Playset Assembly

For their 2nd birthday, Jaden and Cody were blessed to receive a new playset from Grammy and Papa. The boys absolutely LOVE slides and swings at the park-- how exciting to have these things in our own backyard! Jason asked a team of guys to come over to help with the assembly process. This team had a BIG job!

Thankfully, even though rain was forecasted on this day in early May, we had a beautiful, cool sunny day. The first task was to sort out all of the pieces according to their step number.

Then, the assembly began! Here, Jonathan & Jason work together while Cody and Jaden supervise.

Paul and Frances were our two experienced handymen that we named foremen of the building process. It was so wonderful to have their help!

Josh was definitely our most motivated helper. He did not want to quit until the playset was done. What a gift he was to the process! One of Josh's early jobs was assembling the climbing wall.

This playset is a fortress! It was exciting to watch the pieces come together and imagine the boys running around inside. Another friend and helper, Matt, can also be seen in this pic.

Once the "house" portion of the playset was up, our uneven ground presented a problem. The guys ended up digging a couple of shallow trenches in order to level out the playset. As I mentioned, this project was no small task!

For some of our friends, this assembly event became a whole family day at the Schleicher home! Jaden and Cody had 4 of their friends to play with that morning while their daddies were working on our construction crew. This meant that Amy had a few mommy friends to visit with as well. We mainly tried to stay inside, out of the guys' way, but we took a few breaks outside to see the slowly growing playset. The kids enjoyed playing in the sandbox...

...and running, riding, or pushing toys down the hill.

Paul tried to convince Amy that she was the true foreman (forewoman?). He insisted that I wear a construction hat whenever I stepped onto the "job site." Then, when I started to pose for a picture next to the playset, he decided that the picture needed to be an authentic one ("no standing around on the job here!"). So... I was given some power tools.

I wasn't so sure what to think about my new job...

Do I look like an experienced builder yet? :)

If you answered yes, then I had you fooled! :) I still needed Paul's guiding hand a bit.... Even so, I can still say I that was part of the process!

After a break for lunch, many guys still stayed on to continue the work. In fact, Jason had to leave by 3:00 to lead worship team at church, and these three guys-- Paul, Tom, and Josh-- still worked another few hours in his absence! We are truly fortunate to have such hard-working, gracious friends! Jaden and Cody loved coming outside to check on their progress.

Finally by 5:00 (after a LONG, hard day of work at the Schleichers), all the guys had to return home. We were officially over halfway done with the setup. Jaden and Cody didn't seem to mind that the playset was only partially complete. They laughed their way through the door...

... excitedly checked out the telescope,

and enthusiastically turned the steering wheel (even though Jaden doesn't look too energetic here).

Both boys cried when we had to go back inside. They absolutely LOVED their new playset!

Jason and a few willing guy friends (Josh & Matt again, with new help from Joe and Casey) took two more evenings to tackle the rest of the assembly. Once complete, the "house/fort/castle" had its own roof, an exciting slide (which is so fast that it propels our boys forward onto the ground each time they go down!), and an attached swingset. 

Right outside the window, there is also a small table that can be used for sand or water play.

From the back, you can see the climbing wall (which the boys haven't quite figured out yet). You may notice the concrete patio that the guys installed just below the side door. Due to the trench/leveling issue, the door wouldn't open unless the guys dug out some of the sod. They didn't want to leave a dirt hole (which would soon become a mud pit!) right outside this door, so one of the guys had the bright idea to bring in the concrete. We love the realistic taste of home this adds to the playset! :)

Mommy and the boys are SO proud of Daddy's hard work-- his organization of the assembly crew (for three different construction dates!), his hard work with the actual assembly, and for his dedication to getting the project done in a short time period (just in time for the boys' birthday party!).

We are very grateful to our crew of 8 guys for generously giving of their time to help us with the set-up. We definitely couldn't have done it without their help!

Finally, thanks again so much to Grammy and Papa for your generous gift! We think the playset is beautiful, and we know that Jaden and Cody will spend hours and hours playing on it in the years to come.