Lego My Idea

When I work late, the drive home is usually my time to zone out my mind. I usually find some mellow radio station and blank out. Last night, however, a persistent little thought dug it's way into my brain. I was thinking about Number One Son. I often think of the kids when driving. Anyway, I was mentally listing the things that he likes to do. Of course, Legos were at the top of the list. He has so many Lego sets, I have lost track. He has half a dozen animal sets that he has put together. He has a fleet of Star Wars ships of various designs. If his Star Wars play battles get stale, then his Batman Lego's come to the rescue. To say that N1S is a Lego-maniac is an understatement. He even attends an after school Lego League once a week. Lego Magazine (a disguised catalog) comes each month and N1S feels like he's won a contest every time it comes in the mail.

So as I was driving with Lego's rattling in my head, I tried to think of some Lego that N1S didn't have yet. What would be fun for him to do next? Then I had a brainstorm. If I ever win the lottery and money isn't a concern, I am going to get N1S a life sized Lego house kit. Wouldn't it be cool if Lego made life sized bricks?

A truck would have to come and unload all of the Lego's for a garden shed sized play house. Imagine the clattering noise, that a dump truck full of Legos would make. I can envision big cinder block gray Lego's for the foundation. Next would come regular brick sized Lego's about the size of a shoe box. A big green flat Lego would serve as the floor. You could also snap in Lego doors, windows, flower pots or other accessories. You could even use some fancy arch bricks or clear Lego's or ones that glow in the dark. The instruction booklet would look like blue prints and it would come with a hard hat to complete the set.

As big as the Lego's would be, you might need an official Lego rubber mallet to make sure the bricks fit tightly. You wouldn't want the inspector to find gaps in your walls. And since all of the bricks would be hollow plastic, the whole play house would probably weigh less than a couple hundred pounds.

Not only would this idea give some lucky child hours of entertainment, it would teach him or her a trade to use later in life. As the kits advance, Lego could put out a house wiring and plumbing kit. A pair of pants that sag in the back would come with those kits. Making Legos waterproof may prove difficult though. The heating system may require some advanced engineering as well. I don't believe a working fireplace would last too long. Although, what's to stop them from developing metal and cement Legos? I guess they wouldn't be official Legos then, would they? But at least the structure of the house would be strong, even with plastic bricks. Especially if a lot of small flat Lego's are used, since the only way to separate those are with your teeth. I also might have a little issue with the Lego furniture you would have to make. That would be one hard Lego couch. After napping on it, you would have hundreds of little dimples all over your back too. I'm not going to say anything about a Lego bathroom.

Looking ahead, when the house is finished, the next kit to buy would be the race car to park out in front of your house. The car could only be used for short trips since you have to pull it backwards to build enough tension in the Lego motor. Heck, as long as you have the race car, you might as well assemble the life sized Star Destroyer space ship and cruise in style.

Can you tell I may have spent a little too much time and thought on this?

I hope the Lego company will consider my idea and maybe even let us test the first house kit. I'm sure once it is on the market, all the responsible parents of the world (Brittney, Jacko,Brangelina) will have to have one.

I suppose I had better let Lego know about my idea before they think of it themselves. I know they make life sized soft bricks for toddlers, so they will probably say that they already thought of my idea and they don't have to pay me for it. Which is too bad, because the only way I would be able to afford a Lego House kit, would be if I made it my primary place of residence. And I don't know if I am ready for plastic grass and multi-colored walls.

Although, with the holidays coming soon, wouldn't it be fun to build a nine foot tall Lego Christmas tree?

Lego My Birthday

Number One Son turned nine years old on Saturday. Almost a decade. Where does the time go? We planned a trip for him and a friend to the Mall of America for his birthday. What nine year old wouldn't want to risk life and limb at a carnival park and go to Lego Land?

We got up bright and early on Saturday (8:30am) and got ready to go to the 'Mall'. The MOA has an indoor amusement park formally known as Camp Snoopy. It is now the Park at the MOA because they didn't want to pay Charles Schulz's family any more money. Anyway, we got there and bought our all-day wrist bands. Lady Di, in a moment of fiscal awareness, suggested that we save some money and not buy her a wrist band. This had less to do with frugality and more to do with Lady Di's sheer terror of any rides faster than the carousel.

Since we arrived at 10am the park was emptier than usual. There were virtually no lines for rides and the kids and I could ride multiple times in a row. The best ride is called the 'Twister'. It is a roller coaster which has a four seat car that spins as it rolls along the track. The last time we were here was about a year and a half ago. What a difference that made. N1S was just a little too short for the really cool rides then. Now, he and his friend, sought out only the most terrifying rides and laughed when Sweet Pea's more tame rides were mentioned.

"I am not going on the Merry-Go-Round.", he firmly stated.

At noon we dragged the kids away from the 'Log Chute' to eat at the Rain Forest Cafe. It was pretty cool. It was decorated in rain forest trees and animals, of course. It had multiple gigantic fish tanks with large colorful fish. Every once in a while the lights would dim and thunder would rumble through the restaurant. Some animatronic monkeys would chatter and move at random too. I know they were robots, but I think one of them stole a few of my fries. N1S mentioned his birthday to the staff and they brought out a 'Volcano'. Three chocolate brownies stacked around a mound of ice cream topped with a sparkler. Pretty cool.

After lunch we spent some time ($$$) in Lego Land to settle our stomachs before our second round of carnival rides. In the afternoon, I took Sweet Pea on all of her rides and Lady Di watched the boys take on the big ones.

We got home in time for a late supper and straight to bed. The kids were exhausted and so were we. It was a lot of fun though. I hope we can make it back this winter. N1S and I can ride the cool rides and Sweet Pea can coax Lady Di onto the Lil' Shaver coaster.

The next day we let N1S open a couple of presents. He got a cool piggy bank from Gramma Bev and Grampa Ray. Complete with coins. And a Batman Lego set from us. This should keep him busy for a few days.

Now, all we have to do is start planning N1S's classmate party in a few weeks. Since he has a summer birthday, we thought it would be OK to have another party and invite some of his new 3rd grade classmates. It will be a pirate party. I am converting the kids' clubhouse into a pirate ship and Lady Di is getting costumes and other decorations ready.

So, how many birthdays does a kid really need? I guess when family lives far away and calendars are so busy, any day can be a birthday celebration. Heck, it's gotta be someone's birthday somewhere. As long as there is cake, I will be there.