Weekend Project 2

I may be prone to the occasional delusion of grandeur. I can't help it. When we bought our house my delusions for our backyard included fire pits, grass, cozy outdoor rooms, fireflies, strings of lights, etc. As it turns out there are no fireflies in Tucson, and the rest of my ideas required money that went to pay for diapers and water softeners (WHY didn't anyone tell me the water was hard enough to make my clothing stand up by itself??). Fortunately, we have had a little extra this year to start making my delusions a lovely reality.

We decided that bugs and heat would hold us captive no more and that we needed to provide something other than a sandbox to compel us to go outside and brave the terrors of the Arizona desert. A swing set was in our sights, and after doing our research we thought we had a winner online. Being a careful consumer, Casey suggested that we brave the crowds at Costco on a lovely spring Saturday to cover our bases. As we entered the warehouse, I swear I heard a heavenly chorus and saw a beam of light shine down on a swing set visible from the moment we walked in. Casey's eyes widened and he was drawn like a moth to the flame. He pushed our child-laden cart directly toward the structure, knocking over anything and anyone in his path. As he stopped in front of the swing set, his hands slowly raised up above his head and I thought I heard him whisper, "This is the place...I mean, the set." 

In an interesting turn of events, my husband (usually a tad parsimonious) decided to spend a bit more on this set than we had anticipated, but after making his case for quality vs. price, I left it up to him. We purchased the set and he recruited a friend who evidently didn't mind us completely ruining his weekend as long as gummy bears were provided, because he cheerfully volunteered to help. Our ever-present neighbor, Tony, also provided much valuable help and experience. Casey and his crew worked a tireless 20 cumulative hours over two days, suffered sunburns, exhaustion, dehydration and project burnout (you know, that burnout that comes after initial "This is going to be AWESOME!" enthusiasm wanes around hour #14 when you realize that out of 57 steps, you are only on step 12 and there are still hundreds of pieces strewn about that have yet to be incorporated); and never once complained.

In the end, this is what they came up with:

 Comments on the appearance of my backyard in general are NOT welcome. Focus on the swing set.

Although no one got paid to build it, I'm certain that Casey came out on top because he gets to experience the daily joy exhibited by this little face (and, eventually, his sister, pending the cessation of sticking things in her mouth e.g. sand we intend to put under swing set):

Priceless.

***Side note: Gavin woke up the first morning of the project and hopped in my bed, excited as could be. He indicated that he wanted to go outside and play on his new swing set, but when I told him it would take a very long time to put it together, he said, "Well, I want Daddy to be done by the time I count to 20." 

Does 20 hours count?