Boredom Busters

Our First Ever Ornament Building Contest!

Choose your design and create an ornament out of Brik Tec building bricks or other brands to hang on our tree in the front window. We'll open he voting to the public on December 5th and let people vote until December 14th! We'll allow one vote per person per category. When you drop off your ornament creation, we'll need to keep it on display until December 14th.

All entries will be placed in the age group of the creator.

Those groups are 3-4 year olds, 5-6, 7-8, and 9+.

The 1st place winner in each category will receive a $20 Gift Card,

2nd place will receive a $5 gift card.

1 Grand Prize of a $20 gift card will be drawn at random from all entries

(does not involve any voting).

Call 970-403-8697 with questions or

email info@durangotoydepot.com

Boredom Busters

 Get outside and make a snow angel or even a snow butterfly! This could be the first one of the season! If you've never done this before, now is the time. The funnest part is to pick a spot of snow that has been untouched by human-ness or even untouched by animals (be careful of yellow snow) then simply lie in the snow on your back. Start to wave your arms from your hips to the tippy top of your head! Wave them big! Then wave your legs like your arms from the center of your body to as far as you can stretch your legs. That's it, lying in the snow, waving!

 OPERATION! I think I asked Santa for this game! Lo and behold, the game was under our tree for me. What fun too! 
Find a game that has been dubbed a classic either by the toy aficionados or by your family, pull it out and have a go at it! What fun you'll have not only playing the game but also remembering all the times you played the game....

Last week there was a celebrity sighting in downtown Durango! Yes indeedy, Hooty of Hooty & the Blowfish was seen in Durango Toy Depot. How many celebrities do you have at your house?

Flashback Friday

Holy Guacamole! 

There sure are alot of "remember whens" to remember! Some days it feels like we just opened Durango Toy Depot yesterday, and other days it seems as though we've been here for 20 years. 

Today is just a warm-fuzzy kinda remembering when. 

We love our toys, we love to take care of them, and we love it when they come alive and run all over the store at night when no one is looking.

Sometimes though we have to call the Doctor...

Calling the Doctor is, within itself, always a tough call. Really, you never like to see anyone get hurt and we have learned Not to ask how the injury happened. On the other hand, if our little friend decides to tell us the story, well, that's another story!

We make sure we always have enough gauze in our well laid out first aid kit because gauze is like a bandaid, when you sit the little fellers done to apply the bandage, they know they are on their way to a speedy recovery! It doesn't even matter what the size of the wound is either, it's just like magic.

The hardest part is keeping the little critters quiet and resting until the Doctor comes to pick them up to take to her office! It is not an easy task when one has to be isolated from everyone else, it is not an easy task to have them play quietly in the office when they can hear the voices of children in the other parts of the store. It is not an easy task to decide if one needs a doctor, a surgeon, or a petranarian! We strive to make the best decision for all concerned.

Once the little fellas have received their note "to return to play" we get to remove the bandages, spout out a few reminders, then watch them skip through the store and return to their friends!

Dinosaurs 101

Look closely, because it looks like this guy has thumb like appendages!

Plateosaurus was a large, early herbivore that was about 27.5 feet  long and weighed about 1,500 pounds. It had a long neck, very long tail, a small head with a long snout, and large, five-fingered hands with a large thumb claw (and smaller claws on the other fingers). Plateosaurus may have been able to use its hand for holdimg onto things in addition to walking. Its back legs were larger than its front legs. It was a very common dinosaur in Europe during the late Triassic period.

Wacky Wednesday

Can ya get any Wackier than a couple of jokes?

An elephant was drinking out of a river one day, when he spotted a turtle asleep on a log. So, he ambled on over and kicked it clear across the river.
"What did you do that for?" Asked the giraffe.
"Because I recognized it as the same turtle that took a nip out of my trunk 53 years ago."
"Wow, what a memory" said the giraffe.

"Yes," said the elephant, "turtle recall".

Doctor, Doctor I think I'm a telephone!
(Wait for it)

Well, take these pills and if they don't work

 give me a ring!

Game Review, A Toy actually!

Did ya know this gyroscope is made in the USA?

Did ya know there is a Gyroscope Championship of the World?

