Sandbox

Wow, it's been three years since I've last posted here...you'd think we've been busy or something. Briefly, in the last 3 years we've replaced all of our indoor pipes, planted some more permanent landscaping, added a second raised bed (tomatoes!) and had a baby. That baby, who's not really so much of a baby anymore, was the inspiration for our latest project. She loves digging in my raised beds, so I figured she would love a sandbox. She plays in the sandbox at the park and at daycare so I guessed this would be a slam dunk. Additionally, the box would take up some valuable weed space and mean one less patch to pull come next spring. Win, win for everyone.
I found a design that I liked that included a lid, which was definitely required to keep out the neighborhood cats and other critters that may make use of it as a commode. Multiple trips to the hardware store later and we were in business to start building!!
After a week of cutting, staining and varnishing we were ready to starting putting all the pieces together. Thank goodness I had directions, although some parts didn't quite make sense to I improvised some things.

C helping me place the boards

Enjoying the new set up!

Did I mention that the lid folds back into little kid sized benches??! To be honest I'm pretty proud of this project and kind of wish I could make an adult sized one too. C seemed pretty happy to kick her shoes off and stick her feet in the sand while I kept puttering around the yard. All in all a pretty successful addition to the garden!!