Make my backyard nice NOW!

Yesterday we had a landscaper come out to talk to us about the backyard, as well as a pool contractor. Steph and I would really like a pool, but I don't know how much sense it makes. I want to talk to the realtor for our neighborhood and ask her how many properties in our neighborhood have pools and if it is good for resale values. In some places having a pool is an asset, but in other areas that's not really true. I also want to call the insurance company and ask them how our home insurance would change with a pool. Lastly, I want to get an idea of how much it costs per year to keep a pool up. I think it would be great and we would use it a lot, but I hesitate to make a major addition like that without thoroughly researching the matter. In landscaping news, we are going to terrace the back and build a patio as well. I think once the hardscape is finished we can take over from there.

It is frustrating because I want all of this to be done TODAY, but it is going to take forever. If we decide to do the pool, that needs to be done first. Then we can put in the fence (which we had planned to do first), and after that the hardscape. Basically, it will probably all be done a year or so from now. AHH!

But at least we're making progress indoors. Alex is coming next week to visit and she's agreed to help us paint!