Fun was had by all at the 12th Annual Gyroscope Championship of the World Friday, August 16th! The contest was held in Hagerstown, Indiana, the home of USA-made Tedco Toys Original Gyroscope. Open to all experienced and novice gyroscope spinners, the contest was sponsored by the Hagerstown Optimist Club and TEDCO Toys and is a highlight of the town's annual Jubilee Days celebration. Each entrant was given a free gyroscope, pedestal and string compliments of TEDCO Toys and given instructions on how to wind the string and make the gyroscope spin. Contestants were divided into 3 age groups: age 1 to 7, age 8 to 12 and age 13+. Official timers and judges recorded the time of each contestant's spin and awards were given to the longest spins in each age group.

TEDCO has long believed that busy hands build strong minds and that principle was put into play at this contest. Younger contestants who had never seen a gyroscope before were amazed by its mystical spinning abilities. Big eyes of wonder and ohs of surprise were prevalent. Their tiny hands were just as busy as their inquisitive minds, trying to figure out how a gyroscope works.

Older, more experienced kids shared their techniques for winding the string tight, holding the outer ring before pulling their string and placing the gyroscope straight for the spin. Even though it was a competition, the camaraderie and thirst for learning science were the real winners.
Cited From: http://tedcotoys.blogspot.com/#ixzz2l2FZ1bGx 

Frequently Asked Questions

It's always hard to tell where the week will take us!

 Here's what is in store (hahaha) for this week!

Today we must place a few more orders in hopes of having even more toys before Thanksgiving! Looks like Animal Poppers, pretend play, puppets on a stick, and marbles are at the top of my list.

Tuesday UPS will arrive with 25 boxes sent from Parsippeney, NJ. Any guesses what that will 

be?

Wow! It's Wednesday already, looks like more boxes of retro toys and some science have arrived. What day is it? What day is it?

Thursday... I hope the newest Japanese erasers arrive in Durango. We should really start thinking about the next front window display too!

Friday! Love Fridays because we usually get to just play with toys, gif  wrap for customers, and goof off!

Saturday! More Fridayness! Woot! Woot!

That's kinda what this week looks like! 

As with any day, everything could change so although 

we kinda have a plan, we won't know for sure until Saturday!

Better get er done!

Did ya Know?

This is more like, did ya ever wonder 

who invented the fortune cookie?

Just like chop suey fortune cookies are an American invention. They originated in California. but who the actual inventor was, and which city in California is the true home of the fortune cookie, has continued to be a matter of debate.

One history of the fortune cookie claims that David Jung, a Chinese immigrant who was founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company, invented the cookie in 1918. Concerned about the poor he saw wandering near his shop, he created the cookie and passed them out free on the streets. Each cookie contained a strip of paper with an inspirational Bible scripture on it, written for Jung by a Presbyterian minister.
Another history claims that the fortune cookie was invented  by a Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara. Hagiwara was a gardener who designed the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. An anti-Japanese mayor fired him from his job around the turn of the century, but later a new mayor reinstated him. Grateful to those who had stood by him during his period of hardship, Hagiwara created a cookie in 1914 that included a thank you note inside. He passed them out at the Japanese Tea Garden, and began serving them there regularly. In 1915, they were displayed at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition, San Francisco's world fair.

Boredom Busters

 Today would be a great day to count snowflakes as they fall or you can join us at the LaPlata County Fairgrounds for the 

KIDZ 2 KIDZ Flea Market. 

Who knows what bargains you'll find.....

Shop from 10-3

Flashback Friday

It's been so warm and sunny this week, it's like summer again!

Speaking of which, the summer always seems to fly by so quickly! 

Then again, I like all 4 seasons

in all of their glory and contrast to one another. I suppose the summer seems to fly by so quickly because the days are longer and it is as though there just aren't enough hours in a day to do all the things one has waited till summer to do....

Like this trip to the pretend beach to read a book....

It is almost Thanksgiving and the weather is beautiful! 

Perhaps we can read a book at the beach!

Dinosaurs 101

How to write an EPIC report about dinosaurs!

There's more to it than watching Buddy and Mr. Conductor!

Choose your dinosaur from types of dinosaurs, time period, or even by what they ate.

Pick your dinosaur and get to know him.

Really, get to know him.

