Sukkah building

We had wonderful weather for sukkah-building yesterday.  Let's just hope we get some favorable weather for Sukkot itself!  We've always done our best to include the boys in the construction; this year, they were actually genuinely helpful.  Possibly they did more work than I did.  Here they are lugging the boards out of the carport.

There are a lot of screws to put in.  The boys' job was to get all the screws started in their holes (which are still there from last year); they would put each screw in a turn or two, and Dale would follow up with the electric drill.  Their help made this stage go a lot faster.  At first, Aaron did not recognize that the screws need to go in predetermined places:

Jordan was a wonderful teacher.  Here he is demonstrating what to do.

Then he held the screw and let Aaron turn the screwdriver.

After that they set to work independently.

Part of the job was to fetch the proper size screws.  There were small, medium, and large ones, and this part of the job required the medium ones.

Jordan had the bright idea to fetch everyone a glass of water, just as Dale was realizing he was thirsty.

Once the frame had been raised, they brought Dale the screws he needed for the roof beams.

The roof beams require the small screws.

Here's the complete structure.  It's not a sukkah until it has a roof made of natural materials, dense enough to be shady but loose enough to see the stars.  The holiday doesn't start until Wednesday, and it's raining a lot this week, so we haven't done the foliage part yet.  Meanwhile, it makes an entertaining soccer goal.