Once Upon A Playhouse
2008 Playhouses!

Candy has designed it and Mike is in charge of building it. So this is Candy’s idea of what she would have loved to have had as a little girl to play in and create “Make Believe.”

As you walk up to this little girls “Cottage of Dreams” with it’s pink and purple hearts and beautiful flowers cascading down over the cute little flower boxes, this playhouse will surely bring a smile to your face! You might like to sit a spell on the front porch or go inside and pretend your having friends over for a tea party! Let your imagination go and have fun in the “Cottage of Dreams”.

“Cottage Of Dreams”
Aspen Home Builders

Not so long ago, in a land not so far away lived Candy. She lived in the Cottage of Dreams, brightly decorated with pink and purple hearts, Candy’s most very favorite colors. Flowers every color of the rainbow cascaded from the flower boxes in front of the cutest little cottage ever.

Every morning Candy and her dog Peppermint would walk to the candy store for three pieces of strawberry licorice. Then she would walk back to the Cottage of Dreams and sit on the front porch and share it with her friends.

It was her favorite time of day. Until last Thursday, when the candy store was completely out of strawberry licorice.

“No strawberry licorice, How can that be?” Candy cried.

Her eyes filled with tears. She had eaten strawberry licorice everyday that she lived in the Cottage of Dreams. (There are no bad-for-you foods in a fairytale…and no cavities) She stood at the counter wondering what to do.

“Strawberry gumballs? Strawberry lollipops? Strawberry taffy?” Mrs. Winks asked, trying to find something to replace the licorice.

“No, no, noooo, it won’t be the same. It has to be strawberry licorice. It’s twisty and chewy and just plain delicious, “ Candy cried, tears streaming down her face. “And I share it with my friends everyday.”

Mrs. Winks felt just horrible.

“I’ll bring some to the Cottage of Dreams as soon as I get more, I promise!”

Candy trudged back home empty handed, very sad, and getting a little hungry.

Well word got around that the candy store was completely out of strawberry licorice. All her friends tried to help. Buckets, baskets, and bags filled with strawberry candy covered her front porch. Lots of strawberry candy, but no strawberry licorice. And now Peppermint was starting to feel a little sad, he loved strawberry licorice and even more, he loved having all his friends around to share it with.

The next day Candy didn’t go to the candy store. Even the beautiful pink and purple hearts on her cottage didn’t cheer her up. Her friends and neighbors missed spending time with her on the front porch.

Peppermint had had enough. He didn’t like to see Candy so sad. He stuck his wet cold nose in one of the buckets of strawberry candy and pulled out a bag of strawberry jelly beans. Carrying them ever so gently in his mouth, he dropped them at Candy’s feet.

“No thanks Peppermint,” Candy sadly declined the jellybeans.

Peppermint pushed them closer to her with his nose.

“They just won’t be the same,” Candy said.

Peppermint pushed them even closer to her and looked up at her with his puppy dog eyes, pleading for her to try them. Candy gave in.

“Okay, I’ll try one, but just one.”

She carefully tore off the corner and shook the bag until one single jellybean rolled into her hand. She bit off the tiniest little piece and waited for the horrible taste to hit her tongue. But it didn’t taste bad it all. It was wonderful, filled with sweet strawberry goodness! She grabbed the bag and dumped more jellybeans into her hand. Mmmm they were so juicy and fruity!

“Thank you Peppermint! Thank you for making me trying something new.”

Candy ran outside and down the sidewalk to tell all her friends and neighbors about her new found love for strawberry jellybeans.

“We missed you so much Candy”, they all said. “We love to sit with you on the porch at the Cottage of Dreams.”

And that’s when Candy realized that it wasn’t the strawberry licorice she loved so much at all. She loved hanging out with her friends on the front porch at the cutest little cottage ever, the Cottage of Dreams. The next day Candy brought back some taffy to share. And it wasn’t even strawberry, but it didn’t matter. She had so much fun with her friends and everything was perfect at the Cottage of Dreams.

The hand crafted Heritage Cottage (HC) built to last generations today will be the neighborhood escape, and tomorrow become a gardener’s mansion.

Amenities
Stone exterior with traditional hand split shakes, interior includes custom child size built-ins with all the lifelike amenities (doorbell, telephone, intercom system)

“Heritage Cottage”
Babcock Builders

If you travel miles and miles across the open prairie, wade through a shallow river and climb over rolling hills, you’ll find a secret little place. A hidden forest. There’s a little cottage back behind the trees under an overgrown canopy of old branches. It was built long ago and is now called the Babcock Bungalow. It was built by Mr. Terry, who lived out in the forest with his animal friends. He wanted to build a strong study bungalow that would last for years and years. He gathered up all of his forest friends and started collecting big heavy logs and large stones. They worked for weeks and weeks until the Babcock Bungalow was just perfect.

There was just one thing missing. He wanted to know when his friends were coming over, so added a bell right by the front door that they could ring when they arrived. It turns out that that bell was magical. Whenever it was rung something magical would happen. His friend Tiger would ring the bell and instantly become the world’s best soccer player. When Frog rang the bell, he could suddenly fly. And Fox became invisible when he rang the bell. Mr. Terry had built a magical bungalow where wishes come true.

