Brighisms

A few years ago I realized that seeing as there was no way I could remember all the cute and funny things that my munchkins said I had better start writing them down. Thus my book of Kids' Quips was born, and so far I've kept it for four years. Not surprisingly, the majority of them come from my Brigham.
Ever since he was tiny, Briggy has watched the world and come up with some amusing observations which never fail to make us smile. I have written so many of his sayings down in the book that he now has his own category: Brighisms. So without further ado, here are some of my favourites:

-"Look Mommy! Snow fuzzies!" on seeing that it's snowing

-Me:"Who loves Brigham?"
Brigham:"Evee-body loves Brigham!"

-"I eat bad guys for breakfast!"

-"Dad, I used the potty! You're so proud of me!"

-Brigham:"Can I use your felts?"
Ben: "What's the magic word?"
Brigham: "Abracadabra!"

-"I'm going to be the dad next, and when I get married I'm gonna buy my girl a NECKLACE!"

-"Telling is like Satan."

The Baby Project

Due to a doctor shortage here in Slave LAke, the hospital currently is not delivering babies. As such, I will be going into Edmonton for Baby #4. Although I don't mind the monthly jaunt into town for my doctor appointments, the idea of hustling into town while in labour worried me, especially as Jason barely got me to St.Albert for baby Liam. The prospect of delivering Luke along the highway did not appeal to either of us, especially considering that the other three kids would most likely still be in the back seat!
Fortunantly my doctor has agreed that -due to distance and how fast my labours often are-he will induce me on my due date of March twelfth. While now having been warned on how intense inducement can be, I find a fixed date for when this baby will be arriving quite liberating. I know for certain that I will be pregnant for just over six weeks now, and it has given me an idea.
As always, there are things that I want to do before baby Luke arrives. This time though, I know just how much time I have and can plot accordingly. Hence The Baby Project: give myself a (small) list of things I hope to accomplish before March 12. These aren't the practical daily chores, but special things I want to get done.
I will be focusing on two areas: family preparation and sanity savers. I figure to doing at least one thing each week in both areas.

Here's the family prep. list:
- Go on at least two dates with Jason
-Take each of my three munchkins on a Mommy date
-Dejunk and drop off two bags to Goodwill
-Stash at least one meal in the freezer
-Baby knitting (which I have yet to begin)
-make valentines with the kids

Personal Sanity savers:
-Do a foot treatment
-A walk by myself
-Get ahead on my visiting teaching
-Scrapbook some family photos
-Don't cook supper at least twice
-Reread an old favourite

Here we go, let the countdown begin!

Reads for 2011, Part 2

As promised, here are the picks from children's literature.

Kid Picks:

1."Science Verse"- more zany fun from Jon Scieszka! It's hard to resist the fun of poems about such scientific concepts as metamorphosis, the water cycle or the food chain when written with this writer's sense of humor. Hilarious, and well illustrated. My boys love this one.

2. "Th Wonderful Wizard of OZ" (graphic novel)- normally I'm leary of graphic novels, but when Briggy insisted on signing out this version of the story by Shanower and Young from the library I fell in love with this story all over again. Whwether you actually have read the book or only know the movie, this one is well worth finding. Thier art breathes new life into a classic and the charm of the characters is impossible to resis.

3."Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast"- we're big fans of the poet Jack Prelutsky around here, and this book of his is an absolute gem. Poems about dinosaurs? A huge hit!

4."My Father's Dragon"-Thanks to Jacky for introducing this book to us. Elmer goes on a quest to rescue a baby dragon held captive by the mean animals on Savage ISland, battling them with his wits and the contents of his pockets. The perfect book to start your kid on chapter books as it's not too long and ther'es still plenty of pictures on the pages. Briggy and I read it together as his first chapter book.

5."Clever Jack Takes the Cake"-when Jack, a poor boy living near the forest is accidentally invited to the princess' birthday party he creates the best gift that he can: a splendid cake. But on the long journey to the party can he make it past all who oppose him with his gift intact? Fairytale-like in it's beauty.

6."Goldilocks and the Three Bears"- being a sucker for fairytales, I'm always on the lookout for well-told versions with excellent illustrations (there are far too many insipid versions on the market). This one by James Marshall is marvellous.I simply love the bear's home cluttered with books and them going out on their battered bicycle. Goldilocks is also delightfully bratty.

