Jason had been asking for a tree house for several years. We have a yard full of pine and oak trees, so it made sense. I kept hoping he'd "grow out of it" and stop asking, but no, he really wanted one. One day he and his sister were scrounging the garage for old boards, hammers, nails (they had some screws) and were going to build their own near the driveway so they could throw water balloons at Mom's car. Dad needed to intervene.

Short story: I built an elevated platform in the back yard straddling the garden railroad starting in late September 2008. It's too far to toss water balloons at the car, but I'm sure the kids will find something fun to do in the back yard.

Mom was inside working on the kids' Halloween costumes and took some photos on a rainy Saturday while we started work on the deck. This picture was taken from our guest room window and shows the tree house's proximity to the garden railroad:

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The next day was beautiful, so the kids ate a snack on FORT APPLEGATE:

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Next, I installed a small rock climbing wall. I told the kids we were going to "build a ladder" but they were really happy when I opened the box with rock climbing parts in it. BTW, we got our holds from Atomik. I'm thinking of just covering that wall with 2x6 boards and making the whole thing a climbing wall.

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Aunt Lai (standing) and Mom played on the platform after checking out the climbing wall.

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Over the next two weekends I built the front and back wall frames in the garage, then Jason and I hauled them out and got them onto the deck. This shows me installing the front wall window frame. Lots of temporary cross bracing. The back wall is covered with pressure treated wood. Yes, there is a pulley that has hauled tools, parts, and various games to/from the tree house since being installed. I did the front wall on a weekend well below freezing. Around mid afternoon (after I was done) it reached 34 degrees but was in the 20s most of the morning when I did most of the work.

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Our Christmas picture this year was a front view once the exterior was put on...

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Jason and I cleared some brush, branches and small trees out of the way for a future "zip line" between two trees. So much for 2008. The weather was getting too cold, we (I) called it quits.

2009 was the big year. I finished the walls and added the roof. It's the same sort of material they use for greenhouses. It's light enough to reflect heat so that the tree house is cool enough in the summer, but the roof also lets in light. The trellis on the front is for Mom's honeysuckle garden.

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I declared the tree house done, at least for now. Maybe in the fall I'll feel inspired to add a ladder, railings, and start work on the zip line.