Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Dad's A-Z: L is for LEGO, Of Course


What we really did in Maui

Our neighborhood had a  'Garage Sale Day' a couple of weeks back.  You could pretty much throw a stick in any direction from our house and hit a pile of old plastic cups, ratty t-shirts, and half used perfume bottles going at ridiculous prices.  Ridiculously high prices.

But thankfully there were also some bargains to be found. Case in point at a sale a couple of blocks away, we found a couple of brand new LEGO board games for one Washington each.  This was exactly the type of bargain we were looking for.  That's because Lukas likes Legos. 

Ha ha ha, I can't even type that with a straight face.

Lukas is actually OBSESSED with his Legos.  They are not only his favorite toy, but pretty much the only toys he plays with these days.  He has even stopped asking to watch videos in lieu of more Lego building time.  Of course we are happy to oblige.  In fact, our recent flight to Maui was made so much easier because we bought him a new set to build for each leg of the trip.  He easily sat for 3 hours straight and just built Legos..

We even have a chore chart set up where he can earn a nickle for helping out with various chores around the house.  He has now saved up for 3 separate $20+ sets in the past couple of months, including the Lego Space Shuttle, and most recently the Alien Conquest Tripod Invader.  Almost as coveted as the bricks are the instruction manuals which include pictures of other sets that can also be collected.  Mrs. LIAYF and I already have a couple of sets ready to give to Lukas for his upcoming 5th birthday.

But do you want to know the most amazing thing about Lukas and his Legos?  It's the hybrid creations he makes out of all the pieces.  Most sets barely get put together before they are torn about for their pieces.  Seriously, it's like he is running a little Lego chop shop, breaking down sets for the parts.  Thankfully though, so far he is only 'procuring' the parts from his own sets to use in his very own creations.



But he has really surprised me with the sophistication of some of his vehicles.  He actually made us agree to take a picture of his creations before he breaks them down to build something else.

That is Luke Skywalker flying an Alien Ship

Recently he has even had the nerve to challenge me to a ship building contest, with Mrs. LIAYF being the judge of who creates the "Coolest" ship.

How could I say no to that.   Here is what Lukas came up with:

Game On!

And, here is mine:

That is some serious firepower!

Of course, Mrs. LIAYF deemed Lukas the winner. 

With his highly functioning imagination, and boost in brain development from playing with these amazing toys, I have to agree.

Viva la LEGO!

7 comments:

Baby Gifts said...

My son (5) is the same. we bid for 4 buckets of the stuff on Ebay and won all 4!

Diplo_Daddy said...

Somewhere in my son’s room, sits a blue box full of misplaced Lego pieces. I’ve spent countless hours assembling some amazing creations, only to have my son dismantle them a few days later. Like Lukas, Christopher has an obsession with those tiny plastic pieces. I’m happy to hear you found real deals because, those things aren’t cheap, as you probably know.

daniel said...

My 9 year old spent one day Sunday and built the LEGO Pirates Of The Caribbean Black Pearl and Queen Anne's Revenge. In one day. He had been saving up and saving up and bought the Queen Anne's Revenge with his own money. LEGOs are a powerful motivator.

Hey Monkey Butt said...

Very cool! :)

Daddy's in Charge? said...

My boys are obsessed. It started five years ago when my oldest started building the City sets. He would always flip to the end of the instructions and daydream about the Star Wars and Indiana Jones sets. Well you know how things snowball, thousands upon Thousands of pieces later and numerous trips to Legoland and the passion still burns. Thanks to monster Fighters and Lord of the Rings, I think a few trips to the Lego Store will be in order this summer. You should check out some of my videos, be a cool project for you and the boy.

Daddy's in Charge

Who are we kidding? We love legos as much as they do

BloggerFather said...

You ship looks like the decoy he would send before his ship attacks.

Jack said...

My son is 11.5 and he never gets tired of building things with his Legos.

I love building with him and have to admit that he is better at it than I am.

I loved them as a kid, but I never had as many sets as he does.

OTOH, I was allowed to ride my bike everywhere so my friends and I spent most of our time outdoors.