A Lego Surprise

No matter how insane those little Lego pieces make me when they plunge into my foot because they didn't all get picked up, I can't change the fact that my boys love Legos.

The two big boys get the Lego Club magazine and screech with excitement all the way up the driveway each time it arrives. If you don't get the magazine, go here to get your free two year subscription. Kids under seven can get Lego Club Jr. which is designed for the younger crowd. You will thank me later.

Each month in the magazine there is a Lego building challenge for kids to participate in. The really determined kids can build a Lego creation then incessantly question their mom until she sends the photo in have a parent print the picture and mail it in. Lego selects five winners each month. The winners receive a $100 Lego gift card and their photo will appear in the issue.

Braeden wants to do it every month but his lousy mom usually doesn't get around to printing the photo, going to pick it up, labeling the back and dropping it in the mail before the deadline. Slacker, I know.

In December we trimmed back our work load in school that left us with a little more free time. Braeden again asked to participate in the holiday themed contest by building his rendition of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller center in New York that we were able to see in 2010 when we went for Thanksgiving. This time around I managed to get his photo sent in. I wistfully crossed that off my "to do" list and did not think about it again for a single second...until this week.

I was running out the door to head to a friend's house and stopped on the way out to get the mail. In our mailbox was a letter addressed to Braeden with the all too familiar Lego symbol in the return address. I thought to myself, "Surely not!" and figured it must be a ploy to get us to buy more Legos or a "thanks for your effort" letter at best. I tossed the envelope back to Braeden and told him he had some mail. The moment he saw the Lego symbol he started shouting that he had won. I attempted to settle him down and ensure him that is not what this was but his confidence could not be subdued.

He ripped the envelope open and out plopped a gift card. He nearly jumped clean out of his seatbelt all the while screaming, "I can't believe I won! I can't believe I won!"

I took the letter from the envelope and read it aloud to him.

"Congratulations Braeden on being selected as one of the five finalist in the December Lego Building Challenge."

You've got to be kidding me? He really won? He really won!

Upon further reading I was elated to learn that he indeed had won. He certainly did receive a $100 Lego gift card and the picture of him with his "holiday themed Lego creation" is going to appear in the March issue of Lego Club magazine.

And, you know that is good enough to earn a blog post of it's own.