Our backyard -- playthings for Caitlin

Just when I was all done writing about the improvements to our backyard, turns out, there is more!

During a trip to Costco to do some returns and pick up some bananas, we came across a kid playhouse and a kid bench on display.  Caitlin absolutely loved playing with the playhouse and even ended up locking out some other costco kids that wanted to play in it.  Solid cedar wood, fits 5 kids, even comes with a play kitchen, for $280... we knew we had to get it!
There was a matching toddler picnic bench for an additional $85 so we went ahead and got that too!

Yeah. that was probably the worst case of impulse buys ever.

It wasn't until we reached our Camry, with our recent purchases in tow, that we realized we couldn't drive everything home!  There is no way the playhouse would fit in the trunk...
I've had enough Ikea-furniture-buying experiences combined with more-hours-than-I'm-willing-to-admit Tetris experience that I was able to get all the pieces of the playhouse into the trunk, backseat, and front seat of the car.  Of course, that meant that Jeff had to drive home with the trunk slightly open and tied down with a rope.  And that also meant that Caitlin and I had no where to sit!  While Caitlin and I killed time in the local Albertsons, Jeff drove all the furniture home, unloaded everything into the driveway, then drove back and picked up me and mini me.

The playhouse had.. a ton of pieces..
The manual said that it will take 2 adults 8-10 hours to build.  We spent the following week building the playhouse.. a couple of hours at a time.  Some nights, we were were up until 1 am working on the playhouse.  We had a deadline to get it finished by the following weekend, because we had cousins coming over with their kids.  10 hours later, we got it done!
After that, Jeff and I put the bench together -- took less than 30 minutes.

Our yard looks playdate (and birthday party celebration) ready!!

 the playhouse's pieces.  Not picture are the itty bitty tiny pieces

 Daddy's little helper

the playhouse is complete!

building the bench!

Our yard looks absolutely amazing and kid friendly!
Caitlin's in this picture.  Can you help me find her?

---------------------

Ok, so this isn't related to the backyard, but it's related to the new playthings that Caitlin recently acquired.

I noticed that Caitlin has always had an interest in play kitchens but I have a hard time throwing down $90 on a play kitchen for her.  Especially when I think she will lose interest in a few weeks.

Instead, I collected some large cardboard boxes, covered then in contact paper, glued on some old milk caps, built cardboard some racks/shelves.. and VOILA! Caitlin has her very own cardboard kitchen.  All the supplies cost me under $5 since most things were things I already had around the house. 

I gotta admit.. I even impressed myself!
Caitlin absolutely loves this kitchen.  She totally ditches her Legos now, and would rather "cook" in her kitchen.