Nathan's Wonder Slide

The moment my husband, Bryan, laid eyes on the box, I knew he would be hauling the orange, yellow, and blue monstrosity home and installing it next to our tree house. "There goes 50 square feet of lush grass," I thought. Never mind that it was outrageously expensive and frivolous -- or that Bryan doesn't do outrageously expensive and frivolous. I knew he was buying it.

When our older kids -- Adam, 20, Natalie, 18, Steven, 16, and Michelle, 13 -- first saw it, they were shocked. I knew exactly what they were thinking: "Not in a million years would Dad have sprung for something like that for me when I was that age." Still, they were totally thrilled for their little brother, Nathan. They even helped their father assemble it.

When the continuous-airflow motor was connected, Bryan flipped the switch. Everyone watched in amazement as the Banzai Sidewinder Blast, a ten-foot-tall curving waterslide, rose from a puddle of vinyl and plastic into a bright, hulking mass of fun. We hooked the garden hose up to it, and within minutes there was an inviting pool of water at the base. "Go get Nathan," Bryan said, trying to stifle a grin.

"Why do you want me to put on swimmin' trunks?" Nathan asked me as I pulled off his shirt. "Are we going to the pool?"

"No," I told him. "Dad has a surprise in the backyard."