Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 28 2007 8:50 pm
When you're a kid, the backyard is a magical place, where you're free to play without shoes and socks, a wrist bracelet or paid adult supervision.
For families, the backyard is a refuge, a place to unwind away from the television and traffic. For a child with a good imagination, that space behind the house can be a jungle or an archaeology dig site in Egypt.
John and Karen Penn of Tempe and their girls, 8-year-old Taylor and Sophia, 5, do as much of their living in the backyard as they do in the house. He's an architect and owner of JWP Design in Phoenix; she's a flight attendant.
Even this time of year, when the heat of the day drives them indoors, the Penns are back out again in the evenings, using portable swamp coolers to create cool breezes. Their house is just about 1,200 square feet, but with the glass-paned doors off the kitchen thrown open, the living space expands, with a series of red brick walkways and covered patios. The Penns have done most of the work themselves.
Just recently, John and the girls canvassed the backyard with tiny butterflies with feather wings from a crafts store, tying them in unexpected places, like the top of a hurricane lantern and on the low branches of the grapefruit tree.
"The backyard is my favorite place to be with my family," Taylor said.
With school out for the summer, the kids likely are spending even more time in the backyard, especially if you have a swimming pool. Here are few ideas to make your backyard even more fun:
Build a stage
All the world is a stage when you're a child, but a special place to perform can be magical. The Penns built an 8-foot by 10-foot platform and covered it with a pergola roof. The spotted stage curtains are actually shower curtains from Ikea that will hold up better in the weather than fabric curtains. The supporting beams are painted pink and purple, dotted with dragonflies and ladybugs, and decorated with strings of circle lights.
"It feels like I'm actually at a real theater," Taylor says.
She stages dance and puppet shows and sometimes casts friends for roles in more elaborate skits, starring knights, princesses and dragons. She says, "That little stage made my mind just pop and come up with all these ideas."
Create an art area
Who can argue with the idea of letting the kids use paint, glue and glitter outdoors where you can hose them down when they're finished? On the Penns' back porch, under a white ceiling fan, the girls create masterpieces with paint, sitting at a plastic picnic table. They draw and write notes to each other on a pink wooden easel that has a blackboard on one side and a whiteboard on the other. Overhead, a thick piece of twisty wire high between two porch posts is hung with paintings as they dry, held tight with tiny clothespins.
"I love art," says Sophia, who will start kindergarten in August. "I would like to do it every single day. I don't know why. That's how God made me. I like to paint, and mostly I like to use glue. I'm a glue monster."
Find a cozy space
This would be just for entertaining or for just the two of you. There are a few places in the Penns' backyard to put your feet up and sip a cocktail. The 18-foot by 9-foot Saltillo-tiled "Happy Hour Patio" is a favorite when the couple have guests, though the kids also like to curl up next to their parents on the couch to read. On the other side of the yard, two Adirondack chairs are pulled close together near a fountain, where Karen and John meet to talk after the children are in bed. "It's a relaxing spot," John says.
Put in a fountain
John created the focal point of the backyard using three boulders spouting water into a small pond below and a 5-foot-tall tiki towering behind it. Besides creating nice ambience, the sound of splashing water mitigates traffic noise. The Penns' water feature was installed by Boulder Fountains by Keith in Phoenix (www.boulderfountains.com), but fountain kits at home improvement stores mean you could do it yourself.
Invite nature over to play
Set up a birdbath or hang bird feeders. For a homemade bird feeder, smear pinecones with peanut butter, roll them in birdseed and hang them from the eaves of the house. You'll be rewarded with feathered visitors. At the Penns' house, the girls start watching for hummingbirds as soon as the sun starts to go down. "It's 6:15. It's about time," their mother says. As if on cue, a hummingbird arrives at the feeder outside the kitchen window. The girls clamor to see. Karen says, "There's usually two of them, and the other one waits in the tree until this one is finished. Yes, here he comes. His wings beat so fast you can't even see them."
Shine some light
No, not the floodlight. String strands of miniature outdoor holiday lights. Wrap them around a porch or hang them from trees. John loves candles, hanging them over a patio table in a black wrought-iron chandelier at dinnertime and lighting hurricane lamps for nighttime storytelling.
Grow grass
Kids need a place where they can run and turn cartwheels. Dad turns on the sprinklers and the Penn girls dance through the showers. "This is where they can run free," Karen says. The girls also lie on the grass and watch the clouds go by. You can't do that on concrete or dirt. Taylor stretches her arms wide when she talks about the grassy area: "I like big games like tag, and if you have a little space, it's kind of not that fun."
Plant a garden
You don't have to carve out a large area of your yard to have a garden. A garden in big pots will do just fine.
Grow your own cherry tomatoes or green beans. The kids will love watching their own vegetables grow.
Buy an old-fashion sprinkler
Remember how much fun it was to run through the sprinkler when our parents watered the grass. Now those sprinklers are all on timers.
Bring back some of that fun by going to Target and picking up a sprinkler. The kids will love running around and getting wet. They'll burn energy and keep cool. Just remember to apply sunblock.
Create an outdoor easel
Who says you need to have a chalkboard or sidewalk to use sidewalk chalk. The fence will do just fine. A bonus is you can hose it off and let the kids start fresh the next day.
Reach the reporter at (602) 444-8614.
