A Man, A Plan, A Playset

Bryan found a playset on Craig's List for a price that seemed unreal. So unreal in fact, that it was. When he emailed the lady and told her that we would take the two year old playset for the 50 bucks that she was asking for it, she explained that she had over 25 responses and thought she should ask a little more. So, Bryan made a final offer and said he could be there Wednesday to get it. She accepted and a project was born.
On Wednesday night Bryan enlisted my dad to accompany him to Greenwood to take the playset apart and mark all the pieces for easy reassembly. But, reassembly was less than easy. It took two men over three hours to take it apart....it took one man (and occasionally a toddler) three evenings and two trips to the hardware store to put back together. But, the end result was a happy little girl.
Day 1:Bryan surrounded by the puzzle pieces. Notice the smile...this is not featured in the later pictures. Found a good spot and getting to work. He's still smiling.

Lilly even helped a little. Not so smiley.

Day 2:

Bryan didn't even have the ladder attached at this point and Lilly was already trying to climb it. Please note that there is no smile at all...not even a little one. Attaching the walls of the clubhouse just before dark.

Day 3:

Getting ready to attach the arm for the swingset. Around this time the smile went from 'fading' to 'non-existent' when the arm shifted and the supporting leg cracked. This is also when I quit taking pictures and went inside.

Daddy the hero attached the slide before worrying about fixing the broken swingset attachment. Notice if you will that the smile has returned. Seems to have a direct correlation with the Lilly's excitement over the slide.

New supports for the swingset are in place and even turned out to be a good thing. Bryan was able to cut the new legs to a specific length to avoid any digging to level the playset.

Lilly was very anxious to try out the swings...before Bryan even had them attached. It clearly ended poorly. If you can zoom in, take a look at Bryan's face. Not only is his smile back, but he seems to be laughing. I revoked his 'Father of the Year' award for this.

After the fall.

Giving the swing another try, this time after it is finished. Now everyone is smiling!

My favorite part of the whole playset adventure: Bryan searched online for the playset. Bryan negotiated the price of the playset. Bryan drove to Greenwood, took apart and loaded the playset and brought it home through Indy during rush hour. Bryan unloaded and organized all the pieces of the playset. Bryan went in early to work so he could be home during more daylight hours to put the playset together faster...and all by himself. And it was Bryan that missed eating dinner with us so he could work up until dark. It was Bryan who worked in the rain this morning so Lilly could play on the playset today. And the best part....When Lilly saw the playset she shrieked with joy, ran up the ladder and went down the slide for the first time. She immediately rushed over, hugged my legs and said, "Thank you, Mommy. I love it!"