A Decatur man took to transforming his backyard into an amusement park when he found out he was going to be a grandfather nearly three years ago.
Jimmy White, 52, used scrap materials to make the Ferris wheel, carousel and roller coaster for little Sophia, who always runs next door to "Pawpaw's," ABC News reports.
"She wants to be with him every day, all day," her mother, Morgan White, told WFAA-TV (Channel 8). "She totally adores him, so I think she needs him in her life as much as she can."
Gravity — and Pawpaw — control the roller coaster. It starts from the second floor of White's house on rural property his family's owned for decades, which is about 70 miles northwest of Dallas.
"Growing up, I didn't have much," he said. "But I always knew I wanted to build my grandchildren a roller coaster."
Sophia seems to appreciate it.
"We're buddies, ain't we?" White asked her, as she vigorously nodded "Yes."
White doesn't have formal engineering training, but his background in electrical maintenance helped him tackle the project. He told ABC he also plans to add a motorized chair swing and is considering a system that will take the roller coaster car back to the second-story deck.
"If I can see something and think of something, then I'll build it," he said.
