Day -16
Max drives 40 minutes to the nearest Costco with a play set in stock. He loads it into the car with help, drives, it back, and we move the 5 boxes + slide into our garage.
We try to contact a handyman to help us set it up.
Max drives 40 minutes to the nearest Costco with a play set in stock. He loads it into the car with help, drives, it back, and we move the 5 boxes + slide into our garage.
We try to contact a handyman to help us set it up.
Day 0
After multiple attempts to pay other people to do the heavy lifting for &/or with us, we give in and decide to give it a try. We start where any reasonable person would: we watch the DVD. The instructions say that 2 adults can assemble it in 2 days.
Day 1
Sylvia agrees that she really wants her play set to be set up, and she will patiently allow Mommy & Daddy to build it.... "But, can you get me something to eat... And some toys... I'm bored... Is it done yet?" And so Mommy spends most of her time trying to get the kids set up with something that can distract them.
By the end of the day (with very little help from Mommy), Steps 1-5 (of 36) are completed.
After multiple attempts to pay other people to do the heavy lifting for &/or with us, we give in and decide to give it a try. We start where any reasonable person would: we watch the DVD. The instructions say that 2 adults can assemble it in 2 days.
Day 1
Sylvia agrees that she really wants her play set to be set up, and she will patiently allow Mommy & Daddy to build it.... "But, can you get me something to eat... And some toys... I'm bored... Is it done yet?" And so Mommy spends most of her time trying to get the kids set up with something that can distract them.
By the end of the day (with very little help from Mommy), Steps 1-5 (of 36) are completed.
Picnic table (above) was Step 1
Ladder & rock climbing wall (above) were Step 2
Putting up the walls of the clubhouse (above & below) were Steps 3-5
Day 2
While Hannah and I lay about the house, moping hoarsely, and Sylvia runs back and forth between trying to engage me and asking Max if she can play in her play set yet, Max completes Steps 6-17.
More of clubhouse is assembled.
The second level gets a floor
While Hannah and I lay about the house, moping hoarsely, and Sylvia runs back and forth between trying to engage me and asking Max if she can play in her play set yet, Max completes Steps 6-17.
More of clubhouse is assembled.
The second level gets a floor
And structural stability is added for the swingset
Because the next steps are assembling / lifting / connecting the roof and swingset, which are allegedly 3-person jobs, we call it a day. But Sylvia at least does have a clubhouse (with a door!) to play in.
Day 3
While I am laying around on the couch, Max completes Steps 18-22: adding more boards to the clubhouse walls, adding a toy steering wheel & telescope, and assembling the roof supports. The next steps require at least 2 people, so I finally rally.
We assemble the roof and decide that we can get it up with a little help from our ladder, instead of a 3rd person (as recommended). Unfortunately, this means we also didn't have anyone to photograph the absurdity of us maneuvering the roof. You'll have to trust me that we did get it up there, and it was absurd.
We make it through Part 1 of Step 28 before we decide that the rest will be much easier if we wait until the next day, when Sylvia will be at school.
Day 4
During Hannah's morning nap, we wrap up Steps 28-32. Again, we prove that our ladder is a decent substitute for a third human person.
By the time Hannah wakes up, we have mis-assembled, un-assembled, and re-assembled the swingset posts, attached the swings, and driven stakes into the ground for stability.
Hannah slows down the process a bit for Steps 33-36 (which includes attaching the slide, finally attaching the ladder & rock wall that we built in Step 2, and screwing a little plaque onto the side (see below)
But we did finish!
Sylvia will be very happy when she gets home from school today.
