Splendor in the Grass, Matey!

Well, all our hard work has paid off and we've got a fabulous new backyard. We fenced it in to keep our little adventurers from having unsupervised escapades in the brook that runs through our property. And we purchased a fancy new wooden swingset to provide years of outdoor entertainment! We've got quite a bit more landscaping to do, but we are already fully enjoying the fruits of our (and the workers') labor. Here's the gang prepping the swingset site a few weeks ago. We installed it on the sandpit where our above ground pool used to be. The sand has turned out to be quite messy, so we'll be having playground mulch delivered next weekend... TADA - the kids christened her 'BUCKY' after the pirate ship on "Jake and the Neverland Pirates"... Any good pirate ship needs a flag (a 5 ft. flag no less)... Aidan immediately impressed us with his desire to slide (his sensory/balance issues typically cause him to avoid slides)... Yo Ho Ho (Maddie's favorite new quote) - I found hats & treasure maps at iparty that are perfect for our theme...

They call themselves Jake & Izzy (tv show reference)...

No backyard would be complete w/out a snack station...

And we also managed to enjoy lunch on our new deck table...

Can you tell we've really been looking forward to spring/summer!!

As a side note, 3 1/2 seems to be the age where the kids have decided to cooperate with my photography efforts. They've always made it next to impossible for me to get good shots; and now all of a sudden they are saying "CHEESE" and smiling/holding hands on command. Happy times :-)