Slip and Slide, Dickson style

So, we have a party coming up in a few weeks which means it's got to be time for a home upgrade.  This time, it's a jumbo slip and slide.  I saw the idea on this blog, Hope Studios Slip and Slide Tutorial and asked Dode if we could do something similar.  We had a huge roll of plastic in the garage already (thanks Matthew)and plenty of hose.   The big question was, how to let the kids play for hours without draining the well?  Lucky for us, there is a stream right next to our house and we were able to buy a pump at Harbor Freight for under $50.  When Dode and I went in to buy the pump, one of the men there asked him where he found such a good woman who would go into a hardware store with him.  It made my day!

With the pump set up, it was time to roll out the plastic.  Then, the kids cut it up the middle to make it wider. (It'd been a tube).

Then, it was time for some slip sliding fun.

Conner, Dode's cousin Traci's son, was spending the day with us. 

With the plastic tube, you can go a lot farther.

William is ready for the splash at the end.

We had a fun, functional slip and slide that the kids spent hours on.  

 But Dode was not satisfied.

He used a slide we have around the house to give them a longer ride.  The kids approved, but you could no longer use a tube.  Dode still wanted more fun. 

Splash down through the boogie board tunnel.

 

He nailed together two sheets of plywood (the red one was a side of the road find), reinforced them with 2x4's, and built an impressive looking ramp on the hill.  It's funny, when you stand at the house and look up, the thing looks insanely high. 

When you walk up to the top of the hill, you see it's only about 5 1/2 feet at the highest. 

We like the kids (and us) to have fun which means that everything we make around here is designed with safety in mind.  There is a platform at the back of the ramp so the kids can get situated before they make their way down.  Dode will install a railing all the way around the platform to keep kids safe while waiting their turn.  It will also force them to sit before descending the slide.  The railings and the access ladder will have to wait for another day as he had to leave and go do some repairs over at his grandparents.  We also have 2x4 bumpers on the edges of the ramp in case anyone starts sliding off sideways.

In order to give the kids some extra padding between themselves and the plywood, we used some old carpet from the garage screwed down on the ramp.

So, the new Dickson slip and slide is ready for business.  I think it looks like even more fun than the one that inspired us. 

                                                                         Want to come play?

In other news, Miriam and William were playing a game of "hide and find".  William choose the hiding place behind my bust of a young girl and it came crashing to the floor when Miriam was searching.  It's made of a weird material, almost like glue, but broke into many pieces.  When Dode got out the broom to clean it up, (I was too sad to look), he noticed that the head was intact, the neck and shoulders were what shattered.  So, I decided I had nothing to loose and got out some glue and started glueing.  It was only when I was mostly finished that I thought to take a picture.

I'd already glued about seven pieces together and all that was left was to reattach the head once the glue was good and dry.

I realized too late that the small piece should have gone in before the big ones.  Now, it's a reminder of what she's been through.

With some dabs of brown paint covering the white seams, it's nearly good as new.

I'm glad she's saved.  She was a 75% off find from over five years ago but I do enjoy her.