Swingset Saga

We've wanted to get Clara a wooden swingset for some time now. It's just never been in the budget. We decided to buy one with some of the money we made from the sale of Chris' boat. So we've been searching for a swingset since then.

There are no middle of the road wooden swingsets to be found in these parts. We've been to and called Wal-Mart, Academy and Toys R Us. Some of them had their smallest one in stock, but one step up really made a difference in features and stability. We spent about a half hour in Wal-Mart at the customer service desk trying to find another store with one in stock. They said there were two of them nearby. Great! So we head in that direction, calling the store on the way. No dice, they both did not, in fact have one in stock.

Academy said they're on backorder for months and that no Academy around here can seem to get any.

Home Depot and Lowe's kits were out of our price range.

Toys R Us didn't have any and then I stopped in one day just to check again and they'd finally gotten a couple in! An employee said they just got them, but they were the only store nearby that had and they wouldn't last long. But I was in the car, I didn't have my cell phone nor did I know Chris' new work number, so I didn't feel right just buying it without talking to him first. I just hoped it would be there that night. Chris called later in the afternoon and I told him about it. He said to call them back and put it on hold, that we'd be there as soon as he got off work. Between the time I was there around 11:00 and the time I called, around 4:00, it had been recalled!

What does it take to get a stinkin' playset around here? So, we decided to go get her bedroom furniture that night instead since it looked like we weren't getting a swingset anytime soon.

Soooo, we wake up last Saturday morning and Daddy still had swingsets on the brain. He was so distraught that he couldn't build his little girl her swingset. I told him since he was taking on the side job AND since the rest of that money would be going toward debt AND if he didn't have any other big ticket item that he planned to spring on me later, that I was ok with going over budget a bit. I mean, how could I keep him from doing this for his little girl? I'm not an ogre.

He was up for that and since he had priced the kits at Home Depot, we headed there the trailer. No luck; sold out of the model we wanted. We had them call up one nearby who did have it in stock and they had it waiting up front when we got there. It was a bit tricky getting everything loaded on our little trailer. The kit came complete with everything but 9 4x4x8's.

Chris wasted no time getting started on it when we got home even though it was already early afternoon and hot as could be. He had gotten the tower built when our neighbor (who happens to be on the HOA board), peeked over the fence and asked if we had gotten permission to put it up. We were supposed to fill out a form and submit pictures and dimensions.

Say what? It's a swingset for pete's sake. Apparently anything that will be visible over the fence line (like the other half dozen wooden swingsets in the neighborhood) has to be approved by the Architectural Modification Committee. I knew that additions, decks, and the like fell into that category, but a swingset? I could understand if it was something Chris got out there and welded together himself or something, but it's a nice wooden swingset. Not at all unsightly.

So we filled out the online form, but I still haven't heard from them. Chris went ahead and built a good portion of it to make it playable because Glenn had come over to help him, but he hasn't finished it just in case we have to take it down. I think I'm going to tell them I'll take it down if they come tell my two year old she can't have a swingset anymore.