Bad Weather Begets Fun Projects

I feel I ought to preface this post by saying that we had an absolutely glorious summer here in the Pacific Northwest. You guys should know; I only posted fifty billion photos of ocean, trees, lakes, and hiking trails, all of them glinting in the gorgeous summer sunshine.

Then autumn came. And we had another glorious month and a half of cooler-but-still-sunny weather. We went berry-picking. We went to the Olympic Penninsula. I baked pumpkin spice cake. (enter angelic singing here)

Then . . . I got sick. One, two times. Working on #3 right now (stupid sore throat). And as if to commiserate, the weather has turned just as sour. Gray, windy, wet, cold. The epitome of Ick.

I have no business acting surprised. People have been warning me about the winters here since we moved. Heck, even before we moved. I knew this was coming. I know I can expect more of the same Ick until March.

Now to just survive until March . . .

So. I've been praying, friends. I've been praying real hard, because I know that many people struggle with depression during the cold seaon up here, and I DON'T want to be one of them. What can I do? I ask the Lord. Help me stay upbeat and positive and happy. Help me stay busy.

And this project idea came to mind:

Build Caleb an indoor park.

Oh, it'll be a miniature park. We don't have THAT much space. But I already have a design in my head, and I have a father-in-law able and willing to make that design a reality.

I'm so stinkin' excited. :)

I've seen indoor play structures like this before. Caleb has one at his school. They are small jungle gyms, maybe only four feet tall, with little ladders or steps leading up and a small slide going back down. Some have crawl spaces underneath them. Some fancy ones have bridges extending from one platform to another. Ours probably won't be that extensive, but I'm hoping we can put in a ball pit. Caleb loves ball pits.

The best part about this project is that Caleb will have a place to run his crazies out no matter what kind of Ick we have outside (and no matter how many times I get sick). Rain or snow or wind, he can play downstairs and climb around to his heart's content.

At least, that's the idea. We're going over the in-laws for dinner Sunday, and John and I plan to discuss the particulars then. Everyone loves the idea, and I think this just might be Caleb's Christmas present this year. Hopefully, we can find all the parts we want/need and hopefully, it won't cost too much.

In the meantime, check out this website I found earlier today. Some pretty cool stuff here. I definitely got some inspiration from these designs, and even ordered a catalogue. Can't hurt, right?

So that's our little slice of life right now. I'll keep ya'll informed on how it all goes, and I'd appreciate your prayers these next few months, too, as I acclimate. Or hibernate, as the case may be. ;)

Happy weekend, all!