Visit the library, do some online research, or even watch Dinosaur Train or Dino Dan.

When you are ready to write your report here's a few things to remember to include....

• What does its name mean? Often this will tell you something important or interesting about the dinosaur.
• What did your dinosaur look like? For example, how big was it, what shape was its body, were its legs long or short, did it have horns, plates, crests or claws, describe the teeth, head, neck, tail, etc. Draw a picture if you can. Remember that dinosaur weights are very hard to estimate.
• What did the dinosaur eat and how did it get its food?
• How did it walk (2 or 4 legs )?
• Is there anything special about this dinosaur? This can often be the best part of the report, taking you off on interesting topics. For example,  was your dinosaur faster than another dinosaur? How did blood circulate up to the head of a Brachiosaurus? Why did a Stegasaurus have plates?
• How smart was your dinosaur?
• How did it defend itself?
• What type of dinosaur was it? Did your dinosaur have relatives that were like him?
• When did your dinosaur live? Say it both in terms of how many millions of years ago it was, and what the name of the geologic  time period was. Was it an early dinosaur or one of the last before extinction?
• What was the Earth like at that time? What was your dinosaur's environment like? 
• Where have fossils been found? When were they first found? Are there just a few fragments or are there almost complete specimens?
• Who named the dinosaur? Is there anything interesting about that scientist who named it? 

For more information check out:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/

Game Review

An in house favorite, Pajaggle! 

We like it so much we named it one of 2013 Games of the Year!

Pajaggle

Pah-jag-uhl

The game that thinks it is a puzzle!

Pajaggle has 61 pieces that you place into their respective slots on the Pajaggle board. That’s really it in a nutshell. But it’s deceptively challenging. Many of the pieces look similar to each other, and the variations between them can be very subtle. The spaces on the board for the pieces to slot into are an exact fit. And I really mean ‘exact’. In many cases, you’ll think you found the correct piece, but you didn’t. It’s not unusual to try to stick a piece into a slot, figure out it’s the wrong one, and then it gets stuck (or ‘Pajiggled’ in game lingo). Thankfully, they provide a separate doohickey that serves to pop pieces out of slots with little fuss (not surprisingly called a ‘Pajiggler’).
Here’s where they kick the complexity up another notch. Some of the pieces have slots within them for another piece to fit into. So some pieces just by themselves don’t actually fit into any slot on the board. They fit within another piece, which then fits into a particular space on the Pajaggle board. When I told my wife that as we were filling in the board together the first time, she said, “Oh, [expletive deleted]. Seriously?” We both laughed.
If you want to time yourself, Pajaggle comes with a digital timer. The first couple of times I solved the board, it took me forever. I was glad I didn’t time myself as I didn’t need that mark against me that day. But you know you’re going to use the timer eventually because you can’t resist, and it’s essential to the competitive, multiplayer games.
- See more at: http://www.bothhandsandaflashlight.com/2011/11/18/review-of-pajaggle-a-puzzle-game-with-many-possibilities/#sthash.pzVD2jhf.dpuf

Pajaggle has 61 pieces that you place into their respective slots on the Pajaggle board. That’s really it in a nutshell. But it’s deceptively challenging. Many of the pieces look similar to each other, and the variations between them can be very subtle. The spaces on the board for the pieces to slot into are an exact fit. And I really mean ‘exact’. In many cases, you’ll think you found the correct piece, but you didn’t. It’s not unusual to try to stick a piece into a slot, figure out it’s the wrong one, and then it gets stuck (or ‘Pajiggled’ in game lingo). Thankfully, they provide a separate doohickey that serves to pop pieces out of slots with little fuss (not surprisingly called a ‘Pajiggler’).
Here’s where they kick the complexity up another notch. Some of the pieces have slots within them for another piece to fit into. So some pieces just by themselves don’t actually fit into any slot on the board. They fit within another piece, which then fits into a particular space on the Pajaggle board. When I told my wife that as we were filling in the board together the first time, she said, “Oh, [expletive deleted]. Seriously?” We both laughed.
If you want to time yourself, Pajaggle comes with a digital timer. The first couple of times I solved the board, it took me forever. I was glad I didn’t time myself as I didn’t need that mark against me that day. But you know you’re going to use the timer eventually because you can’t resist, and it’s essential to the competitive, multiplayer games.
- See more at: http://www.bothhandsandaflashlight.com/2011/11/18/review-of-pajaggle-a-puzzle-game-with-many-possibilities/#sthash.pzVD2jhf.dpuf

 In a nutshell, Pajaggle has 61 pieces that you fit into their homes on the Pajaggle board!

