Magic Cabin Spinning Seesaw {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, fancygrlnancy!}

When Little Sister B was an infant, Big Sister E was enthralled by her. She used to stare at her in wonder and talk about how she was "MY baby sister" and the fun they'd have someday. Unfortunately for her, that time seemed to take forever to actually arrive and the months of having a sister who was just a baby stretched long.

However, it's here now and it's in full swing. I can't remember at what point the shift took place and Little Sister B went from being a playmate that just sort of sat there and watched to a full-fledged best friend, but it has. Seeing the two of them interacting and hugging and laughing and so enamored with one another sometimes renders me speechless and all I can do is look at them with the utmost of pride.

So of course when I am looking for high quality toys and playthings for my girls, I look for ones that they can enjoy together. Ones that are creative and imaginative, yet simple and open-ended. If they happen to involve activity and exercise, even better. Which all adds up to the outdoor toy that has brought endless fun to our yard: the Spinning Seesaw from Magic Cabin.

By combining two elements that kids love -the up and down of a traditional teeter totter and the around and around aspect of a carousel- the result really does end up being twice the fun. A Magic Cabin Exclusive, the Spinning Seesaw isn't something that you're going to find anywhere else. And, according to my kids' evident delight, this level of entertainment would be hard to duplicate.

As soon as the rain stopped around here, we went straight outside to begin constructing our new mini-amusement park. Having kept the Spinning Seesaw a secret from Big Sister E, I just kept shrugging in response to her, "What is it, Mommy? What are you going to build?" and took a look at the parts.

An overall pretty straightforward item to put together, it wasn't long before I had the handles, seats and main bar assembled and ready to go. The only stumbling block came when it was time to use the provided Allen wrench (the L-shaped, six-sided wrench) on the screws for the base.

Having worked fine for all previous tightenings, I was surprised to find that the screws for the base were smaller and therefore the Allen wrench didn't fit. After scratching my head for a minute or two, I went off in search of our collection of Allen wrenches from other projects and managed to find one that was the right size. Had we not already owned one, I'm not sure how we would have completed putting this together.

Alas, the problem was solved and I stood back to admire just how much fun the Spinning Seesaw emitted. If I had not known that it has a 90-lb total weight limit, I would have climbed on to try it out myself. Instead, however, my two testers were more than eager to do the work for me.

With the ability to smoothly glide up and down or in a full 360°, Big Sister E and Little Sister B grasped the concept of the Spinning Seesaw from the moment they sat down. Starting off slowly and picking up more speed as they gained confidence, they had a great time that afternoon playing on there and again every time they have used it since.

I'm really happy with how durable and weather-resistant the metal has proven to be, as I've left the Spinning Seesaw outside in the sun and the rain and it continues to look as good as new. The tripod base is strong and stable and the addition of the ground stakes (which are easily inserted or removed) keeps the entire seesaw solidly in place.

The inclusion of the handlebars and rubber bumpers has been great for ensuring that everyone holds on tight and any jumping or bumping hasn't caused any problems. I did notice that the width of the seat seems slightly small (the portion that is flat before the sides curve up is only five inches wide) but it doesn't seem to bother either of my girls. Considering this is designed for ages 3 - 8, the overall size of the seesaw is just right for this younger age group.

Keeping in line with Magic Cabin's mission to "provide quality toys with simple design to encourage creative, imaginative play," the Spinning Seesaw is a classic toy updated with a modern, unique twist. Early childhood is all about playing, learning and having a good time and with this and all of their other innovative items, Magic Cabin is a great site to go to for years of fun for any lucky child.

Speaking of lucky, due to Magic Cabin's generosity, one person will have their children thinking that it's their lucky day when this arrives, because...

One lucky person will win a Spinning Seesaw
from Magic Cabin! ARV $69.98!

To enter to win: Visit Magic Cabin and tell me one of the other amazing items available there that you would like to own.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you sign up to receive emails from Magic Cabin on their new products, special promotions and savings and/or request a Magic Cabin catalog (note: if you sign up for the catalog and enter your email address, you will be eligible for both entries).
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

WIN a Magic Cabin Spinning Seesaw ($70) for endless up & down and around & around fun! @thxmailcarrier http://bit.ly/aNolzm #giveaway #win

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me publicly with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email or become a fan on Facebook.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and Magic Cabin.

Giveaway will end on October 8th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.

A big thank you to Magic Cabin for providing a Spinning Seesaw for review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.