Special Delivery!

Andy started a BIG project last November: a custom-designed, handmade, kickass workbench and cabinets for the garage. We do not have pictures of this yet because it's not finished (I'll let Andy tell you the full story when it's complete), but this past Sunday morning Alton and I decided to keep Daddy company in the garage and front yard while he was working. Alton immediately gravitated to his beloved Radio Flyer red wagon (which was a gift for Andy's very first Father's Day), which he equally enjoys riding in and pulling around. I clutched my travelmug of coffee and came up with a busy-bee game for the little man: Special Delivery.
We would load up the wagon with objects on one side of the garage (work gloves, a thermoscanner, a wrench, snow chains for the truck),

then Alton would pull it to the other side of the garage and hand each item in turn to Andy, cheerfully intoning "Special Delivery!" with each one.

Andy would put all the objects on top of the workbench and continue measuring, drilling, cutting, and installing, while I could then usually encourage Alton to do a few laps around the garage pulling the wagon, or go get the mail, or take a quick trip to the neighborhood park. Then we would return to the garage and begin the delivery service all over again.

Pleased with how much "work" we got done in the morning, we decided that the afternoon would be for play! After Alton got up from his nap, we loaded the family onto our bikes (Alton riding in his bike seat on the back of Andy's bike this time) and rode up to a little park with a nice, toddler-sized play structure behind a big grassy field. There are nice trails where people like to walk their dogs, and great portholes out of which you can look and see all the passers-by.

We played and snacked, then piled back onto our bikes (or buh-GUY-gles, as Alton calls them) and rode home to our warm house and dinner. And so begins another week!