The game is deceptively more deceiving than that, I laugh when I say that because the plastic pieces can be so similar that it's hard to see the subtle changes from one piece to another.  They all have a space on the board where they fit with extreme precision and some pieces even have a space in the center of them for another piece!

Each Pajaggle game comes with playing pieces, game board, Pajiggler, Pajaggle cards and a timer.  The cards have different game variations on them or you can just try to beat your "time" record using the timer.

The other silly terms used in this game are: 

Pajiggle: which is when you place a piece in a similar yet incorrect socket, then you would use the Pajiggler to remove it.

 Doubler: A Pajaggle piece that fits into another Pajaggle insert ring socket.

Barrier: Circles on the Pajaggle board blocking play between adjacent pieces.

This is a game that both kids and grown ups alike seem to enjoy either playing independently or with the family as a team.

 We think this is the perfect game for any child who enjoys puzzles, who has the attention span for puzzles, has good shape recognition, can spot the differences on like objects, and can complete puzzles with 50 or more pieces. This is a visual puzzle which can be completed in about 15 minutes or better . The possibilities of game variations are seemingly endless as you can invent your own variation based on the Pajaggle cards provided.

If I could sum up in one sentence which kids I do think would respond well to Pajaggle, it’d be this. If your child enjoys puzzles and has a good attention span for them, has strong recognitions of shapes, can detect subtle differences between similar objects, and can do puzzles of two or three dozen pieces or more, then Pajaggle seems like an obvious choice to me. - See more at: http://www.bothhandsandaflashlight.com/2011/11/18/review-of-pajaggle-a-puzzle-game-with-many-possibilities/#sthash.pzVD2jhf.dpuf

 We were not given any toys or games to review.

We enjoy passing along our game experiences to you.

Pajaggle has 61 pieces that you place into their respective slots on the Pajaggle board. That’s really it in a nutshell. But it’s deceptively challenging. Many of the pieces look similar to each other, and the variations between them can be very subtle. The spaces on the board for the pieces to slot into are an exact fit. And I really mean ‘exact’. In many cases, you’ll think you found the correct piece, but you didn’t. It’s not unusual to try to stick a piece into a slot, figure out it’s the wrong one, and then it gets stuck (or ‘Pajiggled’ in game lingo). Thankfully, they provide a separate doohickey that serves to pop pieces out of slots with little fuss (not surprisingly called a ‘Pajiggler’).
Here’s where they kick the complexity up another notch. Some of the pieces have slots within them for another piece to fit into. So some pieces just by themselves don’t actually fit into any slot on the board. They fit within another piece, which then fits into a particular space on the Pajaggle board. When I told my wife that as we were filling in the board together the first time, she said, “Oh, [expletive deleted]. Seriously?” We both laughed.
If you want to time yourself, Pajaggle comes with a digital timer. The first couple of times I solved the board, it took me forever. I was glad I didn’t time myself as I didn’t need that mark against me that day. But you know you’re going to use the timer eventually because you can’t resist, and it’s essential to the competitive, multiplayer games.
- See more at: http://www.bothhandsandaflashlight.com/2011/11/18/review-of-pajaggle-a-puzzle-game-with-many-possibilities/#sthash.pzVD2jhf.dpuf

