Backyard Fun: Putting your backyard swingset together

Continuing the Backyard Discovery series as I document the building of our new backyard playset complete with fort, swings and monkey bars...
After a forced break due to rain and snow, the Montpelier play set is now complete. We had another half day of work to put on the finishing touches, which included building the slide (a step we had skipped before), attaching the monkey bars and swing beams as well as the bench.
We also bought recycled rubber mulch mats for ground protection (from Sam's Club) as well as sand for the sand box from Home Depot. Those were very easy to install and look great. Plus the rubber mulch mats won't blow or wash away or fade with time, or so says the packaging.
All in all, this project was pretty easy but it was time consuming. I did 90% of it by myself, an intermediate level DIYer, with some help from my husband, a DYI novice, the other 10% of the time. My mom also lent a helping hand for the slide construction. This is definitely a project that could be completed quicker with two or three experienced project participants.
No matter the time it takes you - it will be worth it. My children are thrilled beyond belief with the results and I'm feeling pretty proud of my work too. Plus - it was pretty fun!