Pre-House to Tree House

This is a project I've been mulling over ever since Aiden took his first tentative toddler steps out into our backyard quite a few years ago.  While Aiden (and now Brady) seem perfectly content to make their own fun with whatever is at hand, I still have a great desire to make dedicated "kid spaces" outside to encourage creativity, fun and all that other good stuff.  My hope is that what our backyard is lacking in space (and it is), it will make up for in imagination.

Though, as I said, I'd been thinking about it for quite some time the catalyst that actually got this project off the ground was when I found a big yellow playground slide that somebody put out with the trash!  I dragged it home and got to work!

Here is a standard issue 'before' picture:

After one day.  Aiden is helping by hammering nails into the sidewalk (someones gotta do it.)

And complete!  Actually, I will be staining it the same color as the deck sometime soon, but you get the idea.

It's already got some really good use!  Yesterday I walked out of the house to see the yard littered with toys and two very happy kiddos laughing and playing in the tree house.  It doesn't get any better then that!