Another Off the List

My to-do list is long--stupid long.  One of the things on it (way at the bottom) was to finish the kids' tree house.  Well, tree platform, as it has no roof and walls.  Back when we moved in 3 years ago, we took apart an old cedar playset that was here, exactly in the spot where the big garden is.  I wanted the space, my kids are not playset kids, so down it came.  We used that playset in so many different ways, and still have some left.  Part of it became a platform up in a tree for the kids to play on.  A set of monkey bars became the ladder. 

For the past 3 years, my husband and I have cringed every time the kids went up in the "tree house".  No walls=fall.  Many times we had to yell "Sit with your back to the tree!".  I could have put it on tape and hit repeat, I really could.  It would have saved my voice.

Finishing the tree house was on the list for three years.  And it always was at the bottom.  The kids would ask and ask when it would be done, and I would say "soon".  But, not being "mission critical", it just kept getting bumped.  This year we finally bought some materials to make it safe.  It still got bumped.  But finally (finally!), 3 months later, after getting the stuff and having it hang out on the driveway, the tree house is done.

Hallelujah.  I crossed it off the list.

And just because I'm always telling them "Don't bring that up the ladder!" I got a little clever and made them a little hinged trap door with a bucket on a rope to pull stuff up with.

But no pulleys or anything, though.  What do you think I am?  An engineer?  HA!  I think we're all lucky I thought of the bucket to begin with.  It's on a rope with a hook, and it works just fine.  In fact, as soon as the kids saw the tree house was done, they started to move in.  This included trying to put the cats in the bucket to send them up to the top.  The cats were not amused.  They went up the old fashioned way.

Most important of all: Do the kids like it?

 
Yes, I'd say that they do.