South Carolina Dwiggins Family

Only 5 days til Christmas and what Caleb calls the "fort" is all ready for Santa to bring a nice big 10ft slide to attach. There are still some things that need to be done, but the main tower is completed and ready for the man in the big red suit. I figured if Santa was going to have to get up on top of the swingset/fort to attach the slide, I'd better make it pretty sturdy! So after 9 16ft posts cemented 3ft into the ground, lots of 2x6's and 2x4's and 1x4's, just over 100- 5inch long carriage bolts, 300 - 3inch and 200 - 2inch deck screws, I am almost done! I bought a router and belt sander (early Christmas gifts) to round out the edges to make it totally kid safe. So I still have quite a bit of sanding and smoothing to do. One of Caleb's other Christmas presents will be a swing. So not long after Christmas, I will start the 1st addition to the swingset/fort. But I think Caleb is most excited about what will probably be the 2nd addition which will be the monkey bars. He sure is a monkey!

Originally Kim and I thought that this whole "do it yourself" approach to building this swingset/fort would save us some money versus going out and buying a kit. It looks as if we will be applying for a 2nd mortgage, so Chris can you e-mail me some info please. Just kidding. It was a little more expensive, but it sure has been fun working out in the yard with Kim and Caleb. Plus everytime I do some project I try and find some reason to buy some new tools. HaHa