Our Backyard Deck

I think my dad has always been jealous of his brother's house. Of course, his brother is a skilled builder, so I can see why anyone would be. Anyway, my dad has made several modifications to our house in past years, including building this deck. It has been very useful, the only problem being that we, meaning my brother and I, have to sweep all the leaves off of it in the fall.
In the past few months or so, we haven't actually used the deck for anything, but usually my mom has her little parties with her friends outside, as long as the day is nice. My siblings prefer to use it as a bike/scooter platform, seeing as our driveway is steep and our yard is anything but compatable for that. I use it as a place to hide from the world when I'm feeling depressed. Sham has also found it a place for chasing leaves, string, and other kittenish things.
Under the deck is dark, and who knows what lives under there, but we use it to store bikes and backyard vehicles of all sorts. Once before, I think we used it as a hide-and-go-seek place.
Sure, my uncle's deck is connected to the house and all, but this is a good substitute. The only problem is that I can't play basketball on it because the wood is not the best surface for dribbling. Oh well. At least I have a place to play.