everyone loves it... even the bees

After typical family research, we realized that if we didn't buy a Toys R Us style swing set, we weren't going to purchase one at all.  We didn't want to spend as much as the Good Places in town wanted.  One place did have a bare bones set for about $1000.  The other play with really nice ones were all in the $4500 range.  I did not mis-type that.  Forty-five hundred dollars.  But, we move every few years and since we are setting records by being here 4 years now, a move must be on the horizon.  So, we certainly were not going to spend that kind of money on something we might be able to move with us.

We did a lot of craigslist searching (swing sets don't come up often - and when they do, they go fast), online shopping/comparing and even wondering if all we need is a metal swing set since swings are what they love most we happened into Toys R Us for Tag reader books one day and spotted a sale.  You know how when you buy big ticket items, they don't have them on the floor - they have a slip of paper and you take that to the cashier and pay while a stock boy brings you huge boxes?  Well, this swing set climber was on sale and there was only 1 slip left in the slot.  They only had one left.  And we hadn't read any reviews on the specific brand or climber yet.  So, I took the slip of paper out of the sleeve.... and brought it home so no one could buy it out from under me while I scoured the internet learning about the climber. 

I didn't actually learn much about the swingset's durability and aging since most people apparently only review them as soon as they set it up.  All the reviews were about how long it took how many people to assemble it.  One person even included breaks... "stopped for 2 hours to watch a NASCAR race" .  One thing they all agreed upon was that you needed to label each piece of lumber as you took it out of the box and you should pack the associated hardware up in baggies - each also labeled.  And, most people seem to have found missing hardware.  A break to drive to Home Depot for extra bolts was a common link.

So, we decided that we needed one for sure and that this price was the best we had seen.  Lew returned the next day with the slip of paper and came home with 2 huge boxes containing lots of unmarked wood, nuts and bolts.  And a few swings.  And a slide.

Brian agreed to come over to help on Sunday.  We owe him a huge thanks for the help.  Later that night, Lew said, "It wouldn't have been harder to do without Brian.  It would have been impossible."  We decided that those people writing reviews and claiming they assembled it alone in 5 hours were liar-liar-pants-on-fires. 

Lew & Brian started labeling wood and hardware at 10:30am. With helpers.

 Measure twice, label once. 

They did not break for lunch.  At 12:30, the twins and I left to go to a play put on by a local acting troupe of kids.  It was about the series of books that begins with If You Give a Mouse A Cookie.  I was disappointed in the amount of "interactive"-ness.  After reading the flyer, I expected the kids to be more involved.  And so did Carl.  I had not told them it was going to be that way, but he spent the entire 30 minute performance asking me if he could go up on stage.  When it ended, the lady who was sitting on the other side of him said to me, "I think you have a budding actor on your hands.  He really wanted to get up on stage."   He really loved the little boy who played the moose.  After the show, the characters were going outside to take pictures... had I known, I would have brought my camera because Carl was so enamoured with this moose.  Actually, during the show, Gretchen leaned in and said, "I like the moose's voice" ... which I thought was an odd thing for a 5 year old to comment on.  But, once we got outside and saw the cast, Carl ran right up and hugged the little boy who played the moose.  The costumes were not elaborate.  This boy simply had a hat on with felt hands cut out like antlers and jeans and a red tee shirt.  He cried all the way home because he wanted to go on stage!  My plan to get out of the guy's hair for a few house turned out to be a short 30 minute play.  It was pretty obvious Carl was ready for nap, so we came right home.  The guys missed us, I'm sure.

So, they may not have stopped for lunch, but, they did stay hydrated.  Here's proof from the end of the day.

Before nap, Gretchen did some more helping.

Supper was worth the wait.  And, since Brian's birthday was the day before, we had dessert ready, too.

After dinner, they did go back outside for probably another hour.  So, all in all... they worked for about 8.5 hours together and got it almost finished.  It still needed the monkey bars added, the slide and the swings.  It was killing the kids to not be allowed to play on it.  The first they had learned of it was when Brian showed up to help that morning!

