Once upon a time there was a Mom with a dream.  She dreamed of a place, a place where her children could exercise their imaginations,explore their creativity, be outside yet inside, and not be under her feet in the house.  She dreamed of...The Fort.

This dream was embraced, started and abandoned within a few weekends of work.  Soon, The Fort became an outdoor storage unit for excess wood and toys not affected by the elements.  The lonely studded walls would taunt her in the summer as she wheeled the lawn mower around its naked frame, pleading to be dressed properly not left out in its birthday suit. Occasionally her children would ask about The Fort, only to be let down gently with weak explanations of time constraints and meager supply lists. 

Jump forward to fall 2011:

The Fort...A Rebirth

Somehow a "free" weekend fell into our laps and The Fort's need for modesty overtook our imaginations and the four of us dove in.  Josh and I took full advantage of the growth our children experienced during The Fort's naked hibernation and put them to work:  swinging hammers, hauling boards, running for water, throwing the ball for the dog, and finally playing with the Tonka trucks pulled from under the floor boards.

The Fort received a huge makeover that weekend.  There are few pictures from that weekend, as the camera was tucked early away to do some real work, so you'll have to be satisfied with my list of things accomplished:

  :: metal roof secured and no longer a danger
  :: studs reinforced
  :: outer walls complete half way up
  :: loft - leveled and floor installed
  :: back wall window framed
  :: door framed and installed
  :: little bit of birch bark "siding" attached and LOVED

The dream is to "finish" The Fort slowly yet deliberately as time allows.  In the meantime it's a place where the kids can use their imaginations and be creative as long as they are dressed appropriately prepared to deal with whatever Mother Nature blows in.

(Progress pictures promised!!)

Happy Halloween!!

 Colton is dressed as Goku from the cartoon Dragonball Z Kai....don't ask, I don't know...

 Lennon just HAD to be a ninja, because that's what Kenny and Merit were going to be...

 His costume was great because he was so easy to spot while they were running from house to house last night.  I just kept praying that the shadow on his heals was Lennon.

 It took Josh about 45 minutes this morning to get his hair like that and 5 shampoo's to get it all out!!

They both slept in this morning...I think it really was a Happy Halloween!!