Oct 28, 2009

A for Ingenuity, F for Common Sense

I was an only child growing up; well, I still am. The only kids that I had to play with were boys. We built forts, raced our bikes around, constructed rope swings to zoom on off of an old shed out back of my house. By far, the best thing that I learned from those boys was how to build a proper bike ramp and use it. I was pretty good at launching myself skyward, if only for a brief second. I thought that I should teach the boys the same. Every kid needs to know how to build a homemade ramp and use it. We scrounged up a huge piece of plywood and some cinder blocks; they loved it! We inadvertently left the wood out in the monsoon we've been dealing with and it rotted. But never one to be thwarted, Gavin set about to construct his own ramp. Maybe I'm not as good a teacher as I fancy myself because this is what he built ...





Yep, a ramp constructed of an old PlayMate cooler, 2 cereal bowls and a 6-inch piece of plywood. As Archie would say, "not too swoft."

7 comments:

Laura said...

How cute! Good for him for trying. And hey, I bet he couldn't lug the cinderblocks himself. LOL! Those are pictures to share at his wedding!

Shannon said...

LOL, did he launch himself? He's going to be an engineer!

The Stiffs said...

You needed video to go with this :)

Jenners said...

This is such a classic post!!! I love it ... and I hope no children were harmed in the making of that ramp!

And I wonder if you could tell me if you have any advice for me ... my son is an only child and I often feel kind of guilty about it. Any advice from me to make things easier for him? Did it ever bother you? Did your parents do anything "special" for you?

JennyMac said...

SOOO adorable. A future engineer...or McGyver. :)

Unknown said...

Jenners- It honestly never bothered me. I had plenty of friends and spent lots of time with families of multiple siblings. I think that it bothers me more now, knowing that I'll have to deal with losing my parents on my own. Plus sometimes, I feel like I don't really understand the struggles that the big boys have with each other. You're a terrific mom, he'll be a well-adjusted, happy little man!

Kelli W said...

So cute! At least he worked on building it by himself instead screaming mom come help me!!