Looking at the Backyard in a Whole New Way
Posted: 6/13/2011 8:00 AM
This spring we built the Backyard Discovery (www.swingsetsonline.com) Montpelier playset in our backyard. This was the first playset I’ve ever owned, even as a kid, and definitely the first one I’ve ever built. I always wanted one and I dreamed of getting one for my three kids to enjoy, but I thought it would be such a big project. Truth is, I’ve never done a better home improvement project (and I have done a lot of those). It was a 98% fun experience, which I still love to brag to people about how I built it mostly by myself. I love that my five-year-old daughter loves to chime up in the backyard with a “remember how I helped you build this window and the door” and “remember when I helped you fill the sandbox with sand.” I especially loved when my three-year-old said to me, “Mommy when I become a mommy I want to be just like you and build a playset for my kids. You are so cool. This is so neat. I like building stuff.” My son (almost two) too was impressed, just that I had power tools and could use them. (I also loved how it showed them that girls can build stuff just like boys. That they can all do anything they put their minds to. And that a big project can be easy when taken one step at a time.)
We have been in our backyard so much more this spring and summer because of our cool new fort, swings, monkey bars, slide, and sand box. The kids have stopped complaining about it being hot outside and started begging just to be out there. Everyday they play with it differently then the time before. After work during the week, the rush of the day ends as we all play together in the backyard and all the fun centers around the playset. The weekends are like mini vacations as we sit around the table and chat, play games and eat then the kids all play in one way or another with the playset. Sometimes its princesses and dragons; sometimes its school; sometimes its restaurant with the table and bench with pretend sand-made food and drinks; sometimes its flying like a plane or a bird on the swings; sometimes its just building and playing in the sand. They seem to have an endless supply of imagination on what their playset is and can be.
How we see our backyard has definitely changed since adding the swingset. We’ve made so many improvements in our backyard since adding the set because we’re back there and using that space so much more. We always had a grill and table out there, but now we really use them. We built a paver patio, added crushed rock around that, added more seating and really cleaned up the whole backyard. In fact, I’ve never enjoyed staying home as much as I have this summer. I feel like we have our own private park to enjoy and we can basically picnic everyday. But we don’t have to go anywhere to do so. I love it and so do my kiddos.