One of the best things about summer is all of the frequent trips to the beach!  We're pretty lucky living here in Houston, for our local beach is only an hour away.  Children of all ages love building sand castles and other sculptures by the waves and can easily have a ball for hours playing in the sand.

Wouldn't it be great if you could bring a little slice of the beach to your child's day EVERY DAY?  Now with the Step2 Naturally Playful Summertime Play Center, you can!  Riley and I recently had the opportunity to review this new backyard play center.  Keep reading to learn more!

The Step2 Naturally Playful Summertime Play Center is a complete sandbox with picnic table, bench and umbrella all rolled into one.  This set is made in the USA and contains everything your little one will need for plenty of sand and sun fun!  One side of this toy contains a large sand container complete with detachable lid and extra seating for two.  This large sand play area will hold up to 200 pounds of sand (not included) and also comes with 2 shovels and 2 pots to get your child started.

The other side of the Naturally Playful Summertime Play Center is the sit-down picnic area portion, which contains a large green table top and matching bench big enough to seat four children.  Finally, this toy even contains a huge adjustable umbrella to help shield your children from the sun's harmful rays while they play.  Step2 even thought to make things fun for the parents too, because minimal assembly is required for this play set.

The Step2 Naturally Playful Summertime Play Center was actually very easy to assemble and the directions were clear and concise.  In a matter of only minutes, I had everything bolted together securely and it was time to attach the umbrella and add the sand!

Riley couldn't have been more thrilled with the Naturally Playful Summertime Play Center!  She loved every single thing about it and I loved how sturdy and durable it appeared.  Of course, she hasn't been able to pull herself away from the sandbox portion yet to even try out the picnic table and bench, but somehow, I'm not too surprised about that.  What's great is that this small, shaded picnic area is just perfect for doing outdoor crafts and coloring.  Even though she hasn't used it yet, I know that in the very near future, we will be using it extensively.

The only thing that puzzled me about this play set is that the lid has no real way of being secured onto the top of the sandbox.  There are several holes around the sides, which make it look like latches or ropes of some sort could be used, but there was no mention of this in the directions and no extra parts were included for this purpose.  I didn't know how well the lid would stay on during the high winds and rain of a summer storm, but I'm happy to report that we received a real doozy a few days ago and the lid didn't budge.  :)

We've had this toy now for several weeks and I can attest that it is built to last and extremely easy to clean.  Since being left outside, it's collected it's share of drifting pollen, dust, dirt, grass clippings, etc, but after a quick rinse with the garden hose, everything is as good as new again.  Riley plays with her Naturally Playful Summertime Play Center EVERY SINGLE DAY!  I thought that by now the newness might have worn off, but she has definitely not tired of it whatsoever.

If you want a well-made outdoor toy which will provide your child with hours of imaginative beach-like fun, then I highly recommend the Step2 Naturally Playful Summertime Play Center.  Now your little one can have the best of the sand and surf, right in their own backyard!