New Swing Set!

Chris and I have never been fans of the gigantic wooden swing set. They scream "kids live here!" and most people who own them also have a minivan parked in the driveway. There is a park three houses away from us, so I figured that when the time came we'd just let our kids play there.

But we are backyard people. We like to be at home, in our own yard.

So, the debates began. How big? Where do we want to put it? It can't be too close to the pond. It can't block our view of Mt. Rainier. We really don't care if it blocks our neighbor's view, but we should we talk to them first? Blah blah blah.

We found a great deal through costco.com so we went for it. The set arrived on Saturday. Sunday morning, Chris got up at 7:30am and worked for 9 hours straight. Chris really wanted the swing set to be a complete surprise for Owen, so I kept him entertained inside (with the blinds shut). Owen actually thought his dad was at work all day! He had no idea what was going on in the backyard.

When it was time for the unveiling, I waited outside with the video camera. Chris brought Owen out, and the look on his face was priceless. He ran to the swing set and inspected everything. Decided to go for the rock wall first, then the steering wheel, then the telescope, etc. He played with each feature for a few seconds before moving onto the rest.

So our yard is now officically kid-friendly. The swing set will take some getting used to, but we're happy we did it. And our neighbor is happy that we consulted with him first! (We actually rotated the swing set 1/4 turn, per his request. Not my first choice but it was the kind thing to do.)

Ahhh, this is the life!