Only they weren’t sitting in their home. The Fort Dodge couple was inside of an igloo.

Thompson, a retired UPS driver, built the ice hut in his back yard recently.

“It’s something I thought the grandkids would enjoy,” he said. “It makes the winter go by faster.”

The igloo is large enough to fit a full table and chairs, and includes a variety of lights.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Kevin Thompson, of Fort Dodge, and his wife, Diana, share a toast inside their igloo.

In recent weeks, Thompson saw some videos online that sparked an idea.

He realized he could make use of a jungle gym for the purpose of building an igloo.

“It’s not a traditional igloo,” Thompson said. “It’s got a jungle gym on some ice blocks. I kind of feel like I cheated.”

But it was hard work for Thompson, who grew up on a farm near Bancroft.

He started the project on Jan. 25.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Kevin Thompson, of Fort Dodge, looks over the entrance to an igloo he built in his backyard. Thompson said he built the igloo as a way to enjoy winter and for his grandkids to enjoy something new.

“It took a couple of days to get those blocks going,” he said. “It was quite a workout. You feel it in the morning.”

Thompson used 17 quart totes and filled them with water.

He used surgical gloves to keep his hands from getting wet.

“I went through several pairs of those,” he said.

While many Iowans have been waiting for warmer weather, Thompson has been wishing for bitter cold temperatures.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
The igloo built by Kevin Thompson, of Fort Dodge, glows on a recent winter night. He installed rope lights around the jungle gym dome to brighten up the space.

In recent days, that wish was granted.

“I’ve been hoping for cold,” he said. “Putting the blocks in was good exercise.”

On Friday, Thompson had the igloo pretty well finished. He is still modifying it, though.

It features a 10-foot jungle gym for the dome. He used shrink wrap around the top to keep it enclosed.

“The nice thing with shrink wrap is you can go over and over and over,” he said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Jungle gym bars and shrink wrap enclose the roof of an igloo made by Kevin Thompson, of Fort Dodge.

The entrance is less than 4 feet high, which Thompson learned pretty quickly could be hard on the knees.

“My knees got bruised up from crawling in and out, so I put in some rugs,” he said.

A piece of grass turf carpet covers part of the floor on the inside.

The igloo stays relatively warm.

At one point, the outside temperature was 11 degrees. But inside the igloo, it was 43.

“When the sun comes in it feels pretty good,” he said.

Thompson worked for UPS for 40 years. He drove for the company for about 35 years. He’s lived in Fort Dodge since 1978.

Thompson, who has made igloos in the past, said he’s going to continue to try and improve it.

In the meantime, he hopes to enjoy it with family and friends.

“I’ve got some musician friends,” he said. “Might have someone with a guitar come try out the acoustics.”

Thompson was a little worried about the upcoming forecast.

“If it gets to the point where it’s starting to melt, I’ll take the jungle gym off,” he said. “Maybe next year, I’ll go higher. Maybe a bigger entry next year. I’m always thinking how I could make it better.”

But even when it has to come down, it was worth it, he said.

“The Mrs. and I will enjoy it for a little while,” Thompson said.

As of Tuesday, the igloo was still standing as temperatures rose above 40.