Our Castle on the Hill

Thanks to a permit from the city, neighborhood clean-up, and A LOT time and hard work from my dad, my kids now have a palace to call home.

Nestled in our trees we have a three story castle built for a knight and three little princesses.

One mans trash has become our treasure.

My dad collected piles and piles of supplies to make our dreams a reality.

Building started at the beginning of the summer just after school got out and was finally finished 2 1/2 months later.

For a long time all we could use was the sandbox on the bottom.

But when I saw the detail that went into the sandboxes boarder, I knew there were great things to come.

My dad put in the slides after he was done with framing so the kids could play while he worked. He got one slide from the pick-up and found the yellow slide in the classifieds. It came from a school that was getting new equipment.

I'm still in love with these bricks he made from cedar fencing.

The look they create is amazing.

On the bottom front corner he made a faux stone foundation. It's made of larger thicker pieces of cedar.

They were cut like a puzzle then sanded on the edges. Using different shades of wood really added to the realistic feel.

I love this piece of wood used to separate the stone from the brick. It has so much age and character.

When the masonry was complete he added a rock wall.

I love these posts he added to the sandbox entrance and front slide. Do you know what they are from?

He cut them from old ugly beds and painted them.

Another favorite and important part of the tree house is the tower.

Who knew adding little support beams to the bottom would add so much?

This is our roof before it was installed. Do you know what it is?

It's an old satellite dish.

We had a little roof raising party so we could get my brothers to come help lift it to the top.

This is the back side from our neighbors yard.

The inside is insulated and covered in old wood panelling. When I saw all the insulation I thought my dad was crazy, but it really helps keep the inside cool on hot summer days.We would like to paint and decorate but will have to wait till next summer.

I'm glad I got to watch my dad in action and even use a power tool here and there when he let me help.

Thanks again Pa Pa Jerry, your talents never cease to amaze us. I hope your work will be enjoyed for generations to come.

HERE are the parties I'm linking to.