Our Favorite Stuff to Play Outside with ALL Weekend!

We had an absolutely gorgeous weekend here in Seattle and I got some great pics of us taking full advantage of it in the backyard.  So today I thought I’d pretend I’m Dana over at MADE (who takes the most vivid pictures and always seems to have lots of great light) and give you guys a little peek into how we live.  And I couldn’t resist adding a little info. on some of our favorite stuff to play with too!

Both kids love our water table.  If you read this post, then you know that C likes to use our DIY sponge ball to set up a car wash for all his trucks when we’re inside and it looks like outside is no different.

We originally bought this water/sand table at Costco and liked it but the absence of a cover was a problem.  Then we inherited the one above (you can find it here).  It has a nice hard cover, lots of fun twirly/spinning parts, and is the perfect height for S to pull up on.

After the water table got old it was time to break out the balance bike.  This is a brand new “big boy” toy for C and over the course of the weekend he gradually got comfortable with it.  The bike’s extra light weight design is very conducive to taking it slow and learning at your own speed – which I love.  C started out just pushing it around, then moved on to straddling it but still walking (like above) and was sitting and pushing with his feet by the end of the weekend.

“Look mom, I’m wearing my helmet!”

If you’re paying close attention to the photos above, you may be noticing there’s a lot of junky looking stuff in the background.  That’s because while the kids and I were playing outside all weekend, Daddy and Grandpa were building us a new fence.

Unless you’ve been here since the very beginning – you may have missed it last November when four VERY LARGE trees like the ones above fell in our backyard.  We were very fortunate that our house was not hit but our fence, brick patio, and dining set were demolished.  Check out the pic here.

C really enjoyed being out with the guys while they built and he got to do lots of helping carrying wood and bringing them screws.  Those kind of experiences are so great for building his sense of confidence and self-worth that it’s totally worth the wreckage.

Here he is taking a quick lunch break outside (so as not to miss out on any of the action).

The guys put in three LONG days of work and at the end of it we had a beautiful new fence (much better than the original).  I thought briefly about documenting each step Young House Love style but preferred to play in the sun instead.

And before I go – I sent my husband to Fred Meyers the other day with a request to pick up a new pair of shoes for S (minus any specific guidance regarding style).  I’m loving what he came back with.

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