Penelope crawling to Sophie!

Penelope's New Swing Set!

So, I'm sure everyone has seen all of the elaborate wooden swing sets and play equipment that they make for kids - these huge fortresses in everyone's backyard. Who wouldn't want one for their kids, right? It goes without saying: If you have a backyard, your kids should have a swing set? BUT... have you seen the ridiculous price tags on these things?! Even the crappiest of these beasts, made out of pine two by fours and hardware that'll rust by the end of the 1st winter and doesn't even include the slide costs $200! Are you kidding me?!

My Parents bought me one of these things for my 5th birthday, and it's still standing strong. Back then, they payed $110.00 for a huge, two story wooden "eagles nest", it was called. Came with a slide, a tarp to cover the thing, a swing and a rope ladder and a swinging rope. Now you're lucky if these things will even stand long enough for your kids to outgrow them!

My brother, Jeff just bought his daughter, Zoe one for her 2nd birthday. Nice gift, yes. Simple wooden swing set with a nice, but tiny tower that has a ladder and a small rock wall and a slide. Treated wood and decent hardware. Came with two swings, the slide and some kind of acrobatic bar to swing on. Will probably only last them about 8 years before it falls apart - it's small enough that Zoe will probably outgrow it by then anyway, but it's nice enough. How much did it cost? Nearly $500.

So what did I decide to do over memorial weekend? Build Penelope a swing set. Went to Home Depot to get some tan duct tape to patch up the fabric roof of our gazebo and ended up walking right past the paint department and ended up in the lumber aisle, picking through a stack of cedar planks. For about $100, I built this beast of a swing set:

Probably could have spent half that amount on it, but I said, "if I'm building it, I'm building it once." Completely made out of cedar, so it won't rot, all galvanized steel brackets and brass bolts and screws. Most of the money was spent on the hardware. It turned out a lot bigger than I thought it would - it is at least 8 feet high, but this thing isn't going anywhere. Right now, it just has the one baby swing on it, but it can easily fit two swings. I set out to make a simple swing set, and that's what I did. (And Alan only held a few boards in place while I screwed them in... I felt that I needed to add that.)
Took me about a week to complete, but I only worked for an hour or two each night. All for this sweet little face:

She absolutely loved it, as I hoped she would. Hopefully it will be the source of many laughs and smiles for years to come. We may add on to it as the years go by, but I'm very proud of myself for being able to figure out how to make it - and without measuring or a kit!

...or the steep price, for that matter :)