Tree House update and Marian

The treehouse is coming along nicely. There was an uncomfortable moment when one of the support beams failed miserably and broke, but once that was taken care of, things have continued to progress. As I mentioned, it is 6 sided, and 3 of those sides will be enclosed. 2 of those 3 walls currently are up, although I have no picture of that. The 3 front sides will be deck and still need a fence. Or do I mean a railing?

As it is, the 3 oldest kids climb up the ladder and "help" Grandpa on the floor of the treehouse. So far we are lacking a plan for the roof, although we intend to put in a doggie door and a regular door. Did I mention that we went 6 feet up and the walls are also 6 feet high!??! Its like a mini-house! My dad is doing an amazing job. Much better than I could have even imagined! I've even been up in it. I had to help lift the side frames up, and it was a little scary. I do not like heights. Aparently my children do not have that problem! They are such good helpers.... and thirsty ones!

And now I must mention another non-fear my children possess.... or don't possess. Marian is a famed lizard hunter. She loves bugs of all kinds and goes after anything. Today she found a salamander with a blue tail. I thought that was pretty cool. A few minutes later, my mom came busting through, looking for her camera. Marian had found a snake in the garden and brought it to the porch. It was a little baby snake and he was not happy. He coiled up and opened his mouth and even struck at some toes. The kids thought it was a hoot. Mom and I were a tad concerned till we had the chance to google it and decided it was a garder snake. The little guy managed to squeeze through the deck and got away, much to Marian's disappointment. Here he is before his great escape: