my birthday week was spent building this swing for you. your dad is a trooper. you see, we work best together. i look at the instructions, agree that it makes sense and then tell him how to put it together. (i'm usually not capable of climbing ladders and tightening things safely) so i started him out but then ran off to work and he spent the rest of the day reading instructions and second guessing them, therefore reading them again. he's a perfectionist, that's what he does. so i bought a kit because i priced it out and it was slightly cheaper. only the kit was for a slide too and we didn't want to labor over a slide. we don't get that much time off together. so we build it over two days and get the thing upright only to find that without the slide portion the set sways left and right. and so i go in search of the green brackets that now adorn your set. i go to lowes and they have only one. now we live exactly in between two lowes so i have the store call the other one. they have three. don't you know i picked the wrong lowes. so i have them set one aside for me and go to pick it up. when i get home we find out that the one that was set aside has two of the same bracket (not opposing ones) and i have to go back in search of another. by now Will, who has taken the morning off has to go to work. so he puts up the good set of brackets and drills holes for me to put up the second set, given i find them, and leaves. i get a good set of brackets and go to put them up and he has drilled the holes on one slightly at an angle so i can't get the back to fit. the carriage bolts are also stuck so i go knocking it with a hammer...still no. i decide i have to take out the bolts. one comes out great, the other, i get a screwdriver that i'm using to drive it, stuck. ugh! while i'm perplexing Big John yells over to ask how you girls like your swing... to which he gets the full sad story. he comes to the rescue. (sorry he asked, i'm sure) but he fixed the bracket and Will got up early to finish the job (i can't be trusted, apparently these things need a perfectionist) and get you girls swinging. we still have not secured the darn thing so it won't tip forward. it seems safe though.you love it. B, it took you a bit of time to figure out how to do little back flips on the trapeze bar but you nail it now. it's interesting how frustrated you get when it doesn't just happen. you are that way writing your name and still haven't given it a fair try. V, you are tall enough to have that in your favor. you just keep pulling yourself up to sit on the bar and then get stuck, scared really. B comes in to tell me that V needs me... she is stuck up on the bar again. you'll figure it out though. and PO you are an angel flying on the swing. you constantly ask "underdog, mom" which i try to oblige without sending you too high. i'm not sure if your squawking is because i don't send you high enough or that you are a bit scared of the motion. you won't get off the swing though.
this is Beatrice on one of her first attempts that stuck. she was so excited but now she just wants to climb up on the bar like V does. she just too small yet. although i have been told by the neighbors that she climbs up on their's which is closer to the ground. no problem. she will run off to the circus one day. i will try and be happy about this.
Viv figured this out easily enough although doesn't sport the same upper body strength as B does so not as consistent. you do use your height to your advantage. if you keep this dress thing up though, we will be wearing bloomers.