7."Pippi Longstockings"- I read this book years ago, and I spent a great deal of my childhood wishing that I could be Pippi. She is impossible not to love, especially as a child; living on her own in the way she wants, complete with a pet monkey, a treasure chest full of gold and no school. What's not to love? Check out the version illustrated by Lauren Child, it's the best version that I've ever seen. It leaves me hoping that she'll illustrate Pipp'e further adventures in her other two books.

8."We are in a Book!"- with Ben learning how to read we have discovered a splendid early reader series by one of our favourite authors Mo Willems. Whether you have a beginning reader or not, the adventures of Gerald the elephant and Piggie are splendid fun. In this one they realize that they are actually in a book and hilarity ensues. It's excellent, but lla of their books are.

9."Charlotte's Web"- yet another book I rediscovered last year by reading to one of the kids. Both Ben and I were cheering for Wilbur and his best friend. This time around I better appreciated the style of Mr.White's writing. I also was left longing for a similiar swing like the one mentioned at one point in the story, plus just a farm.

10.""Cute and Easy Costumes for Kids"- okay, this is not technically a book for kids' reading consumption, but the boys did love pouring over the wonderful costume possibilities between it's pages. The best part (for me at least) was that all of the costumes were easy to sew, even for such nervous novice such as myself. That'sa picture of the costumes that I made Ben and Brigham from this book for Halloween at the top. They were a big hit.

Reads for 2011

Resolution for this year: start blogging again on a regular basis. To restart, here are my top picks of books from my reading last year. Enjoy!

Grown-Up Reads:
1. "Sugar: A Bittersweet History"- My love of Culinary history continues! This one was fascinating , beginning with why sugar became the most popular sweetener in the Western world, the social ramifications from it (like the slave trade), and just how it has influenced and shaped societies. Full of villains and heroes, tidbits and mention of yummy sweets this is one riveting non-fiction book.

2. "A Countess Below Stairs"-My thanks to Jaima for helping me discover the delightful author Eva Ibbotson! Her novels are stories full of dynamic characters, a fun romantic plot and some sly humour. I love a novel where you really cheer for the heroing and Anna is just that. Fleeing imperial Russia this young countess takes her change of fortune in stride on arriving in England and takes a job as a maid of all work at an English manor. Her zeal to do the job properly is endearing and cannot help but win everyone's hearst, which doe not go unnoticed by the earl's nasty fiance.

3. "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie"- A mystery series by a Canadian author with a title that tickled my funny bone, all a very good start when I first picked this book up and it did not disappoint. Flavia de Luce, a ten-year old with a passion for chemistry, discovers a body in the kitchen garden of the crumbling family manor. Between solving the case , clearing her father's name and battling her two older sisters she is a heroing after my own heart.

4. "Finding Water; The Art of Perseverance"-I have mentioned already the marvellous book "The Artist's Way" By Julia Cameron, a book which has been key to me in growing as a writer. This book of hers takes the concepts of fostering your creativity from the earlier book and gives twelve steps in persevering in it, especially when the going gets rough. Marvellous.

5. "Pies and Tarts"- I blame a certain character of mine who has a talent in pastry that lead me to this great cookbook. But then, Martha Stewart does publish gorgeous ones doesn't she? This one is chock-full of scrumptious recipes, from mini lemon tarts with poppyseed crust, rhubarb crisp pie to the best recipe I have ever found for apple. My skills at pie have not been very good, but they are improving, this book providing ample inspiration.

6. "Handmade Home"- I have become a big fan of Amanda Blake Soule. Her books are a fantastic resource for activities and crafts to enrich my home and encourage creativity in both myself and my kids. She very "Waldorfy" which I love. This book is full of crafts enhance your home. I love her idea for portrait bookmarks using your kids art. Check it out.

7. "Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity From a Consumer Culture"- it can be easy as a homemaker to feel like a fish out of water in today's world. This book was very empowering in that it strengthened my resolve to see just how important a work it is that I do here at home, and made me realize that I'm not as alone as I thought. The history of of how homemaking became thought of as superfluous in North America was quite thought-provoking.

