It's kind of hard to tell what some things are. If you could open your drawing in MS Paint and use the text tool to label the elements, I think it would help to let us know what things are. (I suggest use white color for letters.)

What in the drawing is existing and what is proposed? It would be best if you could have a drawing with only existing things shown (which is called a base plan.) Again, you could open in Paint, make a copy, use the rectangular select tool and delete key to get rid of those things which are proposed, in order to create a base plan.

I don't think your plan shows the trampoline sized accurately. It's important to keep the scale true for all things ... so they fit right when installed.

I would like to see the actual space but I do agree all the things need to be to scale and I honestly don’t think all of that will fit Firepits need a lot of space to avoid being roasted where is the tree fort? How old are your kids? The above suggestion of a to scale drawing of the existing items is a first step.

I agree with the previous comments about needing a clearer, to-scale base map of existing conditions.....and photos. But I also think you plan to have way too much going on in such a small space. An inground firepit requires at least a 25' diameter clearance for comfort and safety (and most municipalites require it to be at least 10' away from any property line or structure) but a portable one can get away with less.......around 15'. An average size trampoline is 12' diameter (2 people - even kids - at a time). Not sure I understand about the the dry pond....can you explain the need for that?

I think you really need to sit down with your family and outline exactly what your priorities are. You are not going to be able to cram all those features in the 700 square feet you have available and have it still function properly and feel like a comfortable space to relax and play in.

Thank you for responding! The drawing is to scale on a 2-foot square grid. I'm including additional photos here for clarity.

I didn't know about clearances for fire pits, so I definitely need to look that up. My kids are 12 and 10. The dry pond is to create an intentional low area in the yard to slow and contain rain runoff during our rainy season (water from downspouts would be channeled to it).

Small spaces are hard to work with, but we really want a usable space.

You're approaching it like an engineer. If I were you, I'd turn the design over to your wife......and stay out of her way! ;-)

@Mike, I am the wife! Is there a different kind of approach you’d suggest?

@yaardvark What a neat idea to do circles. Hadn’t thought about actually using the shape of the trampoline to inform the design. Thank you so much for taking time to show that concept!

Consider that I did it without knowledge of surroundings. If you need to incorporate screening anywhere along the perimeter, you'd take that into account when you work out your improved scheme.

A method that is useful for organizing a patio, or in this case a back yard, is to draw out, at scale, the fixtures to be incorporated in the plan (dining table & chairs, trampoline, firepit & seating, swing, and potted plant, etc.) Print them out and then cut out each item individually. They can be placed on top of the base plan and easily moved around in order to try out different schemes and relationships between items. (It works best if the paper is glued to some cereal box cardboard before cutting out the individual shapes.) When an arrangement seems to work, you can draw in a paving scheme to fit with it. Exploring a variety of ways of organizing the backyard is easy to do with this method on copies of the base plan.

I just wanted to make a very juvenile comment, since I do have a teen boy, that your original sketch features 3 butts in the hot tub and I thought it was brilliant until I realized those symbols indicated water...LOL.

What a delightful interpretation of the water symbol. LOL!

" @Mike, I am the wife! Is there a different kind of approach you’d suggest?"

I think Yardvaark has it covered with the circles. It's a good idea.

Mike