Sunday, January 16, 2011

The fort

This is my view from my kitchen window....


















That hill, it's a fort.  Let me tell you how it came to be:

Last weekend Girl was outside playing.  She stacked some snowballs against the pool fence.  After about an hour she had a little snow pile that was about 1 1/2 feet high.  She enlisted  the help of her dad to get it higher.  They stacked snow in a circle igloo-style for about another hour.  Boy looked out the window and commented that it looked like a lot of work, and he couldn't believe that dad hadn't gotten the tractor and blower our to speed things up.  I was also impressed at the manual labour....

At lunch they told me all about their big  plans for the "ultimate snowfort."  I listened with only half an ear, unfortunately.

Shortly there after I had to take Boy for hockey.  As I walked out to the jeep I noticed the garden hose snaked across the driveway.  This is not the season for a garden hose, I thought to myself.

I followed the hose right into the snowfort.  Girl was diligently spraying icy water on the INSIDE of the snowfort.  Our conversation went like this:

Me:   What in the world are you doing?
Girl:  Spraying down the walls with water.
Me:  Why?  Why would you do that?  You are soaked and it's freezing out here.
Girl:  We have to make the walls more solid so they will support the plywood.
Me:  Plywood?
Girl:  impatiently For the roof!
Me:  Who's brilliant idea was this?
Girl:  Dad's.  Who do you think hooked up the hose?
Me:  walking away.  Where is your father?
Girl:  still spraying.  Shovelling up front.

Second conversation
Me:  Girl is soaked.
DH:  I told her to change her mittens.
Me:  She has.  Three times.
DH:  She must be doing a good job then.
Me:  Do you really think it's a good idea for her to be playing in water at minus 14C?
DH:  impatiently  How else are we going to get the walls solid enough to hold the roof?
Me:  driving away. Hrumpf

So when I got home Girl had sufficiently soaked the walls inside and out and they were frozen solid.  This got Boy intrigued so he joined in the building process.

Plywood was cut to fit for the roof.  Then snow was piled on top of the plywood to better "disguise" the fort. 

Over the week the table and chairs from the playhouse has been added to make the interior comfortable.  A flashlight/lantern sits on the table.  Steps up the outside have been added. They are necessary, you see, to get to the top so you can go down the slide....




This has been great fun for Boy and Girl, and I think as much for DH.  Plans for a second dwelling are in the works. 

Though it is top secret.

Top secret so mom won't vito the architectural plans, I think.

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