Backyard dreamin'

After watching the Backyardigans don't you just wish your kids had a play area like that and friends to share it with? Of course the Backyardigans get along much better than any group of kids I've ever met, so maybe that wouldn't work out as well as I fantasize, but still, it would be neat!

We are currently living in a rental that has the virtue of being in a nice neighborhood and having a small yard. Very small. Miniscule, in fact. There's not much room for the girls to run around and play.

There's not much happening in the way of playmates, here, either. There's a little boy next door the same age as my oldest, but his parents don't let him outside to play very often and won't let him go to anyone else's house to play. There's another little boy behind us, but he's a year older than my oldest and isn't interested in playing with a) girls, and b) younger children. A year makes such a big difference at this age, doesn't it?

My dream is to buy a house of our own some day, one with a big yard. There should be trees to climb, lots of room for a swingset and sandbox, soft green grass for running and tumbling, and if there were plenty of other kids their ages living nearby that would be just perfect. Throw in a house designed with plenty of windows looking out onto the children's play area so I could keep an eye on them without having to be right there next to them, and I would be in heaven.

What would your dream house be like?