We had an exceptionally cold and snowy winter in Indiana this year. Many people complained that it seemed like winter would never end; but my two boys and I embraced the cold weather by building a snow fort in the field behind our house.

We started with a simple ring of snow blocks cut from the crusty layer of snow that resulted from a few days of warmer temperatures followed by several very cold days. Over a period of weeks we added a slide/chute that passed through a short tunnel, a tunnel under the slide and a secrete entrance which we covered with a large block of snow when it was time to go inside to warm up with some hot chocolate.

The snow fort lasted through most of the winter providing many hours of fun for all three of us. Now we're filling our weekends with kites, bikes, and geocaching.