Last year...just about this time a friend from my old work offered us his Rainbow play set. Yep, a Rainbow set...for free! The only catch was that we had to come and get it, take it apart and haul it home ourselves from Hastings. Lucky for us, that was not a problem. Now, we already have a smaller lot in the suburbs which backs up to a semi-public park. This means our back yard is quite visible and on most days looks as though we run a daycare. In the past 5 years we have had a 14 foot above ground pool, a trampoline and a ton of kids stuff strewn about the lawn on any given day. Thankfully the pool has been gone for while now, that was a bad idea all together...(but it was on sale for $40 at Menards!). It killed the grass. The trampoline was fun but kind of an eyesore and with all of the trees in our yard it was tough to keep it free of sticks and leaves. Plus, I think it broke my nose. Well Quinn plus the trampoline. And it too...killed the grass. Shortly after the playset was home we took it down and packed it away.
On a REALLY rainy day last May my husband, Dad, Father-in-law and a friend drove down to tear down and bring home the massive new lawn art. It was really big. My friend warned me, he was right.
Over the next few days it came together little by little. One piece at a time. The kids loved it and especially loved helping their dad build it.
Later that summer we sanded and painted the entire set to spruce it up. After all, it did have a good 8 years or so of love from another family. We even repainted all of the colored pieces in the Rainbow trademark colors and added a fresh coat of stain. We also framed in the base, moved the sandbox, re-strung the rope ladder and filled the bottom with wood chips. It was a lot of work but totally worth it.
We never did get around to installing the canopy portion, the original one was worn and my friend had gotten rid of it proir to us recieving the set. I checked into a new one and the cost from Rainbow blew my mind! Since then I have found a couple of companies who will custom make a canopy for a fraction of the price. So once the set is complete, we will top it off with a shiny new roof! And yes, I did say "once it is complete".
So you see...my husband had always promised the kids that one day he would build them a tree fort. Seeing as how they are at the prime "tree fort age", and building one in our small yard probably isn't ideal, he has instead opted for a clubhouse on top of the existing play set. At first I wasn't too thrilled with the idea but as he showed me his ideas and mapped it all out. I have to admit. The kids will love it. In addition, it will offer maximum privacy as once it is complete the view of our deck from the park will be partially blocked.
So he got started a few weeks ago but with all of the rain we have had he is lucky if he gets to work on it twice a week. The kids absolutely love helping him with it. Especially Paige. She loves hanging out and working with her Dad building stuff. She is a quick learner too. And a good tape holder! If he is out there working, so is she. Either helping or just playing with Quinn and watching, waiting...
Jeff had to take this picture of her so that she could prove to her friends at school that she was helping her Dad build it. Apparently nobody believed her. If you look close you will see she is standing on a 4x4, on the outer corner, 10 feet off of the ground. That's my girl, no fear. I have decided just not to look anymore because she is all over that thing like a monkey. I will give myself a heart attack if I watch too closely.
This is their homemade teeter-totter. Genius.
We still have a long way to go before it's finished so...to be continued!!!!
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