The Fort of July

Everyone had the the Fourth of July free and we had the entire day to spend as a family.  When I asked the kids what they wanted to do with our family day: play games, go on a hike, or go to the pool, they vetoed each idea.  I asked them if they had a better idea and they said they wanted to build a fort in the backyard.  Well okay then.  We had the kids draw up plans for what they envisioned, took some measurements, and then headed to Lowes to buy the supplies.  We spent all day in the backyard building.  

We needed kids to saw wood, did holes, move rocks, hammer nails, and put in screws.  

It was such a hot day for this kind of work, but they didn't complain because they were finally getting a real fort.  

We have an empty place behind our pine trees in the corner of the yard.  We built the fort to tuck in away behind the trees so it will always be a little secret fort.  There are windows like a castle, a cottage window for light, a roof to keep out the rain, and a doggie door for Moki.  It is incredible.  

We were about 80% done when it started pouring rain.  We had to gather up all of our supplies and tuck them away before they became too wet.  At that point it was time for fireworks.  We had originally planned to go down to the commons to watch the city fireworks, but the kids wanted to spend as much time working on the fort as possible, so we stayed home and lit our own.  The boys and I had stopped in Wyoming on our way back from Utah the day before to pick some up.  We found a great variety of small ground fireworks, fountains, and shooting balls.  It was just the right amount of fun.  

The next day I came out to the backyard to clean up the construction and firework debris.  It was a soggy mess, but it proved we had a great time.  

We were able to finish the fort a few days later and the kids have already made themselves at home with rugs on the floor, chairs to sit in, and games to play.  Hopefully this secret fort will get a lot of use.  

So while I didn't get a cute matching patriotic picture of my kids, I like this one just as much.