From Tree to Table

We started with a large tree that was right up against our house/Patrick's room and was acting as a big stairway for all types of wildlife to gain access into our attic.

So, this happened (thanks Uncle Tim)...



Which led to this...

In summary...

After a few weeks of tree parts sitting around in our yard, we decided to put them to work.

We cut, measured and pencil lined...

Cut some more and paint lined...

And colored/painted...

Yes, it is sitting on our bed. I finished it during the kids' nap time one day.

Then drew a tic-tac-toe board on the other side and got to stainin'/weather proofin'...

I take full credit for the really creative design.

We made chairs for the kids out of leftover stumps and wood, too. Once the wood was cut, the kids were ready to stain their chairs...

Then we set it all up using the large base of the tree we cut as the table. If you look in the video, you'll notice a pond/sludge factory right under the tree. The previous homeowners had given up on it a few years before we moved in and we haven't done anything with is since we moved in last year...wait, 8 1/2 years ago. Yikes.

We decided to get rid of the "pond" and use the stones in and around it for the new outdoor game table area. The kids couldn't wait for us to finish putting it all together before trying out several dozen rounds of stones vs. acorns tic-tac-toe.

They're wet and barefoot because we're hill people they had just finished playing in the water table.

We stacked the stones then used some flat stones from around the pond for the floor and poured gravel in to fill in the gaps. Here's the finished product...

We'll probably get a few more decorative things for around the outside and have the kids paint a 'welcome' sign for it or something. We're also planning on taking some stones and painting them black with Xs and Os for the tic-tac-toe board (just in case we ever run out of pebbles and acorns).

(P.S. - If you're ever looking for a good gift for someone, the Black & Decker Matrix Drill is great. It, along with all its cool attachments, made things much easier for the project. It was really nice to be able to switch from drill to trim saw to sander to jig saw all in the same tool.)