Happy Father's Day!

We had been thinking about getting a playset for the boys (even though we live within walking or biking distance of about five very cool playgrounds) when my dad called and offered to buy one for them.  I logged on to Craigslist and, after browsing a few that were either too expensive ($5K, seriously?) or obviously past their prime, we found one that was a pretty unique style we hadn't seen a lot of other places.

The price was right and it was only two years old - but there's always a catch, right?  It was located in Colorado Springs, an hour and a half drive from our house (and an hour and a half return drive).  And we don't own a trailer or a truck to pull it.  And it was going to be 98 degrees that day (Father's Day, no less).

Still, we sprang into action - Sam arranged for a truck and a car trailer from our friend Scott, I contacted the seller and set up a time to meet, we loaded the kids in the car ("they'll nap on the return drive - no problem!") and hit the road. 

We found the address easily and the seller, Billy, was a friendly guy happy to make room in his backyard. He even arranged for four burly men working on his neighbor's deck to come over and help us load the main structure onto the trailer (otherwise we would probably STILL be in CoSpgs dismantling the thing).  The rock wall, swing set and slide got strapped on and we hit the road.

We drove home (the children did NOT nap, of course) and then were faced with the daunting task of getting it from the front yard into the back yard - sans burly men. We removed the roofs and the front portico, crowbarred a section of our side fence open, and - with the help of Sam's dad, sister, and our cross-the-street neighbor, manhandled the bad boy into place.

After a few hours of banging and swearing and misplaced bolts (Bill accidentally took some home with him), the play set was ready to go, and the children LOVE IT.

Jack "flies" on the swing

It's big enough for Sam to join them, too

Oh, the curvy slide!

More flying

My original idea for a play set involved building something down in the garden with a drawbridge connecting it to the lawn. We didn't get a drawbridge, but were able to rig the rock wall/ladder to angle out into the yard (making it easier for small arms and legs to climb, except when the nearby sprinkler makes the wood slippery).  Here are the monkeys at play.