Backyard building project....

When we emerged from our winter hibernation, we discovered that our old playset had pretty much had it. Leaning waaayy to the right from the windstorms from last fall, boards starting to crack, and splinters all over... it was time for this hand me down to be down and out.

So a couple days before Easter, I posted an ad online to come and get it if somebody had the skill and time to turn our trash into their treasure. An hour later, I had more than 20 offers, and the next day the first responder showed up Saturday morning and carted it off in a couple hours. In the meantime, I headed over to Sam's and picked up 6 enormous boxes to start my adventure.

This week I sorted out all the hardware and got some good advice from friends that had been there themselves. Saturday morning, I was up bright and early, and spent a couple hours sorting and marking all the wood. By 9 on Saturday a couple of my great neighbors, Eric and Steve, had arrived and the construction project began. We had a few false starts here and there, but we actually had a great time working together on the project. By the afternoon, we were in the backyard making great progress, and even picked up some additional neighborly and friendly help from Srinath, Curt, Todd, Chris, and Scott. Many hands, and a few beers, truly make light work. But just as it seemed we knock it all out in a day, we discover a missing part that wasn't even on the main checklist. Grrrr... But still, 7 hours of work yielded a playset minus the swings. Kate and Owen had ball with the Tire Swing, and Patrick was up in the clubhouse. The neighborhood gang had some fun on it too...


Thanks to some very helpful folks at Sam's Club I soon had the missing parts for the Swing Beam. I was hoping for a good Sunday, but the weather report seemed to be against me. However, when we woke up, we had what appeared to be a brief window before the rain would move in. So Beth agreed to play the role of "adult helper" and we headed out to finish up the swing beam. Lo and behold it wasn't too long before Srinath and Todd noticed us back at it, and with their help we had everything all set and ready to play in no time. The kids have been outside with friends or on their own every minute today in between scattered showers, and with the nice roof on it, Patrick and Owen even held out in the clubhouse during a passing shower.

So, after a lot of hard work and lots of help from great friends, we've got a new playset that oughta give the kids years of fun. Holy cow, I practically sound like the crummy DVD that came with the set, but it really is cool. Best part, its sturdy enough even for me to climb up top and swing on the swings. God save me if I'd have tried that on the old set... :-)

Here's the finished product.

From Playset DIY

March Madness

March madness brought the Dayton Flyers an NCAA tournament bid, and they even managed to put a victory up in the first round. That had our Flyer Faithful household revved up for the games. Kate even got in on the action with her new cheerleaders outfit. If you check out the video, she's even got the "Goooo Dayton Flyers..." and "Go UD" cheer down pretty well.


Of course, the month of March also brought out a preview of spring, and the kids were quick to get outside and enjoy the weather. Kate, with a little help from her brothers, has decided that its time for her to use the big swing.


Patrick and Owen in the meantime have developed a new game to play with the playhouse. Here's them playing roofing repair. I guess the windstorm last year left a lasting impression on these young workers. :-)


Warm weather brings all the neighbors out too, and Kate loves having her friends over to play too!


No matter how you look at Beth and I are glad that the warm weather is coming back so our crazy little monkey's can get outside and play! A few more pics out on Picasa.