Our New Big Toy!

Okay, I am back. I am not going to try to catch you all up at once...I may go backwards a bit...but I am just going to jump in where I am at...a lesson from flylady :)

So now that we are all moved in, we decided we needed to do something with the 2.5 acres we have....We, well okay, Mike has drawn out the plans for the whole yard....except for the front hill which we just haven't figured out yet....Included in the plans was a big toy or swing set for the kids...

Two weeks ago, Mike found a nice one on Craig's list. Of course it was more than I was planning on spending but I think it is well worth it! We picked a nice flat area out in the back ....well we thought it was flat...Turned out there was a serious slope that we just didn't notice, but it was still the flattest area and it is directly out from the kitchen so I can see the kids from the house (once they are bigger and don't need constant supervision).

So we started digging. Mike rigged up a rope and stakes and leveled them all up so we knew what we needed to hit...In some areas we had over 16 inches to dig away and in others we had to fill quite a bit as well. It took all our evenings for a week, Mike shoveling and me raking out his wheelbarrows full of dirt to level out the rest.



Then we had to set it up. The top fort was over 300 pounds and we had to lift it and prop it up to get the legs on. Oh my goodness we were both super sore and covered in bruises. But we did it.



Here we are stilling missing the monkey bars that come out parallel to the slide, but we have installed them now. Mike even pressure washed the whole thing and we are hoping to re-stain it and the back deck next week.



The kids love it. The only problem is we haven't gotten the pea gravel for the bottom yet. But seriously that is going to cost a bit more than expected so that will come. Hopefully we will be able to do a 10 yard truck this month, and then maybe another one next month...oh and we have to install all the beams to keep the gravel in place...



After it is all said and done I think this will be a toy that will be loved by my kids. I think its just great to have a playground and maybe it will give me a few moments of peace