The latest amusement

We'd first talked about getting a jungle gym/swingset last summer but decided it was just a little too soon for both kids to appreciate it. But two weeks ago, with the weather nearing perfection and the boys antsy to be outside every possible minute of the day, it seemed like the time to do it.

'Course deciding to buy one and actually getting the thing in our possession and assembled were different matters. T had to order it twice and make two fruitless trips to the store to pick it up (with a wait of more than a week in between) before it was actually, verifiably on the way. And once it was all here, we were a little overwhelmed to see how complicated it was: three enormous boxes of pieces with a packing list three solid single-spaced pages long, including literally hundreds of individual bolts, screws, spacers, washers, etc. (what's in this photo is less than half of the hardware), and a 40-page assembly manual. And speaking of the manual--worst editing ever. Cryptic directions, missing steps, parts stamped with ID numbers that didn't correspond to any instruction in the book... It took a whole longer to get done than anticipated, but T eventually conquered the beast (as we never doubted he could and would despite the cursing).

In the end, though, we're all very pleased with the results. 

Boy 2 keeps his distance from the top of the slide, but he likes climbing up and down the ladder to the "little house" on top and absolutely LOVES the swings. Boy 1 is into the slide, rock-climb, and swings but is perfectly happy to just sit inside and talk to us or tell stories from his perch.