Setup like a typical convention, Lego had a “section or booth” for each type of Lego that they sold.  Everything from the new stuff from the Lego Movie, the Builders Series, Mixels, Lego Friends, Bionicles, Lego Chima, Duplo, Lego City, Star Wars (LOTS of Star Wars), etc….they had everything.  There was even a section for Technic and MindStorm but we never found them due to other distractions (OMG SO MANY THINGS TO SEE AND DO).  I was so looking forward to building something that I could program and control with my phone that didn’t cost me $300 to play with – maybe next time.

The various booths were not really the main attractions.  Each booth area was surrounded by building areas either related to a particular type of Lego or a blend of several.  We got lost in each one building our creations that would be put on display for the rest of the event.  We got sidetracked watching the various family competitions to create and build something unique out of a box of mixed blocks in a set period of time.  It was fascinating to see what people can dream up quickly and under pressure with little plastic bits.  One competition was to build a bridge that spanned about two feet.  After the building was done in a fifteen minute period the bridges were set between two chairs and slowly loaded with weight.  Some instantly broke apart and collapsed into tear stained pieces while others were built like real bridges and stayed intact with 10-15 pounds of weight on top before slowly cracking and slipping into the sea of destruction below.  Pretty amazing.

One section that was a lot of fun was a picture mural where everyone received a six inch empty white square and had to come up with a super hero design using 1×1 Lego Blocks.  Surprising this was harder than it looked.  The kids had some pretty ingenious ides.  Jacob created the Batman symbol, Piper made the UniKitty from the Lego Movie, Isaac build a Lego sign with lots of color around it, Violet and Carol designed various star patterns.  I tried to be crafty and copy a QR Code that linked back to EternallyChaotic but the square wasn’t quite big enough.  Instead of defaulted to ISI – you know because what better super hero symbol than your name

Our favorite bit was a HUGE outline of the USA on the floor surrounded by tables and tables full of Legos.  The ideas was to work as a team and build something, anything, and place it on the map of creations.  We opted for a building with a huge tower on top that held a massive wrecking ball.  Violet insisted all day that we needed to build a wrecking ball.  We worked diligently, somehow as a team, to construct a massive base building and a tall tower with a crane and wrecking ball swinging from the top.  Carol hijacked a massive bucket of bricks, found us a corner on the floor away from the crowds and got us going.  As the kids got bored or wanted to do something else we sent them out on scavenger hunts to find various pieces so that they could continue building our awesome tower.  When it was done and after a few scary moments of carrying it to the map we set our creation down in Indiana – Georgia was full up and that was option number two.

After our creation we headed for the sea of bricks, a MASSIVE dump of sharp pointy colored Lego that for some god awful reason we just perfect for playing in, or making Lego Angels, or swimming, or otherwise getting lost within.  Crazy people.  They even made me get in and enjoy myself.  We didn’t get to play long here as our time slot was ending and the best part was still to come.

Last stop, of course, is the gift shop.  How can you not pick up some of the really cool stuff that you have been playing with all day.  Wait a minute.  I think Lego knew all along that immersing us in their world for half a day, filling our heads full of unmade creations and then strategically placing a HUGE store full of gold plated wonder on the way out would somehow make parting with our cash all that much easier….OH they are so sly  The kids eyes were bigger than our bank account but we reeled them into reality and left as happy builders.

After having seen the Lego Movie now about twenty times (thank you Plex) the stupid song that incessantly gets stuck in your head certainly has it right for this event…..We all certainly thought so.

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME….EVERYTHING IS COOL.

After a quick breakfast to take up any precious room that might otherwise be used to store extra chocolate, or for the hideout of a recently digested Peep – they never do quite die and I am certain that one day there will be an uprising we will all regret – the treasure hunts began.  This year though it was to be a bit tougher for each of the explorers; Jacob was getting older, Isaac was up a good challenge, Violet could now read and Piper was becoming the princess of puzzles.

Violet drew the short straw and got to go first.  She wanted to do hers solo so it was just the lonely adventurer and the out of shape camera man.  She finished her run and needed a little prodding to see her  goal laid out right in front of her, without it I think she might have started a game of Fireball Island to see if a roll of the dice might land her the next egg and thus another clue.

Next up was Isaac.  He wanted the crowd to follow, I think more as a cheering platform than any real type of help.  There were plenty of clues thrown out though – I don’t think he needed them.  We were surprised by the quick recovery of the small clue hidden in drawers of basement destroying Legos.