8. ""Secret Daughter" -Now here's a novel that made me laugh and cry. Very seldom do I find one that can make me love a character, then hate them, then love them once more. Also is it rare to find a book where I find a book with a character that I hate, but then grow to love, yet this one did both. Intertwining the tale of two families and the child who connects them, this book made me want to adopt a baby, eat Indian food and volunteer at an orphanage. One Indian mother gives up her baby who is then adopted by an American family. Don't miss this one.

9. ""Agatha Christie: An Autobiography"-The "Queen of Crime" has long been a favourite of mine. Reading her novels I formed a lot of questions and theories about the woman herself, and reading her autobiography I was thrilled to learn that I was right. The same style that prevades her books continues in this book, making it a fun read- despite it's considerable length. What I loved was how she would suddenly go off on tangents sharing her opinions about such topics as feminism, travel, poisons, morality, plus many others.

10. "Under the Harrow"-This book I devoured in three days flat. Putting it down was very hard to do! The isolated inhabitants of Dingley Dell have lived for over a hundred years in their valley, a society based on the three books they had when they were left there: The sixth edition of Britannica Encyclopedia, the King James' Bible, and the complete works of Charles Dickens. Anyone who leaves the valley is never seen again. But when one young boy runs away from home, what he finds in the outside world will either save or destroy the home he has left behind.

Guess What?

Greetings one and all. Our big news is that we are expecting munchkin #4, probably sometime in the middle of April! We're all pretty excited about baby (although Ben does have hesitations about being a big brother to three).
So far I feel fine, just tired ALL the time. Having stretched this way three times before, my belly already has a baby bump-I'm just delaying the evil day of having to wear maternity clothes for as long as I possibly can.
Who wants to beat that we'll have another boy?

Catching Up

My apologies for being so negligent over the summer. We've been having a marvelous, though busy, time of it this year. Where to begin? I suppose that I'd best back up and start with some of our activities and blog about the rest in a later post, as if I put everything in this one it would be a post of considerable length! Here's some pictures of what we've been up to:


Briggy turned four. We had a dinosaur party to celebrate the event.


I actually succeeded in making a cake-other than a cupcake-look good!


In the beginning of August the munchkins and I went to Calgary and spent some time with Nana and Grandpa Redd. What a great time we had! I'm sill unsure who had more fun: Grandpa or Ben and Brigham. Along with fishing we all went to the zoo, a favourite, and stayed for six hours! It was Liam's first time and he loved it.


We met the Skinners there and all five big boys raced around the zoo. The butterfly room was a big hit, as were the new train and carousel with zoo animals on it. Ben rode a velociraptor, Briggy a tiger, Isaac a bat and Andrew rode the giraffe.


Mum, Liam and I by the tiger cage.


All the boys were keen archers with the bows and arrows they made with Grandpa!


On the way home we stopped and had a great visit with Grannie and Grandpa Young. I just love this picture of the boys with their Bapa.

Stay tuned for further Thompson Tales!

Growing Up

I think every parent likes to consider what their children will grow up to be, especially when they get into mischief! Given the current trends of the munchkins, heres my guesses of the moment.

Given Liam's fondness for biting his mommy, I'd say that he's practicing to become a piranha. Or maybe he'll be a politician. He is a shameless flirt and loves to ham it up for his many admirers.

Brigham likes to say that he wants to be a cookie maker when he grows up. He certainly loves helping me out when I'm baking, especially when oppurtunities to then like the bowl are included. That or an informant for the KGB- his fondness for tattling on his big brother is a regular feature of our days.

Ben declares that he wants to be a dinosaur hunter. He even got a bit of dinosaur bone to add to his rock collection recently and carries it around a lot. If he doesn't do that, maybe he'll go for world domination, he can be so bossy.

