So, Valerie stated early on this year that she wanted to have some sort of play set put in the yard for the kids. Benjamin is a ball of energy and the more we can do to wear him out before bedtime the better. Also, now that the weather is getting better, it is great to be able to direct the kiddos outdoors.
We looked around at a lot of the kits that were available and didn't really see anything that fit what we liked in regards to both Price and what we would get for the money. Uh, let me change that to I didn't see what I wanted. Valerie was looking at doing something like this, minus the swing set which neither of us really wanted.
See the happy climbing and slowly sliding youngsters? BORING! I can't play on that and I figured that for this thing to be REALLY useful, it had to interest both Ben and the older two kids.I decided instead to design and build something on my own, something a little bigger and well, maybe a LOT bigger. Something with a deck big enough to hold the kids' wading pool, or maybe big enough that we could pitch a tent at the top.
Enter Fort VanderHoeven...
Okay, wait… don’t judge this just yet. This is a work in progress, a work that will be done per maritally binding contract this week. The dimensions of this party deck at 8’ X 8’ with the deck itself being 5’ off of the ground made of solid pressure treated outdoor lumber. It is big enough for the kids and for me to have a good time. We can quite literally camp on this sucker.
Valerie is still not quite sold on this project occasionally giving me “the look” when I ask her how she likes it. She has continually asked me where my plans are (LOL).
Trust me, by the time this thing is done you won’t be able to keep the kids off of it. Sarah is already planning campouts with her friends on top, Joshua loves just jumping off of and climbing all over the thing and Ben just goes up and down the slide (not screwed on yet) time after time. This is really going to be fun.
I should have more pics of the completed project by the end of the week.
PS – Big thanks to Judy and Jack Walsh for coming to help me with this and for helping me haul lumber on Saturday afternoon.
7 comments:
Very funny! Can't wait to see the results! My husband, too, often gets "the look"!
Can't wait to see it this weekend!!
Wow, are you sure you don't need a building permit for that?
It looks like it will be a lot of fun. Family Party at your house for sure!!!!
So we can check back in late August for the "I'm gonna' finish that thing this weekend, I promise!" post?
If you put a roof on it you can have one of the boys live out there, it's bigger than my room as a child! Maybe a little heater for the winter. Or it could also function as a "sanctuary" for Valerie, you'll need it;)
looks like tons of fun!! Jeff you ROCK!
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