Little Boy Bliss

Last week we had a wonderful visit with my Grandma and Grandpa. It was so special for me to see Max and Maggie spending some quality time with their great grandparents. Both the kids completely loved our little retreat to see The Great Mama and the Great Papa (as they call them), but Max was especially on cloud nine. I'm afraid I just can't seem to keep his little scientific mind quite stimulated enough during our normal day-to-day life around here! But at the Great Papa's house– that's another story. As I heard my grandpa explain to Max about flotation and simple machines and all kinds of other things that are interesting to little boys, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered Grandpa teaching me about electric currents and various other science lessons when I was a child. Max was drinking up every bit of information and having a blast the whole time.

Well.... TODAY the kids got a great surprise when a package arrived. It was addressed to them and was from Great Papa and Great Mama. They were pretty excited to open it up:

And what they found inside was pure bliss for a little boy! The box was stuffed full with string and wooden rods and rubber bands and wires and hot glue and rubber connectors and sheets of plastics and all kinds of other building materials. Max tore into it like it was the most expensive toy money could buy at Toys R Us! His mind was spinning with ideas from minute one.

First he pulled out a sheet of plastic and ran to the drawer to get some scissors. He had to make a map "to show the divers how to find the lost city of Atlantis." Maggie made a map, too.

After maps, we had to break for lunch. But the whole time we were eating, Max was planning what he was going to build. He decided on a submarine.

Here is his first creation! I helped some, but many of the design ideas were his. He has been playing with it all afternoon.

Thanks, Great Mama and Great Papa, for such a fun and creative package!