the making of a fort

It took us 3 years, but we were able to get back to a place where Brian could remake the kids' swing/set fort.  We brought the hardware with us, but not the wood- which was good because he used fully treated lumber here and made the swinging beam stronger than it was and reinforced it better...

We got a whole lotta wood delivered and he started making the frame...

in rain...

and sun- he figured out some things to do better- 2 A frames for the swing part.

That slide seemed so HUGE when we were in Texas.  I remember Ivan flying down it and falling off the end, but now it seemed so much smaller.  The kids have grown up some.

My favorite part was to get the tire swing on.

I have such nice memories of being on tire swings and of the kids on it in Texas.  The part we used there to attach it broke, so I went to a hardware store here and told me what we were looking for.  We ended up improvising with a super sturdy tire caster- you know, the wheel part on the bottom of an office chair.  He took the wheel off, bolted it to the beam and hung the tire swing from it.  It's so awesome.  We do have to make sure the swings are up out of the way when they are on it though, we there are hooks to put the parts up.

You can see the entrance to the fort part at the back here.

He made the rock wall taller since our kids are now so much bigger.

You can do it Ivan!

Brian plans to put a shingled roof on it before winter to protect it from the snow, but there will be a gap still so the kids can climb right to the top.

We put the tire swing up when they use the swings.

And now we have a spot to hang the hammock that was given to us!  This is now my favorite spot in the yard!!

He cemented the legs into the ground and adults can even swing- it's so sturdy.

WAY to go Brian!  We are so loving our outdoor playground/dining area/living/lounging area.  It's so nice out- a bit hot these days, so we are hoping for some beach days ;)