Jacob was third and a his pre-teenager mind was a little cocky (when do they start to know everything….) –   I think all eleven year-olds are though.  His hunt was tough and we had to point every now and then to “help” him along.  It certainly is the little things that you think they pay attention to but just never quite sink in when they are needed……Where does mommy keep the extra tooth brushes indeed… He had a few easy ones as well since he sat out a few rounds and did some recon while the rest of us rushed up and down the stairs in search of egg-encased platinum coated chocolate gold.

Piper drew the long straw and got to search last.  She had the help of the whole crew and it came in handy for one particular part of the adventure.  There is a section of the basement where stuff animals go to when they are no longer wanted – or can no longer fit – in the beds of the CoTC.  This is a scary place where no grown-up should ever venture alone.  The main man bunny decided to hide an egg here but he thought he was being clever and put the egg in a very particular nesting spot thinking that some major stuff animal digging was on the horizon, a clue from the gallery pointed the adventurer on the right path and she dug out the egg in mere seconds instead of the agonizing minutes (or longer) that were anticipated.

Well Piper was last before Mommy had something extra for me to search for.  I think her and that bunny have been….well…..lets just say that there was a little something extra in the basket for “Mommy and Daddy” and daddy certainly had nothing to do with it.  Wood, Wood, Wood, indeed !!!  Granted the Easter Bunny did think it was necessary that I need an 18″ whoopee cushion.  There is way to much fun to be had with that come Monday at work.

The treasure hunters all with baskets in hand were ready to dig in and uncover their spoils.  Being dad though I reserved the right to pose them for a few pictures before they started.

Today just so happens to be Grandma’s Birthday.

Happy Birthday Grandma.  We all love you !!!

I had the most surreal dream last night – so surreal and so “real” that I thought I would write about it.

There is no pamphlet that could ever come close to doing this place justice – no way – no how.  This is the best museum I have ever been too related to aviation – ever.  I think it might even top or at minimum rival the Smithsonian in D.C. – hard to say though since my visit there was in eighth grade.  Regardless, the Air Force museum was top notch from the moment we entered when they opened until we were ushered out the doors when they closed.  A long day of walking, reading, sightseeing and generally staring in disbelief at the sites surrounding you in three massive hangers.

The hangers are setup to tell the story of aviation from inception through various wars, technology changes, more wars and then off to outer space.  As you progress through the open hangers you are free to roam digest all that there.  We stayed for an entire day and “rushed” through just to see what we could.  Given another two or three days we might have been able to read all the signage, walk around all the static displays and take in the detail that I am certain was hiding in plain site just waiting to be discovered.  The kids were in awe as well – perhaps even overwhelmed with the shear magnitude of what they were looking at up close and in person.  The displays differed in size from the very normal, what you might expect to the gargantuan that must have held dragons on the inside.  Mouths open, jaws on the floor we made our way from one to the next taking in the scenes along the way.  I think we even got a few hundred pictures as well (and those are the ones that came out – I bet we could have taken thousands with the right amount of time).

While we stopped for lunch I had the pleasure of meeting an older gentleman who sat next to us while we ate and told us stories about his time flying and different facts about some of the planes.  We got to hear the kid friendly version of a few war stories about how he and his fellow pilots flew missions and were scared to death most of the time.  After lunch he said his good byes and took off but we saw him four or five more times throughout the remainder of the day looking longingly at various displays or talking to others.  I think he and maybe some others were the softer versions of what was on display and I was happy that the kids got to talk to him and hear some of his tales even if just for a few minutes.

When we were finally ushered out along with the rest of the disappointed patrons hoping for a few more minutes we were not about to leave.  A slight rain had started for fall and while others headed for the cover provided by their vehicles, we turned the opposite direction and headed to the outdoor static displays of some of the more modern heavy body transports parked on the tarmac.

Headed back to Indy this was certainly a trip well worth the time and one that we will absolutely do again some time in the future.  Carol and I had a great time, the kids had a great time, and even months later writing this and looking through the pictures I can still remember the absolutely massive scale that this museum had going for it.  Everywhere you looked you were surrounded by instruments of flight – the wings of man – and they were amazing.

Violet had a blast and I think we even found a genuine moment of both awe and surprise when she pulled out “Dreamlight“.  She had been talking about this “thing” for a long while but there was no way daddy was shelling out $50 bucks for a glorified flashlight shoved into a stuffed animal – we did that as kids and while the stuffed animal might not have liked the extra orifice that was created, the effect was the same.  Thankfully, Mommy Carol found a great deal on one and Violet’s precious “Green Kitty” was spared the agony that was certain to come otherwise (granted they make flashlights much smaller nowadays…)

On top of the normal birthday cheer it was great to be able to celebrate with the extended family.  We don’t get to see them very often, let alone during birthdays or other non-holiday events, and it was refreshing to celebrate with everyone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIOLET !!!

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