Last summer, Michael and I started talking about getting some things accomplished around the house.  We created a budget and plan and worked on it all through the fall and winter.  And this month, we are going to get the bigger projects accomplished, just in time for the arrival of our little one!

The first project on the list was a shed in our backyard for Michael’s aquarium hobby.  A few years ago, he had a frag tank where he grew coral frags that he would sell to friends and at frag swaps.  This is one great way to get involved in the aquarium community, and he really liked doing it.

But he closed up shop, so to speak, after our second daughter passed away and took a year off.  He definitely wanted to do it again, but wanted to make sure he had the proper space and time to do it.

And that’s when he got the idea for having a shed in our backyard to move his frag growing tank.  He also wanted to build it in such a way that it could be used for other things down the road.

We ended up hiring a contractor to do the work, since it is busy season for Michael, and I’m, you know, pregnant (could you imagine me building this right now?).  So here was the process last week.

Before.  This was where my garden was last year.  We moved the garden to the other side of the yard, which actually will work out better.

After the first day (you can see the platform).

During the second day.  I stayed inside with the pups during most of the construction, so that’s why these look like sneaky pictures from the window.  Because they are.

The final product!

I refer to it now as our barn because of the big door in the front.  Michael still has to paint it to match the house, and we have an electrician coming to wire it, but it’s neat to see the project come together!