F.I.N.E

I've been avoiding this ever since the fire. Throughout that whole experience of fleeing our home, and then coming back to what's left of a wildfire is never something you imagine will happen to you. For a long time we were all in shock. We kept being asked how we were doing, and all I could do is shrug my shoulders and say "Fine."
Because we were, right? I mean, we had so much to be grateful for: the love and support of all our family and friends ( thank-you for all the prayers, they helped!), we got to stay with loved ones instead of the evacuation center, our home survived the destruction, and when we were allowed back home the worst damage that we had was a cracked window and some ash in the bathroom. Yet still, no matter how hard I tried and how many times I said it, I did not feel fine.
Both Jason and I have been having survivors guilt-why we were so blessed when so many of our neighbours lost everything? It's still a shock to see the aftermath of the fire. I'll be driving down our street to go home and get disoriented because none of the old landmarks are there. The church and our beloved library are gone. I`ve been trying to keep it together to not panic the kids. I was only `fine`.
As Donald Sutherland says in `The Italian Job`` fine stands for Freaked-out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional. That was a much better description of how I felt for a long time.
About two weeks ago, I realized this. I wasn`t fine, I was F.I.N.E, and I was sick of it. I couldn`t let this continue, so for a few days I babied myself to work things out. I`d been avoiding the site of the church and library. Now I went and looked at them, for a long time, and yes, I finally let myself cry. My apologies if I`ve been so reclusive lately...I think that I needed some space for a little while.
It`s helped though, because now even though things are far from normal around town, at home they are. I`m laughing more now, and feeling much better. We`re not Fi.N.E. anymore, now we`re all doing okay.

Sew Smart

Lately I've been hunting for good crafts and art projects to do with the boys. Doing them together makes for some good fun, and keeps us occupied without just resorting to the TV or computer. My latest find? Homemade sewing cards!
Briggy and I attempted them for the first time this afternoon. I wasn't sure how much he'd enjoy this activity, but he loved it. He insisted on sewing all five cards that I had made. What surprised me was how he found his own ways to sew creatively. His Mum thought that there was only one to sew up the cards, but boy did he prove me wrong!
As Brigham said (proudly stitching away) :"I'm a good sewer."
Indeed he is.

Plank Pose or Push-Ups?

Liam is on the verge of full mobility right now. He loves to watch his older brothers play, and you can tell that he desperately wants to join in the fun. He spends a great deal of time either on all fours rocking back and forth, or in the position seen above. We just can't tell if he's practicing his yoga, or building muscles. What do you think?

Timeless Fun

Remember Mr. Dressup? It was one of my very favourite TV shows while growing up. Indeed, one of my childhood ambitions was to get my hands on that man's tickle trunk. The possibbilities were endless! I never caught an item that showed up on the show more than once. The one thing I couldn't undestand though was how he'd just open up the tickle trunk and effortlessly pull out the required costume-never rummaging the way I had to with our own trunk of dressup clothes.
Such magic only strengthend the idea that dress-ups wielded a strong enchantment, and I played dress-ups a lot as a result. My kids are not much different. Although we don't have the possibilities of the tickle trunk, Ben and Brigham get quite inventive in finding what they need and often raid their parents clothes as a result. My shoes are a popular borrowed item. Scarfves coming up as a close second. Here are some pics from one of their latest forays. Enjoy!

Poem of the Month

Don't get me wrong-I enjoy salad. But when it comes to making them myself, I come up with something rather uninspired and often unappetizing as well. Such was the inspiration for this poem.

My Salad's Are Insipid

My salad's are insipid,
My meatloaf is a bore,
And as for my spaghetti-
No one ever asks for more.

I truly am a lousy chef
And my dishes never please.
But at least I can do one thing right...
I make great mac and cheese!

You Want S'More?

Marshmallows are a much-loved treat in our house. Last year for at least three months Briggy would beg, each night, for marshmallow pancakes in the morning. S'mores also happen to be my favourite dessert of all time... I just always hated the graham cracker component.
Not particularly tasty, they always seemed like crunchy cardboard. I'd eat 'em anyway though as a means to get to the delectable gooeyness that was toasted marshmallow and chocolate. Now though I have at last found a solution: homemade graham crackers.
I just baked some today and they're much more tasty- chewy squares with a hint of cinnamon. Much, much better! It wasn't long before we began to explore a bit and finally came up with a s'more cookie. A homemade cracker with marshmallow topping and topped with chocolate chips. Not as gooey as the real thing, but still pretty good. Behold the results.


My munchkins love marshmallows!


Out latest culinary creation.

*The witch would like to thank her wonderful mother-in-law whose finding graham flour for us made my quest to better s'mores possible. Love ya!

Winter Blah Busters

No doubt some of our Southern friends and family are already in the thick of spring, but up here we still have at least one more month to go (most likely two). Often it's too cold to go out of doors, which can get tiring after a few weeks. This has provided me ample oppurtunity to be creative as I battle boredom with this quest: how do I keep three active little boys busy?

