Big Weekend at the Paytons! Part II

We have this area in our back yard corner area.  It used to be a trash receptacle thing but it's not used for that anymore, not used for anything really.  Recently Luke and I had been talking about building a 2nd story on it and making a fort for the boys.  We had just begun really planning it out when we ran into our old neighbors who asked if the boys would like to have their old playhouse.  Their grandkids have outgrown it and they don't need or want it anymore.  We were so excited to surprise the boys with a new clubhouse this weekend!  

BEFORE:

Fortunately we have good and kind friends who have machinery and are willing to help us.  So our friend Casey brought over a backhoe with forklift arms.  Lifted it right off!

Heading to its new home :)  (about a mile)

Luke's mom Rebecca has a guy who works for her who is good with this type of thing so she had him come over to help Luke build the frame for it to sit on and also help build the deck area off to the side.  We also installed a pulley with a bucket for the boys to bring things up in.  

(interesting sun beam in the photo below.... :)  When I see things like this I like to think it' my Nana or a loved one up in heaven shining down on us.

It's a really cool clubhouse.  You go in from underneath and climb up a ladder into a trap door.  Then once you're inside you can close (and lock) the trap door if you want.  Inside it's a room with three windows that open and have screens.  There is also a ladder up to an attic space.  You walk out the front door onto the front porch/deck area and there's a door that closes and also locks.  Then we had the extra space on the side of the brick area so we built on a side deck.

Front deck - not a bad view!

Side deck.

Will asked if we could eat dinner up there tonight - of course we couldn't turn down that request!  So we had a quick easy dinner of leftovers there tonight.  We're so excited for them to make fun memories here over the years. (I'm excited to decorate it!:)  And so grateful for our generous, sweet, and thoughtful neighbors.