Sand Box

An exciting thing happened here this week. We got a sand box! With our teeny tiny back yard, I was looking for something to motivate Camia to be outside, but also with a teeny tiny back yard, it was hard to decide what to do, what to get. We don't want to take from her space to bike or scooter around, so we decided against a patio set, which would only get in her way and take up more than 1/2 of the space we have. We had thought about a sandbox before, but I was a little leery because of the sand that would be tracked into the house and we had decided to not do it because of cost. Turns out, it kind of fell into our laps and cost us around $12. I got the wood from my mom who was going to cut it up for firewood - and it's cedar to boot! With all the liquid sunshine we get around here, cedar is ideal. And then my brother in law had extra sand lying around and offered it up one family Sunday. I jumped on it and said please. The only thing I had to buy was the plywood for the lid and bottom. Camia was over the moon. And so far the mess has stayed outside, with a rule immediately enforced that the sand must stay in the sand box. And I decided that if it would mean Camia would play outside more, and that she would play more period, it would be worth the little bit of sand that I would have to sweep up at the end of the day.

For other things in the back yard we have a turtle, which is technically a sand box, but this year we are going to use it as a swimming pool, her bike, scooter and little tykes car. We are going to add a little toy box made from wood also from the greenhouse for her sand toys, bubble toys and pool toys, just to keep the back 'yard' tidy and organized.


                                       


On the other side I have my little corner where I like to sit and read my book. I am going to try have plants once again - last year and the year before the plants I had back there fried due to lack of shade and high temperatures and lack of me being around to water them a hundred times a day. I am not sure why I have the thought that this year will be better, but I can always hope, right? :) And I love plants, and I want to enjoy them. We'll see how it goes.