By Amy Hillard

The Solazzo family of Westerville first decided on a backyard play set for their children four years ago. With a year-and-a-half-old toddler and a newborn, Lisa Solazzo and her husband Tony could not pack their children into the car every time they wanted to visit the park.

So they resolved instead to bring the playground to them. After brainstorming ideas, the couple decided to create a play set themselves.

“My husband designed the playground and built it from scratch. We bought all of the materials from The Home Depot and just kept adding new accessories as our kids grew. It’s been really great because the play set has grown with our family. We started off with a baby swing and look how far we’ve come,” Lisa says.

Four years later, the Solazzo children – Gino, 4 and Michael, 5 - don’t seem to want to spend their time anywhere else but in the comfort of their own backyard, battling villains with the neighborhood kids and spending time with mom and dad.

Their present play set includes a trapeze bar for the kids to hang on, a wooden clubhouse tower with two ship’s wheels attached, two swings, a wave slide and a wooden ladder.

A unique accessory that waves from the top of Gino and Michael’s clubhouse tower is a pirate flag the boys’ grandmother made for their play set. The boys love the Pirates of the Caribbean series and often pretend to be part of Jack Sparrow’s crew.

“I love playing pirate ship with the pirate wheels, and looking for sharks and alligators,” Michael says.

Michael also loves the swings adjacent to the tower; he says his cousin taught him how to use them, and to hang from the yellow trapeze bar hanging parallel with the swing.

“My cousin taught me to swing at first and then I could do it all by myself,” he says. “I get to be Batman and do flips.”

Michael’s younger brother Gino also likes playing on the trapeze bar.

“I like holding onto the rings while running and then taking off to fly,” he says.

The Solazzos’ spacious backyard and patio – complete with metal lawn chairs, an outdoor grill, the play set and an extensive plant collection – allows the family to truly appreciate their home atmosphere.

“We love our backyard, and this play set encourages our children to love it, too,” Lisa says.

The location has become the go-to house for many of the neighborhood children. Lisa says it’s a safe place for neighbors to meet, and for the neighborhood children to have outdoor time to release some energy.

The Solazzos’ favorite part of the set up is that it inspires imaginative play between their children. They create settings with everything from pirate ships to cowboys to Batman. It has also created an opportunity for Lisa to spend more time with her two children.

“I love sitting in the clubhouse reading books and eating Popsicles with Gino and Michael. It’s so nice and quiet in our yard and that allows for some quality time with my kids,” she says.

Gino and Michael agree they enjoy eating super hero Popsicles on the deck of their “pirate ship” while looking out into the vastness of a blue sea. And the best part? They never have to leave home to discover their very own buried treasure.

In the future, the couple would like to add a climbing wall and build a picnic table to encourage even more creative play and bonding time between her family and other neighborhood kids.

Amy Hillard is a contributing writer for Westerville Magazine.

For Westerville residents looking to personalize their backyards, Outside Envy is selling a commemorative Westerville stepping stone and sun catcher. The tree design featured on both items was created by Columbus artist Julie Moudry. The 12-inch stone is made from a blend of resin and granite and comes in several colors, while the sun catcher is made from recycled glass and comes in three colors. Visit the store, located at 15 N. State St., or call 614-895-3689 to learn more.