Elsie | The Deconstruction and Reinforcement!
I'm still not entirely sure how I was able to get the tall one on board with this whole crazy plan. Even when we got to my parents I really wasn't totally sure we'd actually get Elsie all the way back to Estevan.
The fact that he came on board so relatively quickly says a lot about how he's come to understand and operate as a part of our family. One of my fave bloggers Ashley Ann Campbell has described herself as somewhat of a cross between Martha Stewart and MacGyver. It's a great description and it fits my family perfectly as well. We're a family of MacGyvers.
For as long as I can remember my parents have been able to make something out of nothing and have a crazy skill set. Reconstructing Elsie was proof of that.
Here is Elsie's official "Before" picture.
Both kids were such troopers and played outside a lot while we all worked. I wasn't focused on taking pics and don't have any of Kai playing rocks with Otis (Cory's dog) and I'm annoyed about that :( But he threw rocks for hours (much to the dismay of Grandma who had rocks all over her grass!) The Kai one has normally been pretty hesitant around dogs but he and Otis were best friends. He chased all of Kai's rocks and played with him steady. Otis is the size of my parents donkey so this was a pretty huge accomplishment!
Dean attached the hitch the first day - yay! We have towing capacity!
This was our work area for the weekend. That shop is filled with every tool imaginable! At any given moment were you to walk upon the scene you would have found Dean and I in the camper, Cory in the shop building a deluxe dog house for Otis (complete with lounging balcony) and my dad going from one project from the next giving direction and working on it with us. If he remained at one project too long you'd here "Dad! What do I do here? How does this thing work? Did I do this right?"
All of us learned so incredibly much! By the end of the weekend I felt fully confident to head out to the trailer by myself and frame out a section using all of the power tools with ease. I even mastered the massive table saw to cut the paneling and didn't loose any limbs in the process! These are skills I can add to my set and one day pass on to my kids. It also enables us to tackle so much more... I'm pretty sure I could actually frame and build a playhouse from scratch at this point.
Cutting 2x2's with the chop saw
Framing around the window.
Dean's sweet tail light construction. 2 L pepsi bottle with tuck tape and pink tissue paper. Pure awesomeness!
In the end we pulled off the near impossible. Elsie was solid and roadworthy. It's a testament to how my family can pretty much pull anything off given the desire is there. Thanks dad for working with us and teaching us! Thanks Dean for not just going along with the craziness but throwing yourself into as well! And thanks Mom for doing Grandma duty with the kids all weekend!
Stay tuned for Elsie's first adventure!
The fact that he came on board so relatively quickly says a lot about how he's come to understand and operate as a part of our family. One of my fave bloggers Ashley Ann Campbell has described herself as somewhat of a cross between Martha Stewart and MacGyver. It's a great description and it fits my family perfectly as well. We're a family of MacGyvers.
For as long as I can remember my parents have been able to make something out of nothing and have a crazy skill set. Reconstructing Elsie was proof of that.
Here is Elsie's official "Before" picture.
Both kids were such troopers and played outside a lot while we all worked. I wasn't focused on taking pics and don't have any of Kai playing rocks with Otis (Cory's dog) and I'm annoyed about that :( But he threw rocks for hours (much to the dismay of Grandma who had rocks all over her grass!) The Kai one has normally been pretty hesitant around dogs but he and Otis were best friends. He chased all of Kai's rocks and played with him steady. Otis is the size of my parents donkey so this was a pretty huge accomplishment!
Dean attached the hitch the first day - yay! We have towing capacity!
This was our work area for the weekend. That shop is filled with every tool imaginable! At any given moment were you to walk upon the scene you would have found Dean and I in the camper, Cory in the shop building a deluxe dog house for Otis (complete with lounging balcony) and my dad going from one project from the next giving direction and working on it with us. If he remained at one project too long you'd here "Dad! What do I do here? How does this thing work? Did I do this right?"
All of us learned so incredibly much! By the end of the weekend I felt fully confident to head out to the trailer by myself and frame out a section using all of the power tools with ease. I even mastered the massive table saw to cut the paneling and didn't loose any limbs in the process! These are skills I can add to my set and one day pass on to my kids. It also enables us to tackle so much more... I'm pretty sure I could actually frame and build a playhouse from scratch at this point.
Cutting 2x2's with the chop saw
Framing around the window.
Dean's sweet tail light construction. 2 L pepsi bottle with tuck tape and pink tissue paper. Pure awesomeness!In the end we pulled off the near impossible. Elsie was solid and roadworthy. It's a testament to how my family can pretty much pull anything off given the desire is there. Thanks dad for working with us and teaching us! Thanks Dean for not just going along with the craziness but throwing yourself into as well! And thanks Mom for doing Grandma duty with the kids all weekend!
Stay tuned for Elsie's first adventure!
All I can say is Wow. I mean wow, wow, wow. I am so impressed.
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