the fort

When we built our house we decided to build Canyon a fort bed thingy. In the middle of construction we realized we could take it to the next level (literally). Why not? So the three level fort was born.

LEVEL 1. The little hide out under his bed.
This is where video parties regularly take place, neighborhood Mario Kart tournaments are held and where Canyon and Ellie sleep side by side EVERY weekend night.

LEVEL 2. This is where his "real" bed is.
This real bed also is conveniently used as a place to test out new tricks from the third level and a helpful means to get to the third level. It is also commonly known to be a house, store, hospital, cage what ever their little imaginations strum up.

LEVEL 3. The Secret club.
This area is where meetings are held secret plans are strategized. Where Lego projects are built, snack stations are set up and where the web-kins and other animal friends reside. A reading corner is even up there....so they claim. (we have no trees big enough for a tree house sad enough...so can you blame them?)

So what is there not to love? Well....where should I start. Dirty Scuffed up walls, Popcorn seeds from all those video parties tucked in those hard to get to places in the hide out. Constant pleas from two siblings who want to sleep in the little hide out EVERY night (are weekends not enough?). A bed that is NEVER properly made. Sheets that are no stranger to the dirt and grime of multiple children making their way up to LEVEL 3, not to mention the crumbs that find their way from the snack station to the "real" beds sheets on a way to regular of basis. Then there is the secret club. This place truly is a secret because I rarely make my way up to LEVEL 3 to check it out. I would like to think that they take some pride in their clubhouse and it remains in at least an 8 year old standard of cleanliness (is that so much to ask?) Yet I know the harsh reality. There are times it can't look pretty up there. There have been moments of time that I have wanted to tear the 3 level fort down, pretend it was never born and create a traditional bedroom free from the downsides listed above. In the end I suppose the benefits outweigh the negatives and so the fort remains. It probably will for sometime due to the fact that Ellie already has big, I mean gigantic plans. As soon as Canyon out grows the fort bedroom it is all hers and she knows it.