When I was a kid, I would occasionally visit other kids’ houses. And there was one thing that would always settle a tie when it came to deciding whose house we would go to: a trampoline in the backyard.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2016 challenge. Here’s the full list.

We’ve got a pretty big yard. Most of it is on a slope, but there are three patches that are big enough to hold a trampoline, and two of them are big enough for a really nice-sized one. We measured the one we thought would work the best, ordered the 17-footer from Amazon, and waited.

(Note: you’ll probably notice that our lawn is brown. We don’t usually live like this, it was in transition. We’ve since had it covered with cedar chips.)

We worked as a family to set up the frame and stretch the canvas, but it was tilted at something like 15° off level, and we didn’t want the kids to go flying out of it or through the flimsy nylon mesh. So the next weekend Becky’s dad came over, and we started digging out trenches for the high-side feet to sink into, so the tramp would be level. Unfortunately we nicked a sprinkler pipe while doing it. So we did a hasty repair job, and decided to leave the tramp on the big patch at the bottom of the yard, which was level enough for safety.

So how has this one turned out? Great. Will and Lucy made good use of it in the early summer, and Lucy still spends time out there when the weather cooperates. She’s been practicing gymnastics moves, and she’s getting pretty good. This project has been a huge success, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat.