Dogs, Frogs, and Two-by-Fours is a spirited, humorous, account of two rank amateurs' adventures while designing and building a house, from the footers to the roof. While building, they live in a small, rustic, cabin near the house site with two children, two dogs, a cat, and as many frogs, snakes, and turtles as the kids can lug home. On holidays, the cabin bursts with relatives from Bob's rollicking Cornish family. It is so crowded that Bob has to sleep with a nephew under the kitchen table. Ruth's quixotic parents pop in and out as the whim suits them. The house, despite all, gets built between April and November. All their dreams come true: the spiral staircase, the thirty-foot long interior balcony, the fountain in the living room, roof corbels, a lake in front, and the peace that passeth understanding floating all around.