The Little Rascals

"The Tree Fort" - Make sure when ever you are saying those three words to say them with total reverence and a starry eyed expression on your face!!

The older boys new adventure and what an adventure it is. Kurt was telling the boys about a tree fort that he made with his friends when he was young and one day showed them the spot where one lonely board still hung from the tree. Well, this information started an obession with Nick and Eric.

So now the two of them along with the other neighborhood kids go up to the tree fort almost on a daily basis to build their secret hideout. It is so funny to watch my boys come home from school with 3-4 other friends in tow. The come barrelling into the house claiming to be starving. And being the good "June Cleaver" mother (ha ha ha) I send them on their way with a bag already packed with drinks and an afterschool snack. I was told the other day by one of the boys that I rock - His actual state was "Nick's mom, you rock" because you know that I don't have a real name I am just Nick's mom, Eric's mom or Ty's mom. I learned early in on the fort building is tough work and an abundance of snacks are needed to keep the builders energy up. Even though there are some days when it seems so overwhelming to have all these boys stomping in and out of the house I am so glad that the boys and their friends enjoy spending time here. One of the goals of our family is to have a house where the kids and their friends feel comfortable hanging out at. I had that growing up and want the same thing for me kids.

So anyway back to the fort - after exhausting all of the wood scraps that we have here and at the neighbors house the boys called Uncle Bobby and begged him for any scrap wood he may have from work. Needless to say Uncle Bobby is now the hero of the fort!! A huge pile of scrap wood up for grabs. With the truck loaded with wood - the boys now take the wagon and haul wood up to the fort with their bikes. Try to imagine - one boy peddling the bike, another standing on the bike's back pegs, and one or two other boys running along side a wagon connected to the bike by about 20feet of rope trying to keep a huge pile of wood from falling off. The entire wood hauling process is hilarious to watch.

Watching the boys reminds me so much of the movie the little rascals. But, this is no he man woman haters club oh no - girls are welcome in the fort - three girls inparticular are regular vistors to the establishment. The boys even have a club mascot (raven the black lab) just like petey the dog on the little rascals. Raven tags along on occasion so that she can retrieve any squirrels, ducks, or other birds that the mighty hunters think they will shoot with the sling shot. One of our friends gave us a great idea for ammunition for the sling shots. The thought of rocks flying around was a little terrifying, but Chad came to the rescue and suggested using garbanzo beans from the store. Not as hard as rocks, but great ammunition all the same. Watch out wildlife - the mighty hunters with their beans are coming to get you!!

Since my little "spanky and alfalfa will be home from school soon with the rest of the gang I had better put on my June Cleaver apron and get that snack ready...
We wouldn't want any of them to starve now would we!?!?