Getting Ready for a Wedding--Fixing Up the Swing Set

     My husband built this swing set over fifteen years ago. It is still sturdy and, as you can see from this picture taken at our annual Easter Egg Hunt, it gets a lot of use.



     But despite still being functional, it wasn't looking very good. Since the swing set is right by the main area for the reception, we decided it needed a little sprucing up.



    First we stained the wood with a product that not only colored the wood but also waterproofed it. That step alone did a lot to make the swing set look better.

    Next we replaced the old swings with new ones. Our purpose here wasn't just to have better looking swings, though that was a nice benefit. The plastic covering the chains on the old swings was beginning to crack and sometimes pinched little hands. On the new swings the links in the chains are individually coated, and we think this will help them last longer.

    Mowing around the swing set was a pain, and the wood was being scuffed up from the weed trimmer. We decided to install a mowing strip around the base and legs of the set to solve this problem. We had leftover pavers from our patio project to do this.

    
 
As we were planning how to configure the mowing strip, I suggested we not only install a mowing strip but also make a "kids' patio" to the side of the slide. We have a cute little picnic table, and this would make a perfect place for it to sit. My husband was skeptical of my idea at first. He said we probably wouldn't have enough pavers to finish the patio, and we'd have to go buy more. Then we'd probably get more than we needed and I'd come up with another paver project, which we wouldn't have enough for... He said it would become a vicious cycle until our entire yard was covered in pavers. Well, that didn't happen. We did have to purchase a few extra of the larger edging pavers, but we had just enough of the others to finish the kids' patio with what we had.


     I love how the swing set turned out. And I'm sure it will get almost as much use as the dance floor during the reception.

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