Summer Sprinkler

I am so proud of this project!  Today I made a fun sprinkler/bike wash for the kids.  Disney's Family Fun magazine had a deluxe version of it but a blog called Simple Simon & Co had a pretty simple version that I copied.

Once I got all the parts I needed, it only took 20 minutes to make.  And that was with 2 impatient children trying to "help."

It was the trip to Lowe's that was the hardest part.  The lawnmowers were an instant distraction.  Jack wanted to sit on them and he wanted me to take pictures.  So I did.

Casey likes the pricier one!

I found the pvc piping.  They come in 10 foot lengths.  I knew they would fit in the car but trying to push them around Lowe's in a cart was no simple task.  Jack and Casey were trying to help with the fittings I needed.  "How about this one, Mommy?"  Jack helped so much that when we checked out, I realized that the T joints that he was in charge of were not in the cart.  Instead of pushing my cart with its 10 foot poles around, I elected to take things out to the car and then we headed back into the store.

The second time around I found the correct fitting to connect my pipes to a garden hose.  It would have been a sad sad story if I had put this all together and then found out I couldn't connect it to my hose.  I also snuck by the plumbing man to grab the pvc pipe cutting tool.  Earlier, he was pretty adamant that I didn't need it and I could just use a hacksaw.  I decided it was worth the money to buy the tool because I was pretty sure it would make the whole process of creating this easier.  I couldn't picture myself trying to use the hacksaw and answer 3000 questions from Jack and Casey and still remain patient and still keep all my fingers.

In the meantime, Jack and Casey turned their T joints into guns and then into microphones and then they wanted to sit in different seats in the cart and then they wanted to go back by the lawnmowers.  I was very happy to leave and get home with my parts.

After a little measuring, a little oomph to cut the pipes, some drilling to make holes and a little assembling, I was very happy with the results.  The kids were very happy too.  They took all their cars, bikes, trikes, scooters and lawnmowers through the car wash.  It made the trip to Lowe's worth it and the 90+ degree heat more bearable.  And I smile every time I look at my handiwork!