When he rang the doorbell, he could do and be anything he wished. If he wanted to fly, he just rang the doorbell and soared above the trees. If he wanted to be super strong, he’d ring the bell and be able to move the trees, roots and all. When he wanted to be a firefighter, a policeman or a superhero of the forest, Mr. Terry just rang the doorbell of Babcock Bungalow.

Mr. Terry lived in the forest for many years and when it was time for him to leave, he rang the doorbell one last time. This time he wished that any child who would come to the little bungalow could ring the doorbell and be and do anything he imagined. And his wish came true. For years and years, the Babcock Bungalow has been a place when imagination and creativity grow, a place where a child can be anything they imagine.

“Plummer Playhouse”
Commercial Builders Council

Once upon a time there was a land called Golden Meadows. It was a beautiful land where everything shimmered and shined from the light of the sun. The houses were bright yellow, and the streets lined with bricks the colors of lemons. It was a wonderful land filled with children. But the children had no place to play. There was no playhouses, no parks with slides and swings. It was very sad indeed.

Then one day a group of builders came to town. They had heard about Golden Meadows, the land with no place for children to play. They brought truckloads of wood and stone. Trailers filled with tools and dreams of building a playhouse for all the kids to enjoy. They called themselves the Commercial Builders Council. The kids just called them cool. The Commercial Crew went straight to work as all the little children thought of what they wanted.

They wished for slides and swings, a patio to play hopscotch and have tea parties. One had always wanted a firepole to slide down like a real firefighter. Another longed for a big two-story playhouse to play in rain or shine.

Yes they had big dreams.

So the Commercial Crew built a big playhouse. It was two-stories tall and built of wood and stone. They were doors and windows and even a tower. The kids gathered around this beautiful playhouse. They couldn’t believe their eyes. It was greater and grander than anything they had ever imagined. It had a slide, a swing and yes, even a firepole! The patio was perfect for tea parties, hopscotch and jumping rope. They spent the whole day at the playhouse, sliding hundreds of times, swinging back and forth for hours. They played on weekends, after school, sometimes even before breakfast.

Every time they played at the playhouse the Commercial Crew had built, there was a new adventure. One day it became the perfect tower for rescuing a princess, the next it was their secret palace. It was whatever they imagined. It was perfect. Now when the children’s parents told them to go play, they did.

“Re-Playhouse Store”
Habitat for Humanity

In a land far, far away there are many little villages. But there is one village that is truly spectacular. It has all the things the other villages have: rows of cute little houses, a school, and a wonderful park. But this town has something really amazing, and magnificent. This village has a store. A store that is made of hidden treasures the people of the village have discovered all over the land. A beautiful bright blue front door, large round glass windows and a perfectly shingled roof. All of these wonderful treasures built together to create the most wonderful store in all of the land. And it is filled with wonderful gifts and trinkets. The store is called Habitats because it is the place where everyone wants to be.

The bright blue door of Habitats is always opening and closing, as shoppers come and go. Villagers come from miles and miles away to shop at the store. It has the most awesome gadgets, gizmos, trinkets and knickknacks. It was the only place to find a wubberflunk, or a flippydobble. You can get a purple bibbydo when all the other stores only have blue ones. You can even get a lula, a magical blankie that floats to you when you whistle. Yes Habitats has it all.

Mr. Tom is the storekeeper, the cashier, and the one who keeps the store shelves stocked full of wonderful things. He makes sure the shoppers always find what they are looking for. He has gifts for moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas, sisters, brothers, and friends. He’ll even help you find something for your dog, cat or pet snake, Bubba. Mr. Tom is very helpful and he has a weird way of always knowing just what you’re looking for. So start shopping. You’ll find Habitats in land far, far away in a certain little spectacular village. And you’ll know it’s Habitats because of the bright blue front door and all the great stuff you’ll find inside. Get a new gizmo, or an outlandish gadget, whatever you do, don’t forget to pick something up for your mom.

“Pineapple Under The Snow”
Cornerstone/Rochester Brick

Deep, deep under the sea sits a pineapple-shaped house. The little guy who lives there always dresses in yellow. Yellow shirt, yellow hat, yellow pants. That’s how he got his nickname: YellowPants.

He said he loved yellow because it reminded him of the bright yellow sun way up above the sea.

However, YellowPants was getting a little tired of living under the sea in his pineapple house. He wanted to see the sunshine that was so many feet above him. YellowPants had heard of a place called Minnesota. This place had thousands of little oceans, called lakes. So if he wanted to get in the water there was a lake close by. As he did more research about Minnesota, he discovered something called snow. It was white, cold and kind of like frozen water. And Minnesota had a bunch of it.

“That’s it!” cried YellowPants, “I’m going to Minnesota!

“Where’s Minnesota?” asked his underwater seas friends.

“It’s above the sea and below the snow," said YellowPants. And off he went.