Here's some of the highlights:
-Liam has been discovering both the joys of mobility and teething
-doing art every Thursday supplies Jason and I with an abundance of masterpieces with which to plaster the walls
-library storytime every week is a sanity saver
-when in doubt, build a fort
-baking is a fun adventure with all my keen helpers
-keep a few toys stashed away to bring out when things get hairy, novelty is your friend
-so is play-doh, construction paper, tape and glitter glue
-we've all become avid Kinect players (thank-you Darrin!)
-building a something massive will keep the kids entertained for some time (use marble tracks, blocks, Duplo, whatever. They're all great)
-reading books together will always help to smooth any ruffled feathers

Stay warm and stay sane everybody!

Welcome to Oz!

Given the Ozness of my blog, I feel compelled to share a new fantastic read that I've discovered this month. It turns out that "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" makes for a spectacular graphic novel. Reading it, I fell in love with the story all over again. For those of you poor souls who only now the Judy Garland movie, do yourselves a favour and treat yourself to this book faster than everyone else.

Another Poetry Pickle

Jason is at teacher's convention for the next few days, so here at home the boys and I all miss him terribly. I'd say that what Ben and Brigham miss the most are the tickle fights which so often ensue whenever Daddy is home. So today's offering is the poem Jason inspired. Love you sweetie.

The Tickleosaurus

The Tickleosaurus is coming!
The Tickleosaurus is here!
The Tickleosaurus will get you,
So run and hide my dear!

He’ll chase you around the table!
He’ll chase you around the chair!
He’ll chase you around the entire house,
Right into his lair!

You can run as fast as you’re able!
You can run with all of your might!
You can run, but soon he will catch you
For a great big Tickle-o-fight!

And then he’ll tickle your tummy!
And then he’ll tickle your toes!
And then he’ll tickle so very much,
You’re up and off you goes!

The Tickleosaurus will catch you, and from
The Tickleosaurus why hide?
The Tickleosaurus will tickle and tickle,
And you’ll laugh ‘till it hurts inside.

But here, I will tell you a secret,
But here, I will tell what to do.
But here-about Tickleosaurus…
Well he is ticklish too!

Balm for the Wound

Last week I took myself and my three little munchkins to Calgary for a family and city fix. Although we had a wonderful time at Nana's the one event of our stay that I'll never forget was the funeral.
My cousin Byron and his wife Rosie had their first baby just a few days before we headed to town. Amelia Mercedes only lived for seven hours. Living so far away as we do, my heart ached for them and yearned to help, but with something like this you can only do so much. I was very grateful that we were able to attend the funeral at least.
It was a bittersweet time, seeing loved ones and saying goodbye to this little cousin I shall now have to wait to meet. She is a beautiful little girl. I know that Amelia is safe in heaven, and that Byron and Rosie will not only see her again-but thanks to the temple-still get to raise their daughter, yet my heart is heavy nonetheless.
How grateful I am that families truly can be together forever! Over the past ten days I have been hugging my own precious little ones harder and longer than usual.I know that this is not the usual fare for my blog, but my mind has been churning ever since we were first told the news. I have yet to meet Amelia, but she has already taught me of two things. I suppose I knew them before in a way, but they're strongly reinforced now.
First of all that death is not the end, and what a glorious thing the gospel really is. The second thing is how precious children are. They're on loan to us from Heaven.
Anyhow, love to you all, and especial prayers for the Redd family right now.

Kid Picks

As promised, here's my favourite kid books from 2010. Some are picture books. some are novels, but all are enjoyable.

1. "The Dragons are Singing Tonight"-without a doubt one of the best collections of poetry I've ever found. Great fun poems about dragons, what's not to love?

2."A Necklace of Raindrops"-last year I discovered Joan Aiken as a writer and I've become a big fan. She's especially talented at writing new fariytales, which this is a collection of. Wonderful.

3."Pumpkin Soup"-is the first in a series of three terrific tales about the cat, squirrel, and the duck who all live in the old white cabin and make pumpkin soup every night for dinner. Delicious reading.

4."Click, Clack, Moo"- what happens down at the farm when the cows get a hold of the old typewriter? Mayhem and hilarity ensue, of course.

