56 Days: Our Yard Rocks

Our backyard may not be the most manicured in the neighborhood, but it totally rocks. All the kids in the neighborhood come to our house in the afternoons to play. Of course, it's probably 99% because our girls are so awesome :), but I like to think that our fun backyard has a lot to do with it too. :) Check it out:

We've got the playhouse with three swings and a slide (also check out Allie's night lights for ambiance, and the pulley she and Brian designed so we could pass items back and forth from the deck to the playhouse). :)

Another slide for the smaller ones and one of our two sandboxes :)

Our famous rope swing that Maggie just got brave enough to use for the first time last weekend, now she's the biggest daredevil on it, always wanting to go higher and faster. . .

A garden for watching strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes and broccoli grow (and a few more toys, of course) :)

A teepee, built by our resident naturalist Allie. Every child needs a place to build with sticks and leaves! Yes, that is a hula hoop you see on the ground- one of about 10 that Brian made for the kids. And yes, another slide. :)

She's setting up for the weekly Naturehood meeting this evening- of course it must be in a primitive place outdoors :)

There's a deck coming off the kitchen for entertaining guests. . .

And my personal favorite- some outdoor living space. That door is our bedroom door. We can just step right out from our room and be in our outdoor living room. This morning I even brought the coffee maker outside and sat there having my quiet time. It was so nice!

Like I said, our yard is obviously not the prettiest or most well manicured in the neighborhood by any means. But it has a lot of character. :) Lest you think there is nothing beautiful, only playthings for the kids, these are actual scenes from the front yard. . .

Anybody wanna come over for a playdate?? :)