Deck Part 2- Rails

Day 3 starting out great. We got rolling on the 4x4 posts and balusters and once we had a system going it went by quickly.  

It wasn't until the late afternoon that we ran into our first major issue.  When we started to cut in the door from the screened porch, we found water damage under the siding.  This led to a phone call to the builder, a meeting with him, our own research and lots of demolition.  Turns out that we need to replace the screened porch framing as well. UGH.   

Using the Kreg tool to drill holes for the screws

View from kitchen window

View from screened porch

First sign of damage

Not pleased

We still enjoyed our evening from the deck

Jack is loving his new view

I thought this would be one of  the last pictures, but the screened porch will look much different soon!

Deck Part 1- Framing

After getting approval from the HOA and then getting a building permit, it was finally time to get to building!  The first part of this process seemed to take forever and was not very exciting to be honest.  We Jeff had to dig three two foot deep holes.  I helped some, but digging is not my forte. The next day the inspector came out and gave us the go ahead to start building.  We did a little work with the band boards, flashing, and waterproofing but the real work set in on Monday. 

Monday and Tuesday were spent setting the posts, framing in the deck and putting down most of the decking.  Thankfully the weather was pleasant and we got some sun on our white bodies before our beach trip.  

Marley is not impressed wit the noise

Lots of measuring and checking to be sure we followed code

Added in a 6x6 to tie in the screened porch

Mom stopped by on her walk and took a few pictures of us both working

Almost done!

He's rolling now

I took a break while Jeff was finishing up the decking

Jeff's preferred method of getting up to the deck, while I used the kitchen window

Jack taking a peek from the window that I keep climbing in and out of to get to the deck

Water Balloons and Baking Cookies

I think the girls ended up having 5 days together which included lots of fun and messes and water play!  They bought their second round of water balloons and had a ball throwing them, smashing them on their heads and sitting on them.  Forts were built, cardboard boxes were turned into playhouses, and cookies were baked. 

Hailey and I had some time to ourselves and of course she "just had a craving for homemade cookies right out of the oven" so we found a recipe and tried it out.  They were some of the best cookies I've ever had!  The recipe is below.  The girls also had some more time with Grandma and Mike which meant a Wii tournament too.  

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

22 mins

Perfectly baked chocolate chip cookies that are slightly crispy and chewy with the perfect amount of chocolate chips.

Stuckonsweet.com: Jessica from www.stuckonsweet.com

Recipe type: Cookie

Cuisine: Dessert

Serves: 18

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (add an additional ¼ - ½ cup for a fluffier cookie)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Instructions

Report this ad

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a stand alone mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (can use hand held too), cream together butter and granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time and mix, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Mixture may look lumpy.
4. With the mixer on low-speed, slowly add the bowl of dry ingredients and mix just until dough comes together, it may be a little crumbly which is totally fine! You do not want to over mix the dough, otherwise the cookies can flatten when baked.
5. Lastly, mix in chocolate chips. Place dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes - 1 hour to firm up. Dough will be pretty firm already, but I find that cooled dough bakes better. If the dough is too warm or sticky, the cookies may flatten out.
6. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet. Mine were about 3-4 tablespoons each.
7. Bake for 9-12 minutes (baking time will depend on oven) until edges are golden. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes than transfer to cooling rack.