Serious Construction and Party Time!

So, when we moved in, we quickly noticed we were the only house without a slide or some fancy play toys in the back yard. Our daughter was saying "slide, slide" every time we stepped outside. So, I asked my husband if we could build our kids a fort with a slide. He said yes! After a couple weeks of work, we finished just in time for our son's 5th birthday party...

Though we did not realize we would not be able ro find a slide in Japan. And nobody will ship one to an APO address. So, if you plan on doing any type of project like this, I highly recommend first scoping out the supplies at your local hardware store or lumberyard. (Also, get approval from your housing management, which we did.) We had no idea that plywood in Japan is sold in 3' x 6' pieces rather than the standard 4' x 8' sheets in the US. Oops! This made for lots of extra cutting, extra seams and extra difficult piecing together. But, we did it! And really very little wasted wood, as the scraps made up the roof (since it would be covered anyway.)

Of course we had to add the pirate flag for the party, which was a complete success. (Incase you were wondering, our neighbor boy friends were all gone for the weekend, so we had 8 little girl friends and 1 other boy in attendance.;)

And all the neighbors keep asking us to make them a fort too. ;). Thanks Grandpa for drawing up the plans!