Swing sets for just $399 delivered to your home!
Posted: 6/23/2010 8:00 AM
My family is swinging and sliding the summer away on our new Highlander Play set from Backyard Discovery. The Highlander is a pre-stained, cedar play set with tons of play features. It has a raised fort with four levels that start with a picnic table on the bottom and end up top with a dual roof clubhouse and porch! There are two belt swings and a two-person glider and my kids are having fun zipping down the super speedy 10' slide.
We recently invited a few friends over for a "break in the swing set" par-tay. My kids love to play pirates with the telescope, wheel and glider on the play set so we decided our par-tay would have a pirate theme. I had big hopes for our pirate party! Pre-party I hit the party store and bought skull & cross bone plates, cups & napkins and lots of gold coins, necklaces and eye patches. I was really comitted to the pirate theme. The kids loved all of the pirate stuff for the first few minutes then somehow the party turned into playing house with the different levels of the play set being different rooms in the house. Before I knew it baby dolls, books and a tea set were thrown into the mix and the gold pirate treasure coins turned into money to pay the lady at the make believe grocery store.
During the party the adults hung out on the deck, reminiscing about their childhoods and swing sets of the past. I remembered my swing that my grandfather had hung between two of the tallest trees in his backyard. At full swing I was probably 10 feet off the ground. 10 feet! What was I thinking?!? I would swing the day away then peddle back down Memory Lane to the house on my hot pink big wheel with pink and purple steamers.
One of the things I love the most about our new swing set is watching my children use their imaginations and play with each other. We live in a world of instant gratification. Instead of peddling a bike, kids press a button and zoom around in mini electric vehicles. Instead of blowing bubbles with a wand that inevitably will spill and get them all sticky - they press a button on an automatic bubble blower and wah-lah instant bubble with no fuss or mess. Even board games and books have gone digital. Now don't get me wrong I own five electric kiddo play cars, have gone through multiple bubble blowers and love our Xbox and Wii... I thank the good, good people at Leapster just about every day for our Leapster 2. It is my go to child entertainer. There is place for all of the gadgets and gizmos, but I really feel there is a NEED for kids to use their imaginations and reconnect with an "UN-connected" way to play...you know no batteries, no power cords, no controllers, no headphones.... Just good old fashion make your own fun.
This summer as a way to have my kids "power down" I have lots of backyard, outdoor "summer adventures planned"....stay tuned for more posts on DIY Summer,Chesco Mom Style....