2023 Projects

In our spare time (ha ha ha) we've been able to work on a few projects this year.  Here's a sampling of a few I snapped pictures of.

After visiting the Large Solar Array in October, Gil came home and got right to work making his own satellite dishes out of cardboard.  These things are pretty amazing.  He can make just about anything out of cardboard.

In the picture above, there's also a little space probe, made during Wesley's interest in space.  Also during the space days, we flipped Wesley's bunkbed over into a regular bed because Lauren was getting a little bit too good at climbing the ladder.  Wesley found this wonderful space fabric and we made a little half canopy over his bed.

Gil and Wesley have been attending the project days at Home Depot a while now.  We decided the airplane, rescue helicopter, and space shuttle needed terminals, runways, and launch pads.  Made by Gil out of cardboard and construction paper.

Gil's been rescuing palettes and shipping crates from the dumpsters at his work.  He brings them home, takes the boards apart and removes the nails, then turns them into all sorts of things.  For example, when Lauren started walking, she had trouble crossing the rocks to get to the turf.  So, Gil built her a bridge.  Honestly, we all use it.

He began work on an outdoor club house.  We took the sink from the old kitchen and installed it.  The roof isn't finished and with both kids getting taller, he may add a few more feet.  Wesley tied the laundry line from our covered porch to the house because he said it needed a power line.

Another project was this lovely picnic table for the kids.  It turned out quite well, I think, but he's already revised his design plans for improvements.  Also, the canister below is a Gil project.  And old refrigerant (I think) canister (also from work) that he took the top off, drilled holes into the bottom, and we use as a little outdoor fire pit.

Gil also tried growing some tomatoes this year too.  However, even though the weather wasn't super Phoenix hot when he planted them, the plants/leaves just shriveled!  We couldn't figure it out.  Then Gil measured the temperature of his compost.

At its highest, the compost hit just over 160 degrees.  Isn't that the temperature you need your pork to reach?  No wonder the plants looked cooked!

With Wesley accumulating a number of Junior Ranger badges, I decided he needed something to hang them all on.  Flexing my sewing muscles (which are really weak), I was quite proud of how this turned out.

When Gil and I were married, my mom made us stockings (two on either end).  I decided this year it was high time I made our kids their own stockings.  The green and blue are Lauren's and Wesley's respectively.  I'm rather pleased with how they turned out.

Finally, our Christmas tree-space ship-hot water heater box.  We had to replace our hot water heater in August.  Thankfully, Gil was able to do the installation and saved us on labor costs.  Wesley was at the height of his space phase and the large box the hot water heater came in was turned into a space ship.  Looking at it in November, Gil said we should turn it into our tree.  And so he did.  Gil wrapped it with wrapping paper, garland and lights and the kids hung the ornaments on it.  I love it!  I really do.  The garland even sheds needles just like a real tree.  Now we need to ask: real, artificial, or cardboard tree?

Always fun to have a project.  Excited to see what project 2024 holds for us!