How to Build a Pillow Fort

Pillow fort building is arduous and complex and requires a full day and all hands on board. Phase one. Crew runs around the house collecting necessary material. Assemble all pillows and blankets that can be found. Make a gigantic pile. Jump on pile to test resilience and consistency of the various elements available. (This will soon become valuable intelligence.) Phase two. Step back. Assess and discuss. Get milk and cookies (for the master planner), find paper and crayons and develop elaborate architectural sketches. Phase three. Agree on the general purpose of the fort. Attack? Defense? A place to hide inside undetected by pesky parents? (The last one usually wins.) Take a lunch break. Find the rest of the instructions within.