So I decided this year to build the kids picnic table that I'd been putting off for a while. I rifled through my stuff until I found the picnic table plans I had purchased for just this purpose. I remember the promise I'd made to the kids some time back, so I thought now was a good a time as any to hop on it.

We spend so much time outdoors anyway, and building a picnic table for the kids would be a cool thing, maybe I could even get the kids involved in building it with me. I know they love to use the hammer, and if I got all the wood cut, putting it together would be a simple enough task.

After checking the material list, I realized I even had some of the materials on hand, the others I could pick up easy enough at Home Depot, or at Ace Hardware before we started. This was going to be a piece of cake, it was so easy, and it would look nice in the yard and give the kids a place to eat lunch outdoors.

I picked up the rest of the materials I needed and roped the kids into starting early Saturday morning. I was surprised at how easy this project came together and it was a joy to see the kids finally working together for a change instead of fighting all the time. Besides, doing something with their dad, outdoors, instead of being locked in front of the boob tube plugged into the Wii was a good thing. Fresh air and a little work never hurt any kid. Heck, it builds character my dad used to say. I was glad I picked those plans up.

The kids were proud that they worked so hard on this project and when we set it up, they immediately planned a picnic for the next day. Working with the kids to get this done made me realize how important doing things together can be. I was surprised how well everyone worked together and what a sense of pride and accomplishment it gave the kids to help.