Let the swinging commence

The phone rang at 10am.  It was the swing company saying they had the set loaded on the truck and were on their way.  The truck arrived at about 10:25am.  The truck pulled out of here at around 2:25pm.  No breaks; no interruptions; just plain old hard work.  They had all the pieces out of four large boxes in 20 minutes.  It was a crew of two men and one woman.  It is clear that they have done this before.  The instruction manuals were QUICKLY tossed aside and assembly began.  I always love watching these projects.  Each person had their own jobs to do.  Each was an "expert" on a particular portion of the job.  One did the entire enclosed structure from floor to roof.  One prepared all the hardware and assembled the smaller bits and the third person was responsible for the swing set portion.  It was interesting that there was very little conversation going on.  They had a mission and it was accomplished fast.

Then the fun part of the day was letting the girls in on their birthday surprise from Mommy and Daddy.  Emma's reaction was very similar to what mine would have been.  Very cautious and not ready to jump for joy.  However as the afternoon wore on and she watched the assembly near completion her excitement was oozing out of every pore of her skin.  She couldn't wait to get her hands on it.  

Rebecca's reaction was completely different.  (Big shock there, I know.)  I was holding her in the dining room while Emma was at school.  The crew had just arrived and I had talked with them about where I wanted the set to go.  We came inside and as the boxes were opened I explained to her about our neighbor's swing sets and how much she likes climbing all over them.  She got a big smile on her face.  I told her that Daddy and I wanted both her and her sister to have one for their birthdays this year so they could enjoy themselves too.  She put her arms around my neck, hugged me and said, "Thank you Mommy."  Of course, I started crying.  

We had a few of the neighbors over this afternoon to help christen the set.  They all seemed to enjoy themselves.  I hope that it will provide years of joy and entertainment to all the kids in the neighborhood.  Happy Birthday Emma and Rebecca.  We love you so much!