...Or rather I ordered the play set & it came & I didn't realize until our fence was being installed that we needed HOA approval, oops! By the time I figured it out it was too close to Christmas & Donna was swamped at work & was no way going to have time to put it together.
This weekend I was able to get our brother in law & my bonus dad to come help with the construction.
This weekend I was able to get our brother in law & my bonus dad to come help with the construction.
While the play set was being built my mom & I took the boys to meet up with my sister, niece & nephew to play for the day. We met up at a bounce house place & all the boys ran & bounced & slid & played!!! They had a lunch counter so when the kids got hungry we ordered up some junk food, feasted on that, then they all played some more.
When all the boys were all good & worn out & it was near time for Nadia's afternoon nap, we all headed home. I had promised 'the elves' t-bones for their hard work so when we got back my mom & I started on dinner. My sister & the kids met back up with us at our house & we had a little Birthday dinner for Donna's birthday coming up this week.
I was really lame about taking photos! I didn't take any Saturday, not of the playhouse going up, the kids bouncing, not even the beautiful birthday cake I got. However I took a bunch Sunday morning as my bonus dad & Donna finished up the play set & the boys played on it for the first time.
Papa & MomMom putting the roof on
Play kitchen
I searched long & hard until I found a play set that I felt had everything the boys would want. I didn't want to get a separate playhouse or swing set, I wanted this one structure to have it all & I feel like this one does. The bottom is a playhouse with built in kitchen & picnic table. It has swings & a glider. there is a ladder & a rock wall leading to the upper level & a 10' slide to get back down. It is plenty big enough for all 3 boys to in with room for friends :)
The base of the playhouse can also serve as a sandbox, we're going to fill it with something but i'm not sure if it will be sand. We are thinking maybe that small mulch that they use on playgrounds? something they can still push around with their dump trucks but not something that they will track into the house.
More of the roof
The swingset
Papa testing out the slide
We all thought that the 2 giant boxes that the play set came in contained pre assembled sections that would just need put together. Boy were we all wrong! The boxes were full of nothing but boards, screws, nuts & bolts. Every single bit of the playset had to be built but Donna, my bonus dad & brother in law did a fantastic job & had it up in a day & a half.
Garren trying out the rock wall
MomMom & Garren testing the swings & glider
The boys were super excited when the slide finally went up!!!
A huge Thank You to Nana & Papa, Aunt Mindy, Uncle Chris & Aliyah, & Grandma & Grandpa Tilyou for chipping in on the playset & to Papa & Uncle Steven for helping Donna get it built!!!
The boys are going to LOVE it! My mom has almost the exact same one and it's one thing the kiddos haven't grown tired of. One tip is to seal it now and every fall before the summer months. It's amazing how worn the set looked after just 2 summers. Now that we seal it every year it's stopped aging. :)
ReplyDeleteGood to know, I wondered about sealing it but everyone else seemed to think we didn't need to do anything to cedar. I figure better safe than sorry, thanks for the tip :)
DeleteLook into recycled tire (rubber mulch) for the sandbox area....Sand or traditional mulch will still track in your house and make a huge mess but for some reason, the rubber mulch seems to stay outside better.
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea Melissa, thank you!!! It's also much more affordable than I expected & I think the boys will like the colors :)
DeleteYes, seal it every year before winter so that it lasts longer!
ReplyDeleteThat set is similar to ours and we have red mulch below it and the kids and friends enjoy digging (and throwing) that a lot. It is a set that will grow with them. Well done Moms and PaPa looks like a gem of a helper!
Omg, the mulch throwing... & there is always one mom at the playground who acts like it is the most ridiculous thing a kid could be doing. C & K are all about digging, piling & tossing dirt, sand or mulch. I'm just hoping to not have to do an entire wardrobe change or bath x3 every time they come inside :)
DeleteOh man, this is so awesome! I think the mulch is a better idea of course, we have a sandbox at the playground down the street and I am constantly finding sand in ridiculous places.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best playset I've seen! Looks awesome! The construction looks kind of intimidating though, that's probably the reason we'll never get one...ha!
ReplyDeleteWe have smallish river rocks in our sandbox and they are awesome for playing with and for staying where they are supposed to be! This play set looks amazing
ReplyDelete