Everyone Wins

When my husband wanted a golf cart, I thought it was the most ridiculous, unjustifiable purchase I could think of. During that time, I was trying to talk him into a playground for the back yard. That would have been a big purchase in and of itself and was still a third of the price of a stupid golf cart. Jason argued that if we had a golf cart, we wouldn't need the playground because we could ride to the neighborhood playground. I reasoned that I couldn't fold laundry while watching the children from the porch at the neighborhood playground nor could the kids run in for a drink or to use the potty. Initially, I won this one. We got the playground a year ago in May. The fact that Jason had to have curbing put around the playground and mulch to fill it in made the price of the playground about the same price as a golf cart would have been. But I digress, I still got the playground.

Last October, we got the golf cart.

Can I just tell you that I have no idea what on earth we did before we had this thing. It is a total lifesaver on a daily basis. Owen is unbearable from about 4:45 until his bedtime at 6:30. He really just wants to go to bed but of course, I can't let him go to bed for the night at 5pm. So, we rough it through dinner and then as part of our nightly routine we are out the door for a golf cart ride. It is like magic. We have Owen's car seat rigged (I know, you're thinking we must look like the Beverly Hillbillies-and you're probably right) on the back of the golf cart. He just sits back there happily enjoying the outside air and all his surroundings. Jason and I love it because we get to talk to each other about the day. We have all sorts of adventures on this thing. It is nothing out of the ordinary to see deer, turtles, turkeys, armadillo, birds of all varieties, alligators, or cows. There is this bumpy dirt road we go down where Amelia pretends we are riding through the jungle. On this road we see all sorts of animals such as giraffe, flying monkeys, and rhinoceros. Today, we all loaded up the fishing poles and went down to one of the neighborhood retention ponds to fish off the back of the cart. I wish I had my camera because Lane caught his first fish, a catfish. He was quite surprised to find something actually on the end of his line. It was big fun. Anyway, until all three kids learn to ride a bike, this is most frequently how we get outside and spend time together. I must admit, Jason, this was a wonderful purchase!

I might add that Jason says the same thing about the playground. He wasn't too excited about it to start with, I had to really twist his arm. When he realized it entertained the kids for hours of uninterrupted play in the Spring and Fall he admitted he was just as happy about the investment as I was.

I got the playground, he got the golf cart. It's a win-win.