But we ARE excited for the nicer weather now and this year is a little different for us, because the kids can open doors. lol No longer does Adalyn have to have me outside with her 100% of the time and the girl is spending the majority of her days out on our back patio and lawn.
Our yard is pretty small and we don't have a fence. We also don't have a lot of kids toys out there to keep the kids entertained. The neighbors yards are feet away and thanks to the generosity of our neighbors Adalyn gets to use their swing set quite often which is fun for her. But they are getting a fence in a matter of weeks so the easy access to their playground will no longer be available.
As the weather got warmer I started to stress about how we were going to keep the kids entertained enough so that they wouldn't be too tempted to roam the streets looking for more exciting places to play. Getting a fence is out this summer, as we are spending money elsewhere on the yard. So I started thinking about what we wanted to get as far as outside toys went. Hopefully whatever we got would motivate the kids to stay in the yard. Last summer we got a water table that Adalyn adores and can't wait to get back out this summer. But this year I wanted to go a little bigger then a water table. We thought about a swing set of sorts, but really my kids aren't in love with those things and still need a lot of assistance on them. Adalyn is one of the most cautious children you will meet and doesn't like heights. So the next item we thought of was a trampoline. I never had one as a kid but loved playing on them at friends houses. They are kind of pricey, especially because I wanted one with a net. But then I remembered that they made smaller ones that are for little kids and they are lower to the ground. I also looked around the neighborhood and lots of other families had mini trampolines in their backyard and their kids seemed to really enjoy them.
So I talked to McKay and presented the idea of buying a trampoline as an early combined birthday gift for the kids. Yes their birthday are in August and December, but I really wanted them to be able to use the gift all summer. So they get it early and then we will just get them a very small gift on their actual birthdays. Luckily they are young and wont even know the difference. :)
McKay didn't love the idea of it at first because he knew that it was a good possibility that the Idaho wind could destroy the trampoline very quickly. But after further discussion we decided that we could be cautious and place it in a protected spot in our yard and the trampoline should be fine. We shopped around and found one that seemed decent quality for a good price and had good reviews.
It finally arrived a few weeks ago and we all LOVE it, except for Jensen who wants nothing to do with it. I think he thinks that I am going to trap him in there. lol The BEST thing about it is Adalyn can get on and off of it all by herself. Good thing because she spends a lot of time getting on and off. She LOVES jumping on it and it gets a lot of her energy out without needing to go anywhere. The neighbor kids love it too and it is nice for them to all want to come over to OUR house for a change. As a mom who wants to keep an eye on her kids that is a very good thing. We are very happy with the kids early birthday present and are excited for the kids to play on it all summer. It definitely adds to the level of excitement in our yard.
The trampoline is an 8ft. one (normal size trampolines are 15ft.) with an enclosure, and Adalyn at age 2 is easily able to get on and off on her own. It is the perfect size for our 2 little kids and should last them until age 7 or 8 if the wind doesn't take it before then :)
And even though Jensen wont get on it yet, he like playing with Adalyn. While she jumps he runs around the outside.
Happy Early Birthday Adalyn and Jensen!
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