IT'S ALL FOR THE KIDS!

And it's a lot of work. A whole day of preparation is needed to get everything set up, followed by a day of playing, and then we have to put it all back up...and I'll go ahead and admit right now, this is by far probably not the biggest one in the world, and the title of this post is definitely just click bait.😂🤣😂🤣...but it's absolutely the biggest one in the little city of Grafton, IL.

.....So how does it all start? Well, with a hill that needs the grass mowed.

However, once that is done, the building begins. It starts by stacking straw bales to create the frame for the pool at the bottom of the slide.

*Thanks Uncle Mic and friends for bringing us the straw bales.🤗🤗🤗

Then we add huge pieces of plastic to create the pool. We add a couple on top of one another to make it super awesome and increase it's waterproofedness(😂😂... there's that word again.)

*This plastic is very thick and extremely heavy duty. We use it year after year.

Once the pool is good to go we start laying huge sheets of heavy duty plastic up the hill to create the slip 'n' slide. It's crazy how heavy the plastic is, and requires a couple people to maneuver it around. We give it a quick washing and move to the next sheet of plastic.

Then it's just a matter of overlaying the plastic the rest of the way up the hill. It is amazing how heavy each piece is. Once it's complete, it looks like this....

NEXT STEP....WATER

Obviously, sliding down dry plastic would probably result in more then a few skin burns, so next up for slip n slide construction is the water source.

*Our secret weapon.😁😁

To feed a water slide this big, regular water hoses don't come anywhere close to getting the job done...so we have the local water company come in and get us hooked up to the fire departments water hydrant.👨‍🚒👩‍🚒💦...a special thank you to the QEM fire department and to the American Water Company.👍💪🤗

*Fire hoses, but not from the fire department...

A local company in Grafton called The Loading Dock lends us their fire hoses, so thank you all as well!!!

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!

As the people show up, it only takes minutes before the line has formed at the top of the hill....and seconds from then before they start sliding.

*The start of the day of fun, as the folks show up.

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*I had a few air mattresses that I wasn't using so I brought those for the kids to play on.

*Kids also brought boogeyboards.

*And of course you can slide down just using your body...we have lots of liquid soap to really help it be slippery.😁😁

*...and of course we have races down the slide.🤪

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NO DAM UPDATE

So I know I promised a dam update for this post, but....

Sometimes we need to take a break from our chores and the daily grind so we can take time for those in our community. It was an absolute honor to stop my life and serve the kiddos (and our community in general). With the record heat we have been having I believe this was a great break(and relief) for everyone! Watching all the people so happy and carefree made my day.(my week really🥰)

There were no worries about gas prices, or inflation. No concerns of food costs or supply chain shortages. Just a lot of people laughing and smiling. Old friends catching up with one another and new friendships being forged. It was a great movement in our universe, even if just on a local level. Today, we changed the world and the course of history...maybe in only the tiniest way, but also maybe, just maybe, in ways we can't even fathom. I leave you with these thoughts....

Our every action, word, decision, and even our thoughts are what are actually creating the future world we will live in...and that we will leave for our future generations. Be wise with those actions, words, and thoughts. And do your best to put out positive, loving energy.

I wish you all my best and send my love to each of you. Thank you all so much for your time and if you hit the upvote button...for your awesome support.🤗🤗🤗