The Mobley Facelift Part 10--The End

We didn't make as many changes to the outside of the house as we did to the inside, thank goodness!

This is a picture of the front of our house.  It may be a little hard to see the wooden bench on the porch.  The girls had a lot of fun building benches with the wood David used to make the swing set, so David made the bench for them with some of the scrap wood.

This is a picture of the landscape to the right of the stairs.  David did some research about a year ago about plants that do well in Louisiana and we selected several for this landscape.  There is hibiscus, abelia, firecracker, liriope, phlox.  I added a few annuals in the front to add a little more color also.

This is the view to the left of the stairs.  The plants in this picture are the same as above except there is also a Norfolk Island pine to the left of the stairs.

The year before last I started looking into playground equipment for the kids.  I had big plans to get a great deal on Black Friday, but David thought they were too flimsy.  He knows a lot more than I do about such things, so we continued to look.  We looked around on Craig's List but couldn't find one for sale nearby.  David figured he could build one and so he found plans for this one on the Internet and built it in a flash!  I don't think there is anything he cannot do!  The girls love, love, love the swing set.  Matthew and Jonathan enjoy having their big sisters push them in the baby swing also!

We divided the cannas in the back and added a few red grasses in between.

This is a picture of the rearranged porch.  Previously, it was pretty bare with just the aloe vera plant and the sand table.  We thought it would be nice to have a few chairs and a table and pretend that we can actually sit outside without being eaten alive, ha, ha!  I looked around at a few thrift stores (with all four kids) but couldn't find anything suitable.  I also looked around online and came pretty close to ordering one, but then I found these chairs and side table at Lowes for less:)  The girls enjoy having their lunch on the porch now!  I also moved the kids' picnic table from the front room to the porch.  I also picked up a hanging basket of impatiens and planted them in a pot.  They are so bright and cheery.  They make me happy..

I organized all the outdoor toys and put them on this cart, which previously held the baby toys, which are now hidden away in the coffee table drawers! 

We also have a small area for a flower bed directly in front of the porch.  This wonderful flower bed had no flowers!  We picked up some petunias (pink and purple) and planted them.  Oddly enough, only the purple ones have survived...twice.  This is a picture of the healthiest of the bunch.  Today, I picked up some marigolds, which are supposed to be super-duper-bug-resistant.  We'll see...maybe I'll post a new picture in a week or so.