Play Structure Play

Play Structure Update

Almost every weekend Alex will ask to work on the fort. It was quite hot for some time so i didnt get to much done. I also started to work slower so he could have more things to help me with. Here is where i am at so far:

I decided to wire it for power. Alex has always loved to plug things in. I bought 3outlets, 2 switches, and 25ft of romex. There is an outlet under the flooring to run an extension cord to the house. That way i can control the power. I wired each outlet to a separate switch and put each outlet on either side of the slide. Then covered the wires with a thin sheet of plywood and drywall.


I decided to build a door. I was going to have it swing out but it would hit the slide. So I bought some 2x4s, 2x6s, and a 2x3(didnt know they made them)


I was short one piece of wood to finish my Z, so I used some scrap to hold it together.

Here is the door completed and stained a black cherry.


Lowes sells gate hinges that look older. I wanted it to look like a tavern door or an old castle door. I found a handle that matched and added a latch to lock it.


I made the windows out of .25 inch plexiglass. I still have to add the latch on the left side. The 2 ft by 4 ft window folds completely flat against the siding. It will easily be out of the way when the swings are added. There is also another small window to the right of the ladder. The boys like hanging out in there while its raining.

I am not a MSU fan. My plan was to paint the whole thing a darker green. When i went through and primed it i had to use a brush to fill in the recessed lines. To get an idea of what the green would look like i decided to quickly use a roller and paint it. i was going to fill in the lines with a brush later but decided it looked pretty cool. I also have begun staining the whole thing the same color as the door. The inside is fully drywalled, including the ceiling. I also caulked all the edges of the drywall so no bugs can hide.

Fall Pictures in the Yard

I'm not sure I will ever pay money for a photographer. These were taken for free in ten minutes and I don't think a photographer could do much better. Well maybe, but not one I'm willing to pay for. At least not now when the boys can't sit still with a smile on their face longer than ten seconds. They were completely done after five minutes.

Alex and I were playing outside while Luke was taking a long nap. Luke has a cold, but not the chicken pox yet. Kris was adding more things to the fort. Alex likes setting the timer on the camera and seeing what we captured. He loves when I swing him around in circles and thought it was pretty funny that we got a picture of it.

So Worn Out

You know you are in trouble when your child falls asleep standing up. This was a few days before Alex came down with the chicken pox.



This is mostly what Alex did throughout his bout with the chicken pox. He only got 25 pox on the back of his left leg. He never really noticed them being there. He was just really tired and had a few nights of high fevers with weird dreams as a result. He kept going on about something dripping in his room, luckily he forgot all about it once the fever went away. Hoping that Luke will have it just as easy. We are still waiting out the 2-3 week incubation time.

Barton Dam

We were suppose to get pictures today, but as you can see Alex's hair is a bit shaggy for that. His usual hair cutter was on vacation, so we decided to stick it out until she came back. We had to get some pictures in on such a beautiful day. The boys love throwing rocks in the water! I love the shot I got on top of the hill that is now our header!

Mr. Fix-its

The newest past time outside.

A Playdate with the Wolny's, Finally!

This school year I made my day off on Fridays, matching most of my friend's schedule. Therefore, we are able to set up more play dates. My high school friend Barb came with her two boys, Ben and Nick. They are also 25 months apart like Alex and Luke, just a year younger. The boys had lots of fun playing inside and out. I didn't get any pictures of Nick. He was watching from afar in the stroller.

Enjoying Some Beautiful Weather with my Favorite Boys

last Saturday we were originally going to go to a tractor/train show at Domino's Farms, but it looked like it got rained out. So, the Botanical Gardens was close by and we decided to go there instead. The children's garden is usually crawling with a million kids, but today we had it to ourselves. I guess everyone was eagerly awaiting the football game to begin (even though it wasn't starting for another three hours).


Playing well together for a moment


Alex decided to bring all the blocks over to the table and later built a fort on top of the table. Here he is laying in the floor. This boy loves to build and construct anything out of any material!














This is the cutest pose. Just want to kiss those cheeks and make him laugh!

One last bath in the sink

Our bathtub would not close and then would not drain. It needed some repairs so Luke took a bath in the sink (he screams in the shower and hates splashing). He looked pretty funny since he barely fits now, but it got the job done.