New Play Area

Happy Friday everyone! And Happy St.Jean to all of my Quebec friends. Yes, I am working. We take the long weekend in August instead of this holiday. Which actually I kind of prefer. It was always weird to me to have two long weekends in a row and then none again until September! Yuck! 

Either way, the weekend is almost here and it is suppose to be beautiful! We are actually planning a little fun outing as a family tomorrow (as well as working) but we are gonna make the work day fun with Sam. Pack a picnic and head to a splash pad. 

We will also be spending a lot of time enjoying our home. Sam is LOVING his new outdoor space. As soon as we get home he plays until supper. Rushes through his meal and then goes back out to play before bed! It's been great! 

Looking back we really started this project before Sam's birthday! We wanted to get Sam a new play structure. The one that was there was mine. Rotting and almost dangerous in some area's. Everything just needed a little face life. 

Before: 

We got this beautiful play structure on sale at Canadian Tire with birthday money Sam received. He is not a big swing fan right now but loves the slide and the little play area in the bottom!  

For a few days Sam just loved to play with his new play structure and then Daddy filled up the area with sand! 

We considered lots of things. Keeping it on the grass, mulch but then decided a sand filled area was better! Easier to maintain and we thought Sam would enjoy it more. He loves to drive it in with his trucks. 

We also wanted to get some kind of border. We considered lots of options but finally decided on Armour stone as we liked the idea of it being part of the play area. It kind of gives it a little castle feel. 

These stones ended up being the complicated part of the process. These suckers were HEAVY and hard to move and place. 500-700 pounds per stone! 

Since we were in the process, I also wanted to re-vamp the outside of the play house! Some little things that would make it feel more "homey". Shutters, new stairs, painted doors and windows, window boxes (with flowers) and....

A mail box! 

Since there were some curious people, here is what the inside looks like! Pretty plain but I want to tackle organizing, painting and making the inside as cozy as the outside! 

We made little fun stepping stones and Sam loves to go to each one telling us which color it is! They were easy and cheap to do! Took a big log from the farm, cut 5 into rounds, sanded them and spray painted them fun/bright colors! 

And here is the finished product! 

Not only do we love how it turned out but more importantly, Sam is loving this space! We are getting so much use out of it and I know we will for years! It was a lot of work but we get to enjoy it for the rest of the summer! 

Happy Friday! 

xo