Da Pwaygwound

If you remember form any of the comments I have made about our as-yet-put-together swingset, you will be happy to know it is done. Finished. Completed. Mostly.

The story of the swing set dates back to Summer '06. Joshua and I had hemmed and hawed back and forth about getting one of those gigantic swing sets for the kids to play on. Not the metal kind, but the nice sturdy wood kind. My parents neighbors happened to have one that their kids had outgrown, and when they offered it to us at a fraction of the cost of a new one, the decision was made. So, one afternoon, Joshua and my Dad jaunted on over to take the thing down and load it up for the trek to our house. It was not put together immediately once it reached our yard. There were a few minor fixes to make, so the tower was stood up and the rest of it piled, neatly, over against the fence.

Then the wind storm came. You would think the tower would have stood up to it, especially since the 'tent' was not on it yet. But no, it fell. And cracked a support piece or two, demolished a couple non support pieces, and in general, just looked pathetic. Since we did not wind up getting the thing until October or so, it got cold on us, and the poor structure sat on it's side in our back yard waiting for sunshine and decent weather.

While it weathered the cold months, Joshua and his Dad were working on cutting new pieces to fit in where the old ones had been broken due to the fall. (It just boggles my mind that this thing actually fell over...) So, Saturday, the boys worked all day long to get the new pieces nailed into place, new screws to replace old rusty ones, and finally, the entire set standing.

Today, Thomas and Sarah Grace were ecstatic about their new toy, or 'pwaygwound' as they called it. They both enjoyed the slide and the platform under then tent. Thomas had a good time on the swings, though we need to get a swing for Sarah to sit in rather than sit on. Sarah Grace decided that she was still perfectly content to play on the little slide and watch her brother's antics on the big set.

Both kids took knocks to the head as they learned not to stand in front of a child in swinging motion, and to hold on to the chains if they were in the swing rather than to let go. No major bumps or bruises, and all in all, they had a great afternoon.