"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

A few weeks back the boys built the LEGO Technic Fire Plane and although it did take them a lot longer to build, it didn't deter them from attempting something bigger. There has been some pretty amazing Tecnic kits released this year and Seth really wanted to get stuck in to one with electric functions. The Crawler Crane is a huge build and when you see pictures of it online or see the box in a toy store the images really don't do it justice. I honestly didn't think that the boys would attempt something like this and I thought they would lose interest early on.

The instruction manual is HUGE, in fact I think it is the thickest one we have owned. I thought alone would put the boys off straight away, but no! they were adamant that they would complete it no matter how long it took. It did take the boys a long time to complete but a bit was built at every spare moment and it was really interesting to watch. Apart from the LEGO trains (which I love), we've not owned any kits with power functions so building this was definitely something different.

Although I definitely favour the more classic LEGO, one thing I do love about Technic is that because the parts are generally larger the builds can start to look quite beefy early on and the LEGO Technic Crawler Crane is a great kit for this. After the first two bags it was starting to look pretty big but I wasn't prepared to the final piece.

 The kit comes with a pretty big bag of crawler tread pieces which was the first clue to just how big the finished Crane was going to be. 

A few bags in and the Crane was starting to look enormous. Ive got to admit that I was getting more and more impressed as the build went on. The thought that has gone in to the the design of this kit is amazing and the huge series of different cogs used to make everything move is fascinating. Looking at it I started to think how I could include the power functions in to the custom things that we build.

The boys were awesome putting it together but I couldn't help but think that they had made a mistake some where down the line as there was no movement in the two reels that pulled in the two seperate strings used in the build. I was really hoping that I was wrong but I couldn't see how it was going to work. When they did complete the kit we couldn't get it working at all. There was no power coming from the battery pack until I realised it was my fault and I had only put in three batteries not 6 (I shouldn't have got involved).

Eventually that magical green light came on...

All but one function worked perfectly but we worked out that one of the pieces had come loose that was stopping the crawler from crawling. I am starting to see why LEGO Technic is so popular. When that light went on and we starting moving those levers around we were hooked. As you are building it, it is like any other LEGO kit in a way but when you see that what you have built can move around, the claw can be raised, lowered, opened and closed and the cab can spin it really adds to the fun. This for the boys really made the build and it was clear how impressed they were by what they had achieved.

The LEGO Technic Crawler Crane has changed the way I look at LEGO Technic now and I think the power functions are something that Seth will be wanting to look in to more. The Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 is now starting to look quite appealing, could keep us quiet over the Christmas holiday.

“ Mind is the battery cell, Intelligence is the switch ”

When i first started writing the blog i would say yes to all manner of craft challenges from companies as we loved receiving packages of random craft items. As the years have gone by though the yes' got less and less, it's been a good 6 months since the last one so when we received an email to take part in the Energizer’s Re-imagination Challenge, I asked the boys what they thought and they jumped at the chance. Energizer has re-imagined the battery category with the world’s first battery made out of 4% recycled battery material and their aim is for the EcoAdvanced battery to be made from 40% recycled battery material by 2025, Which i think is amazing when you think of all the batteries that get thrown.

I explained the challenge to the boys and this weekend while Mrs M had a bit of quiet time after a busy week, me and the troops crept out into the garden with our wooden crate of random objects to upcycle. Our first plan was to use EVERYTHING to create one huge sculpture but as we chatted about it Seth said that he didn't feel like it was upcycling unless it was something we were going to use regularly. 

Seth took the brief as 'we're not allowed to use anything but the things in the box' and while i disappeared looking for a paintbrush for the boys to use with the acrylics, Seth used his initiative and used the scissors to chop up the sponges for him and Opeie to use. Seth's upcycling plan was to turn the CD'S in to coasters for the house using the Acrylic paints...

Me... I threw caution to the wind with Seth's 'we're not allowed to use anything but the things in the box' and got the electric sander out as i had my eye on the wooden crate that the delivery came in. We had been doing a little upcycling already over the last few weeks when i got hold of some pallets and decided to make some garden furniture (unfinished at the moment), but more importantly the boys dinosaur excavation pit. The upcycled dig site turned out great. Opeie keeps leaving his dinosaurs scattered about thogh so i thought the crate would be perfect for storing them in. I sanded it down and went looking for the left over paint so it matched the pit.

Opeie used his upcycling time to create an alien using sponges, paper plates and pipe cleaners, followed by a kite made from a scarf, an interesting use of the items sent to us.

It was clear from the look of concentration on Seth's face that he was really in to our afternoon activity and his upcycled coasters ended up looking amazing. Sitting outside in the sunshine creating is definitely one of my favourite things to do wit the boys, it's quality family time.

There is still plenty of items left for another craft session and we've already discussed the next transformation of the spirit decanter into a dark and creepy bottle of elixir for our Halloween celebration decorations so watch this space.

Who'd have thought it, all this fun from a pack of batteries and we didn't even have to use them to power anything up.