The sandbox has been an ongoing effort at our house for many months and a long time coming. (Hey, it took me 6 weeks to take down our Easter decorations. You wouldn't expect anything different from us, would you?)
Last fall, I started shopping online for some sandboxes. I found some that I liked, but by the time I got around to selecting one and actually paying for it, they were gone.
At Christmas, Grandpa (my Dad) told the kids he would make them a sandbox for next summer. He finished it in May. It is a whopping 4' X 8' - exactly double the size of the sandbox he made for my sister and I when we were growing up. It has the same corner seats and everything!
Then Grammy stained it with Alyssa's help. (Ignore the junky garage in the background.)
Lucy donated the tarp (can you tell she's an Illini fan?).
Catherine (also known as Caferin) helped Dave put it on. They also propped the sandbox up on some pavers, so that, hopefully, it won't become worm-invested like our last one.
Barry and Trish (affectionately known as Miss Tush) did a Sunday morning drive-by and dropped off sand for us. Uncle Tom donated to the sand fund, too!
Finally, the day after the big birthday party (where they got some new sandbox toys), Dave poured in all the sand and let them at it. It went much better than Alyssa's first experience in the sandbox when she was 17 months old.
We finished the day off with letting the kids eat the rest of those yummy cupcakes. I didn't really get to watch them much in the craziness of the big birthday party, so it was fun to watch them devour them the second time around. I loved Lauren with the hill billy teeth from her cupcake. The kids had fun playing with their new toys, especially the giraffe tunnel. Then they were so cute at bedtime, I just had to snap some pictures. It is rare that they all sit next to each other like that. They are usually trying to cover as many square feet as they can before bedtime. They also played this little game where they pretend to sleep and then they "wake up!" Lauren also asked me the next day to take a picture of her for the first time, as she was carrying her new stylish purse. All the 2 year olds are wearing them, I hear.
Enjoy the pictures. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making all of this come together!
Amanda
PS Thanks to everyone for all your encouraging notes about me being "Back to Work". I really meant to come off as sarcastic instead of poor me. It's good to know that I have friends like you who care and know what it's like not to like your job every day.
