors for the winter, and decorated our outside living room. It’s nothing that would make it into a decorating magazine, but we think it’s pretty.
The seeds we’d started a few weeks ago were ready for transplanting. We found rocks in the side yard to go in the bottom of our pots for drainage, and filled them with potting soil and our little seedlings.
After all that hard work, which really didn’t feel like work – but more like creating a playhouse – we filled big glasses of iced tea and enjoyed them in the shade of our outdoor room. My oldest son made a marvelous éclair cake, and we enjoyed slices outside.
An outside area for the family doesn’t have to be fancy. You just need some shade and some comfortable chairs that won’t be hurt by sun or rain. A table for holding snacks and drinks is a nice touch too. Plastic or at least hard-to-break dishes are a good idea too, particularly if you have younger children.
We still have a week and a half to go before school gets out. During that time I’ll restock us with sidewalk chalk, bubble blowers, sunscreen, and Popsicles. I am looking forward to some relaxed fun summer days in our outside family playhouse.
More Backyard Fun:
How to Decorate Your Pool Area