On Sunday my dad and stepmom drove here from southern Oregon to help get the slide set up for Bracken. We really lucked out with the weather that day, warm and sunny (rain last week and more rain in the forecast this week.) They brought tools, wood, and cement and we got busy. We put two posts in cement at the top, two posts in cement in the middle, and two posts in cement at the bottom. They also had the wonderful idea to put a bar at the top to hold onto to. (The project is not yet finished, we still have a few more things to do- like attach some poles along the side of the slide to make it a bit safer.) The slide goes from what we call the “upper garden” to the “lower garden.” We’ll need to do some work on the trail as well so it won’t get so slippery in the rain, but it’s all a work in progress right now. We got a lot done that day and were so grateful for their help with the project. My stepmom even brought a roast in her crock pot and plugged it in when they got here, so we had a warm meal waiting for us when we took a break from working, along with some winter squash from our garden and beets from our neighbor’s garden. Bracken is so thrilled with his slide. We all took turns giving it a try. We might use some waxed paper on it to make it a bit faster, but I think it’s fast enough to start out with. We’re talking about putting a piece of wood across the two top posts and growing something up them like a trellis. It’s the start of something wonderful, this slide.