friends! it's supposed to be 74º degrees today and i just couldn't be more thrilled. we've been waiting so so long for just a touch of warm weather and it's finally here. which is great, because our outside area looks depressing.

maybe someone i know never cleaned out the fall mums and cabbage from the pots flanking our porch? it was me. i never cleaned them out. guilty.

but now that we're getting a touch of the sun i'm like - full speed ahead on all things gardening. i want to get all my flowers planted, get my garden tilled up, get my herbs in some pots...and build a giant playset for my two best gals.

that's right. building project going on on the farm. and let me just say - we don't have the best record of doing things in a timely manner...unfortunately. but i have every intention of making this a top priority.

you see - we live in the middle of nowhere. we can't just pop over to a park and do some sliding and climbing. well, i mean - the girls could. but the climbing would be up the side of a tractor and the sliding would be down a dirt hill. super fun - right?

so my farmer and i agreed it was time to do some more backyard improvements and i had a playset all picked out. it only cost $2800 - two slides, monkey bars, climbing wall, swings, little fort area...but it just wasn't sitting right. i just hated the idea of spending that much money on something that i thought was just okay. i mean...i knew the girls would love it, but i also knew deep down we could build something better for less.

i told my farmer i was prepared to DIY this bizzle (which he had been trying to talk me into from the very beginning) and he couldn't have been happier. if there's one thing he hates - it's spending money on something pre-fab that he thinks he can do better. sure it may take him four times as long...but at least he didn't pay market value.
we've set the budget. i've purchased the slides. i've selected the inspiration for the very best farm playset that will be ready for my gals in 2020. (but seriously...i'm hoping we have this complete in...three months...which will be a freakin' miracle.)

we're going for an elevated playhouse with a large deck area and then all the bells and whistles attached accordingly - slides, cargo net, fireman pole, monkey bars, and even a little basketball hoop.

i'm so hoping this actually starts to happen so i can document our progress here on the blog. maybe now that it's published we'll have that extra fire lit to get this going sooner rather than later! wish us luck...