YellowPants swam to shore, took a boat to the nearest airport and flew right into Rochester, said to be the greatest city in Minnesota.

He looked all around for a place to call home, an apartment, a condo, a brand new brick home. But none of them seemed anything like his pineapple shaped home under the sea. That’s when he met Cornerstone Steve and Brickmaster, Joe. Together they could build just about any house you could think of.

“We can build a house shaped like a banana, an apple, even a pear shaped house, if that’s what you want, Steve and Joe said proudly.

“What about a house shaped like a pineapple?” asked YellowPants.

“No problem,” they said.

In what seemed like no time at all, YellowPants’s house was all done. And it was perfect. A pineapple house just like the one he used to have, but even better. Although it wasn’t under the sea, it was under the snow! Brilliant! It was the first pineapple house Cornertone Steve and Brickmaster Joe had build and they loved it too! It was the coolest house on the block and not just because it was under the snow.

"Pirate Ship"
Remodelers Council

It all began in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean….well actually it all began in Max’s backyard, with some scrap lumber a little boy’s dream. Max was five years old. He loved baseball, soccer, double chocolate chip cookies and teasing his sister’s cat, Muffin. But most of all, more than anything in the whole wide world, Max loved pirates. He had a favorite pirate book that he carried around with him everywhere. He had a plastic pirate sword that could take down any shark if one happened to appear on the front porch one day. His eye patch fit him perfectly and the stuffed parrot that rested on his shoulder repeated everything he said. (that is if the batteries weren’t dead) Every morning, usually before breakfast, Max would get dressed up in his pirate gear. By the time he ate his cereal, he had already hoisted the sail, plundered a vessel to claim his treasure and made someone walk the plank, usually his sister’s cat, Muffin. He had his loot tucked deep in the pockets of his X-men pajamas.

“Arrgh, he said when he sat down. “I’ll have Captain Crunch and grapes to boot.”

“Aye Captain Max,” his mom replied. She always played along. “Let me just swab the deck.”

“Aye, Aye,” Captain Max replied.

And this was the routine nearly every morning. Sometimes Captain Max let his sister, Julia be his first mate. And sometimes he had to fight off pirates trying to steal his treasure. And sometimes Captain Max was just an old scallywag who wouldn’t come to breakfast at all. But that didn’t happen too often.

Today Max’s dad had a surprise for him. Max had been asking for a playhouse for quite a while, ever since he learned to talk. So his dad thought it was time to build one. He gathered up all his friends from the Remodelers Council and asked Max what they should build.

“Hey Captain Max, what do you think we ought to build with this lumber? A dollhouse for Julia? A few birdhouses?”

“I know I know I know,” Max wailed hopping with excitement. “A PIRATE SHIP! Can we, huh dad, can we, can we? I’ll help!”

Max could not contain his excitement.

“You know I don’t think you’re allowed to build pirate ships in town, “his father teased. “Uh huh, yes you can, I know you can dad, I know. It’ll be alright, “Max urged and pleaded.

“Okay, whatever you say Captain,” his father agreed. “We can call it the U.S.S. Remodeler. Let’s get started.”

Max, his dad and the gang from the Remodeler’s Council spent the whole weekend in the garage. They only stopped to gobble some grub that the maiden fair had prepared.

Finally it was done. An awesome playhouse that looked just like a pirate ship.

“Awesome!” Max screamed. It’s really, really cool. Can I play in it?"

“Aye, aye, his dad and the gang responded. Max climbed the aboard the U.S.S. Remodeler with his sword, eye patch, and stuffed parrot and he couldn’t believe what happened next. His ship set sail! The ocean waters were all around him.

“Ahoy mate, “the parrot bellowed. Max couldn’t believe his ears or eyes. He touched the parrot, which stuffing had turned to real feathers and was talking all by itself. He lifted the parrot’s wing to look for the spot where the batteries usually go, but it had disappeared. Max’s sword now shimmered as the sunlight reflected off the shiny metal. It was real.

Max jumped to the ground and instantly his sword was plastic again, his parrot just a stuffed animal. The U.S.S. Remodeler that Max, his dad and the gang had built was magical. Max climbed back up on deck right in the middle of the pirate fight. The evil Captain Blackbeard had hijacked Max’s ship and was demanding to know where the hidden treasure was.

“I’ll never tell,” Captain Max sneered.

“Then you’ll be walking the plank, Blackbeard replied pointing his sword directly at Max.

But Captain Max was quick and jumped out of the way.

“Get him!” Blackbeard called to his crew.

And so Blackbeard’s crew and the crew of Captain Max battled it out on the U.S.S. Remodeler. Swords flew and pirates plunged into the sea, finally Blackbeard and his crew surrendered.

“I’ll go for now, but I’ll be back!” Blackbeard threatened.

Max and his crew won again. They set sail to another land and raised the flag of the U.S.S. Remodeler in victory.

And Max jumped off the pirate ship into the backyard. Tomorrow would be a new adventure in the magical pirate playhouse, but right now his mother was calling him for dinner.