Several months ago, Wes and I started talking about a swing set for the kids in the backyard. (Who are we kidding -- a swing set for me in the backyard. Both to swing on myself and to soothe otherwise fussy children.) We have enough room for it, and the kids love to go to the park. Plus with three kids, it's often hard to get them all on the swings at the same time. We visited a play set store that's at the back of a baby boutique in Franklin, but the sets were very expensive, and in what I imagine will be words repeated throughout the years, Wes said, "I can build that."
And he was right. He could. It just took awhile since he had to do it in free time and good weather. He got the basic structure put up when his dad was here with the big beams and the cement for the three main posts. He added the angled supports, the swings themselves, and some additional support pieces as he went. It was fully operational last Saturday for Oliver's birthday party, but we got some better connector clips and another toddler swing (Emme can use the big kid swing but can go higher and is certainly safer in a toddler swing still) later this week. Wes still has to stain it, but otherwise, this is what we'll have.
We had initially wanted to have four swings (who are we kidding -- I wanted to make sure we had four swings) in case we add the "one more child" that still gets references around here. I wanted all of the kids to be able to swing at the same time. But a longer beam would have meant more structural issues and a post in the middle, so Wes did this. He did the "add on" to the left that we can actually have four swings up if we want -- a toddler swing would fit perfectly there and doesn't need the 12-foot height of the others that lets them go so high -- but meanwhile we have the three plus a fun trapeze for us to play on (read: me and Wes).
I can say that thus far, this is one of the best decisions we've made at this house. (Okay, maybe replacing the molding dishwasher was the best, but that was also pretty clearcut.) All of the kids, but especially the girls, LOVE to swing. They cry to get in, the cry when they're taken out. I've seen Emmeline, half asleep, still in a swing after more than an hour. She just seems very at home there. Both the girls giggle and squeal when we push them high. And Oliver has discovered the fun in laying on a swing on his belly and twisting it up and letting it untwist with him on it. But most importantly, I love it. When I've pushed the kids over and over again, and Oliver has moved on to play light sabers with a tree or do a routine that vaguely resembles rhythmic gymnastics with foliage involved, I climb on, pump myself higher and higher (hoping no one toddler nearby), and learn back to look up in the trees. Bliss.
