the monkeys in the trees

This weekend we built a treehouse.

Sandi finished a 12 day work stretch on Friday and said, "Wouldn't it be fun to build a treehouse?"

Spring is the time when Sandi and I get the itch for outside projects. Without our house there are no landscaping projects to be done, no gardens to dig out, no rock walls or patios to construct. So a treehouse it would be.

It was going to be a small dwelling and we were going to use the scraps from Trish and Brock's home construction. But that idea lasted mere minutes and, two trips to Lowe's later, we were erecting the Taj Mahal of treehouses.

It is REALLY exciting to build a tree house. 

getting ready for tire swing install

making a treehouse sign under close supervision from Jax

Except when it isn't. 

Ella kept saying, "Is it me or is this taking a LONG time?"  I'm not sure where she gets her timeframe but we figure it took us about 9 hours over 2 days, minus the time it took to get materials. That doesn't seem unreasonable when you are a kid and you get a treehouse this awesome. 

Our brother-in-law Brock made a few guest appearances to torment Maya (he loves to tease her call her "cute" and she loves to growl at him and say, "I'm NOT cute!" which is the cutest thing of all) and loan us various tools.

Sandi and I are at our best when we can work on a project together, especially if it's outside where we are both happiest. 

I am often given jobs were my propensity toward error will be of little impact. Sandi had me spacing, leveling and pre-drilling the screw holes to attach the railing. This was a big deal for me to get this job. At one point when I drilled two holes that were clearly not level with each other,  I called down to her from the trees, "So you know how the Native Americans intentionally leave small imperfections in their artwork as an act of humility?" 

There was a small pause followed by her reply: "Oh, great." 

The girls got to use the drill and they were PSYCHED. Who doesn't love to drill screws? It is so satisfying. 

Brock had a bunch of composite railing slats that he had gotten on clearance and wasn't going to use so we scored big time.  Isn't every treehouse made with composite decking?

I never had a treehouse as a kid. It is the coolest thing. I was sitting with my back to one of the trees that comes up through the floor and as the wind blew, I could feel the trunk shift against my back.

treehouse selfie

Happy kids = happy moms.

It was only 46 degrees on the second day and I was in desperate need for hot coffee. I asked the girls if they wanted to have hot chocolate in the treehouse. YES. They were so excited they offered to pack  a picnic for us.  Ummm...sure.  

They came out with every snack cracker in the pantry as well as a tub of frosting and 4 spoons. There were multiple levels of letting go on my part.

All done!

It was truly one of the best family weekends we have had in a very long time. The kids were happy, helpful and appreciative. It felt like we had really settled into our new (temporary) place now that the kids have a place to play outside.

Our friend Ange said: "Treehouse before real house?"  Yup. That's just how we do things.