Monday night, Lew was able to get those remaining pieces on and, well into dusk (hence the grainy photos) he did let Frick & Frack test drive the new toys!!!  By the way... no missing hardware in our set.

 The mosquitoes were insane and we saw some bats out, but it was still very hard to get Carl to in for bed. 

So, the next morning was Tuesday.  The climber had technically been up since mid-day on Sunday... so what, maybe 30 hours?  The kids started in begging by 7:00 to go outside and play.  Once we got out there... we discovered the bees had already started a nest in the playhouse part at the top!!!  There were 5 bees sitting in there with a little hive about the size of a tiny grape started already.  I knocked it down, but the bees were still hovering all around so the kids decided they did not want to play anymore.  Great... here we agonized over this purchase and a few bees had possibly scared them off it for good. 

FYI... there is nothing you can treat lumber with that will ward off bees.  You just have to deal with them as they nest.  This is according to the Lowe's man we asked.  Tomorrow my beloved bug man, Jerry is coming over in the afternoon.  I will get the official word from him!

But, I am armed with bee spray.  The old swing set had a hive in the upper tubing (and that is why Carl has already been stung 3 times this season) so they were pissed at us for destroying their old home and decided to waste no time in building a new one.  Hmmm... Busy Bees.

Did you know bees loved to sting my father?  Mom said he had cans of bee spray stashed all over the place and always carried a can whenever he went out to do yard work.  The similarities between him and Carl just continue.  You saw Carl sitting in that brown tee shirt in the last post?  Total Big Ken. 

So far, Carl's bee sting reactions have not been too dangerous, but I know they can build, so we are obviously trying to avoid any more stings.  The first one was on his finger - puffed up, but not bad.  The second one was on his upper arm.  I didn't know it was a bee sting.  It swelled up quite a bit and after a few days, got red circle-ish.  Not infected red, but I wasn't sure if it were tick bulls eye-esque.  So, for that one, I took him to the doctor - unaware at that point that it was a bee sting.  The doctor measured it a few times and didn't know what to think of it.  She left the room and came back with an older doctor in tow.  He also seemed perplexed as to what the bite was from, but assured me it wasn't a tick.  They told me what to look for in case he needed to return, but thought it was OK.  It wasn't until after Sting #3 (which I witnessed) started to react in that same red circle way that I realized what Odd Bite #2 really was.

So, you can see why Carl has a healthy fear of bees.  The problem is, he doesn't know the difference between a bee and a fly.  Any fly that lands near him gets the "emergency voice" treatment.  Better safe than sorry, I guess.

But, they were loving the new climber before we discovered the bees...

If you look inside - you can see there is a chalkboard.  Well, it is more like a tarp, but they love it.  Today, it was brutally hot out (close to 100* with heat index of 110+) but they begged to play outside.  They spent a good deal of time sitting and writing together.  We did go swimming in the morning.  So, when we got home, I let them play while I made lunch.  they had a fast picnic, then played a few more minutes before nap.  After nap, there went back out for about a half hour.  Then we decided it was too hot.  Plus, Lew texted me and said the plant had been struck by lightning.  Once I heard that, even though it was blue and sunny here, we came in.  It never rained.  And, turns out, it was not lightning that knocked out their power either. 

Look how nice our backyard grass is!  Our front lawn looks like crap.  But, the part that no one sees but us... looks great!  Eh, I'm not all that concerned with curb appeal.  Never have been... I rarely sit out in the street and gaze back at my own house.  But this house has a really nice backyard.  I will miss that when we move.  Lew, I'll need a pond with geese and turtles right in view as well as shade trees (the swing set is shaded most of the day... nice!) and just enough play area to be fun without having you mowing 5 hours a week.  Lizards to entertain me are neat, too, but I doubt we'll move somewhere this warm next time.

Tomorrow we're going to do the $1 movies in the morning, I think.  Then, as I mentioned earlier, we have a date with Jerry, the bug man.   I may get time to post again at nap time tomorrow, but we've been really busy so I may not. 

Oh, that other front tooth is super loose.  I wouldn't be surprised if it falls out before the weekend is over!