We lucked out with some beautiful weather this weekend. Since Andrew arrived home mid-week, and we were both exhausted and in quite a funk on Thursday and Friday, we decided to have a very low-key weekend. Plus, Oliver’s third birthday is tomorrow (!) and my mom sent this awesome joint b-day present for all three of the boys– a play house!
It took Andrew the better part of a morning to put together, but he was determined. We didn’t time it quite right to completely surprise the boys, but man were they excited to watch this thing go up.
We also walked to Winslow’s Home for dinner on Friday and went for a nice long walk in Forest Park yesterday. But that’s it! Here are some photos from the weekend. 
These guys have eaten every single meal inside their house since it went up on Saturday afternoon. They are completely obsessed.
Lunch on a stump.
All in all I consider it a success. I have a few projects going on around here (trying to figure out how to turn a few stumps into side tables, if you have any suggestions– and not the old cracked one above! and trying out a few new recipes– including -gasp- homemade cheddar pie crust which I am deathly afraid of messing up). But Andrew’s making the planet cake that Oliver asked for, and I’m sure it will be delicious!
Thanks, Grandma, for the awesome house! The boys love it!
That is an amazing playhouse!! So, so cool. And pretty, too! 🙂
Kudos to Grandma!
(Great gift Joan!)
Happy almost birthday to all of the boys! That playhouse looks awesome.
In terms of the stump side table, this is something that I also considered tackling. The main problem is moisture and trying to get your stumps as dry as possible. Lots of pages just say to seal or paint and everything will be fine in terms of keeping bugs inside of the stumps and/or killing them, but there are a few other details to think about–like air circulating under the stump, and getting everything level. I didn’t go ahead with it, but this is one of the best tutorials I came across:
http://byebyebrooklyn.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/diy-tree-stump-side-tables/
Let us know how they go if you make some!
Love that playhouse — looks like the boys do, too!
I saw this great tutorial for a stump side table on The Art of Doing Stuff many moons ago: http://goo.gl/B364R. It looks pretty straightforward, but I never got around to trying it myself. Would love to see how yours turns out if you give it a shot!
LOVE the playhouse!!!!
That playhouse is the coolest! I would have killed for something like that when I was little.
I recall seeing something on Martha Stewart’s site about painting a stump and using it as a table. I guess if you didn’t want to paint it, you could just use an acrylic seal over it and get the same result. I will have to search around for it, because I know for sure she did something like that. She has this amazing ability to inspire me while making me feel like a complete failure in all things domestic, all at the same time.
Awesome playhouse. Do you have a link for where your mom got it?
That is one impressive playhouse, what a fun gift! Looks like you guys had a great weekend and glad your survived the week alone 🙂
I used to do a lot of sculpture with whole logs back in the day but I always kiln dried them. I would try to get the log as dry as possible before sealing it (and potentially sealing in that moisture). I’m sure some of the tutorials will have the key- praise the Internet!
Jamie: The link to the house is here– we got it for almost $100 less on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-00132-Outdoor-Cottage-Clubhouse/dp/B001A42HQK/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1344878321&sr=8-21&keywords=kid+outdoor+wooden+house
And thank the rest of you for all the helpful tips and links about stump side tables– you are a wealth of knowledge! Luckily, two of the stumps I picked up are already very dry thanks to a drought-y summer and the bark has already fallen off! I think I need to plane them, though, as they are not completely level. Andrew?
Wow! This birthday gift for the boys was so easy for me… Lauren did the legwork and Andrew assembled it. Seeing how neat this house is and being able to see how much the boys are enjoying it, is a gift back to me! It’s hard living far away and not knowing what to get them. Who knows better than Momma and Papa? By the way, this will eventually become my retirement house!!! Heeeheeeheee! Love, Mom
I love the jumping picture series. And that playhouse is incredible! Lucky boys!
Thanks for your kind words on my blog today! Your boys are super cute! I want to eat in that playhouse too!!
Oh man that house is AWESOME ! I would love something like this is my garden (I don’t have a garden so not sure I would work that one) I also love how you eat your food on trees. So retro ! lol
http://myfroley.blogspot.com
That place house is amazing! Happy birthday, Oliver!
Cool playhouse! Lucky boys!