5."Among the Hidden"-first in a novel series where Luke, as a forbidden third child who must spend his life in hiding, life changes forever when he discovers yet another forbidden child living next door. This one made me cry.

6."Princess of the Midnight Ball"-Remember the old fairytale of the twelve dancing princesses? Here's the story in greater detail and good characters to boot.

7."Hana's Suitcase"-this is one I'll certainly read with my children, once they're old enough. The story jumps back and forth between a museum curator unraveling the mystery of the most popular item in their exhibit on the holocaust-a suitcase with the name Hana on it- and the story of the girl Hana herself.

8."Something BIG Has Been Here"-funny, lyrical, and just plain enjoyable to read aloud, here's a collection of poems by Jack Prelutsky.

9."Ghosts in the House"-my thanks to Jaima for recommending this one, it became a fast family favourite around here. A good guide should you ever move into a haunted house, but great fun even if you never do.

10."Daddy Long-legs"-my love of epistolary novels continues! A good one for Anne Shirley fans; the book has an orphan, an unknown benefactor, school adventures and just a hint of romance thrown in for good measure.

Happy reading all!

Books of the Year

Going over my reading log (yes, I AM that dorky!) from 2010 there were some fabulous books that I discovered. There are too good to keep to myself, so here are my top ten of adult reads from the year just past:

1. "The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society"- I originally got this book because the title was such a mouthful and tickled my funny bone,but it has become a firm favourite of mine. Here's a read that will make you laugh, cry, has a plethora of delightful characters, and even weaves the love of books into a superb plot.

2."Griffin and Sabine"- In keeping with my love of epistolary novels here is a unique winner. My teacher Mr.Murdock read this to us as a class when I was young, but rediscovering this was sheer delight. You get to read the correspondence between the two title characters, even taking their beautifully illustrated letters from the envelopes as their mysterious romance unfolds. Read all three of the books in this series, they're well worth it.

3."Cod: The Biography of the Fish That Changed the World"- Who would have thought that a humble fish would wield such power over world events throughout time? Fascinating.

4."The Host"-Arguably Stephanie Meyer's best novel yet. Forget those sparkly vampires and enjoy this one. I came into this book determined to hate the main character only to fall in love with her. Full of surprises, the book made me cry it was that good.

5."One of those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies"- Don't you just love the title of this one? Brilliantly told in a series of poems of all things, our teenage heroine must move to California after her mother dies of cancer to live with the moviestar father she has never met.

6."All New Square-Foot Gardening"- A practical guide to growing a successful garden without investing vast swatches of time. This one even explained the wonderful mysteries of effective composting to me.

7."Salt: A World History"- Written by the same author as "Cod" here is another great tale of humankind's pursuit of the most precious resource throughout our entire history. Now commonplace and easily accessible, this now humble element once shaped mighty empires and sparked wars.

8."Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery"-Finally a well-written and compelling biography of a forgotten historical figure that has fascinated me for years!

9."The Happy Hooker"-This is not what you think, it's a book about crochet! Clear instructions, funny writing and with cool projects that range from purses, bunny slippers and cowboy hats it has convinced even a die-hard knitter like me to learn this craft.

10."Stich'n Bitch Superstar Knitting"- You didn't think that there wouldn't be at least ONE knitting book on my list now did you? Superb with great instructions, funny quips and fantastic projects that make me eager to tackle such daunting techniques as fair isle, beading or cables with confidence.

Happy reading all and stay tuned for my kid picks from 2010!

C is for Cookie

I've always had a fondness for Cookie Monster. And although we had more than our fair share of cookie baking fun last month (Christmas seems like the ultimate excuse to whip up a batch for me)today we made some more- Ben, Briggy and I.
Briggy loves helping out in the kitchen so much that I've dubbed him "My Little Sous Chef". And with Ben getting some marvelous new cookie cutters in the shape of a race car, train and (his favourite) an airplane it was only a matter of time before we made some dough together so that they could make cookies to their hearts content. Ben has been pestering me to do so since he opened that present Christmas morning, so he was very excited about today's activity!
We had a grand time together. I do love the whimsy of cookie cutters, and as such, am slowly acquiring a rather fun collection. While Ben loves his airplane, Briggy favours the pterodactal while I love the tyrannosaurus rex. Even though I'm working hard to loss the remaining baby weight, a certain satisfaction is derived from biting a dinosaurs head off!