Our New Play Structure

Scottie's done it again. He's built something amazing for our family. This time I think he's outdone himself. The first week in April was his Spring Break. He spent the entire vacation building the kids a new play structure. He did an amazing job. The first day was spent clearing the spot in our woods which was no small feat considering how dense the underbrush, shrubbery and vines were. The next step was to dig huge holes, plant the first posts and pour in the cement to anchor the posts. Once again, Tom helped Scott with a lot of the building, Diane helped out with childcare. Thanks so much Dendi and Bapa! Eli got in on the fun a little too, he helped with the mixing and pouring of the cement.



The first exciting day for the kids was the slide day. Once Daddy had built the platform and made the ladder he attached the slide quickly so that the kids could get a little taste of their new play area. Both Scottie and I didn't want Eli to outgrow the play structure too quickly. With that in mind, he made the slide as steep as he could. He did a good job, too -- it is FAST! You can see just how fast the slide is by our expressions at the bottom of the slide. Pure joy.





Besides installing a super steep slide to keep the kids' interest, Scottie also put in a vertical climbing wall for a challenge. Eli can already climb it, but he has to work at it, and he prefers having a spotter.


Finally, on Sunday April 24th (this post has been a LONG time in the making!) Scottie built a roof for the play structure and added small rocks under the play structure and the little picnic table. Incidentally, the little picnic table is one of Eli's favorite features. He can bring a snack or an activity (yahtzee, a puzzle, coloring or a maze), sit at the little table and stay close to Keira and I while I push her in the swing. My favorite part about the table is that it keeps Eli close to the action and he usually ends up playing on the structure rather than working on his sedentary task. Here's a photo of our beautiful, completed play structure.