Mission Accomplished

If you have spent any time with Finn in the past year or so, you know that he is in the midst of a major Lego phase. Obsessed is probably a better description. He can sit for hours and work on his sets with such concentration that amazes me. He gets the Lego catalogue a couple of times a year and will flip through it for days upon days. Kind of remind me of what I used to do the the Sears Wish Book would come out around Christmas . . . remember that? Anyway, last year he had set his eyes on the Lego Star Wars Death Star. This is a major set . . . we are talking pricey and complicated, at more than 3,000 pieces. We told him that he would have to save his money and buy it himself if he wanted it. Truth be told, I didn't think he would be able to save that much for that long. But he surprised me for sure. He has saved all of his money from 2 birthdays, Christmas and every holiday along the way. He did chores for me and worked out in the yard with Mark. I'm not saying he did it all happily, but he did it nonetheless. I think every one we know has contributed to his "death star Lego pot" Mimi, Bop, Big, Baa, Gigi and Papa and countless others . . . so thank you to everyone who has been so generous to him. 

By the end of the school year, he was within $10 of his goal. We decided to have a lemonade stand to get him across the finish line. It was such a huge success, he made his goal and then some. In fact, I'm thinking of setting up a lemonade stand to get this pair of boots I've had my eye on for some time. Wink wink. He was so cute sitting up there and our friends and neighbors were so sweet and generous to stop by and buy his lemonade. I doubt I could make as much money as he did. 

He gathered and counted his money and turned it over to his dad so he could buy it online. That's how special this set is . . . not even sold in stores, at least not any around us. It was a fantastic day when that Lego box arrived in the mail. I was so proud of Finn for setting a goal and working hard and saving for more than a year to reach his goal. Way to go! 

Now the fun part begins . . . actually putting it together. Yay summer. 

Lemonade stand: working hard for the money

Counting his dough . . . yet again

Success! Here it is

One month later . . .
This proved to be a family affair, and then some. It took us more than a month but we finally finished it. The instruction book had over 260 pages, if this gives you an idea. Everyone pitched in, even Justin, Lindsey's boyfriend who got suckered into it over their 4th of July visit and got the rest of us off the hook (for a brief time, anyway). Finn was so proud of himself. Now, if we could just keep it intact for the rest of the summer, we'll be doing good. Super glue anyone?