Pajaggle has 61 pieces that you place into their respective slots on the Pajaggle board. That’s really it in a nutshell. But it’s deceptively challenging. Many of the pieces look similar to each other, and the variations between them can be very subtle. The spaces on the board for the pieces to slot into are an exact fit. And I really mean ‘exact’. In many cases, you’ll think you found the correct piece, but you didn’t. It’s not unusual to try to stick a piece into a slot, figure out it’s the wrong one, and then it gets stuck (or ‘Pajiggled’ in game lingo). Thankfully, they provide a separate doohickey that serves to pop pieces out of slots with little fuss (not surprisingly called a ‘Pajiggler’).
Here’s where they kick the complexity up another notch. Some of the pieces have slots within them for another piece to fit into. So some pieces just by themselves don’t actually fit into any slot on the board. They fit within another piece, which then fits into a particular space on the Pajaggle board. When I told my wife that as we were filling in the board together the first time, she said, “Oh, [expletive deleted]. Seriously?” We both laughed.
If you want to time yourself, Pajaggle comes with a digital timer. The first couple of times I solved the board, it took me forever. I was glad I didn’t time myself as I didn’t need that mark against me that day. But you know you’re going to use the timer eventually because you can’t resist, and it’s essential to the competitive, multiplayer games.
- See more at: http://www.bothhandsandaflashlight.com/2011/11/18/review-of-pajaggle-a-puzzle-game-with-many-possibilities/#sthash.pzVD2jhf.dpuf

Pajaggle has 61 pieces that you place into their respective slots on the Pajaggle board. That’s really it in a nutshell. But it’s deceptively challenging. Many of the pieces look similar to each other, and the variations between them can be very subtle. The spaces on the board for the pieces to slot into are an exact fit. And I really mean ‘exact’. In many cases, you’ll think you found the correct piece, but you didn’t. It’s not unusual to try to stick a piece into a slot, figure out it’s the wrong one, and then it gets stuck (or ‘Pajiggled’ in game lingo). Thankfully, they provide a separate doohickey that serves to pop pieces out of slots with little fuss (not surprisingly called a ‘Pajiggler’).
Here’s where they kick the complexity up another notch. Some of the pieces have slots within them for another piece to fit into. So some pieces just by themselves don’t actually fit into any slot on the board. They fit within another piece, which then fits into a particular space on the Pajaggle board. When I told my wife that as we were filling in the board together the first time, she said, “Oh, [expletive deleted]. Seriously?” We both laughed.
If you want to time yourself, Pajaggle comes with a digital timer. The first couple of times I solved the board, it took me forever. I was glad I didn’t time myself as I didn’t need that mark against me that day. But you know you’re going to use the timer eventually because you can’t resist, and it’s essential to the competitive, multiplayer games.
- See more at: http://www.bothhandsandaflashlight.com/2011/11/18/review-of-pajaggle-a-puzzle-game-with-many-possibilities/#sthash.pzVD2jhf.dpuf

Frequently Asked Questions

How do we get all the toys in the store?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwi-4PeurOY

Did Ya Know?

The Top 10 Reasons for shopping locally....

The following is reprinted with permission from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a national nonprofit organization working to rebuild local economies.

1. Local character and prosperity
   Your community’s local character and prosperity thrive when you support its unique and diverse locally owned businesses.
   
2. Community well-being
   Local businesses foster community well-being by building strong neighborhoods, sustaining communities, and contributing more to local causes.
   
3. Local decision-making
   Local ownership means local decision making by people who live in the community and share in the effect of those decisions.
   
4. Local economic benefits
   Keeping your money in your local economy supports local jobs, funds more local services through sales tax, and invests in neighborhood improvement and development.
   
5. Local jobs and wages
   Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some cases, provide better wages and benefits than chains do.
   
6. Entrepreneurship
   Local entrepreneurship fosters economic innovation and prosperity.
   
7. Public services costs
   Local stores in town centers make more efficient use of public services and community infrastructure than big box chain stores.
   
8. Environmental impact
   Local stores help sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers, which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.
   
9. Healthy competition
   A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses across our country fosters healthy competition and ensures innovation and low prices over the long term.
   
10. More choices for you
    An abundance of small locally owned businesses, each selecting its own product mix, guarantees a much wider range of product choices for everyone in the community.

Neighborhood Toy Store Day!

The Whoo Hoo factor of Neighborhood Toy Store Day!

 

"If I have one complaint about my neighborhood toy store, it’s impossible to just run into the store for a quick errand. There’s always a new amazing toy find (something you won’t find in any Target or Toys-R-Us), catch up conversations (“How is J liking preschool? Did the new math game work?), or the latest community service project to learn about.

That’s also why I love it. They know me. They know my family. They know my older child hates scary monsters and the color brown -- and flips for anything in the shape of a horse. They know my younger child has special medical issues and purposefully look for (and let me know about) toys that will support his development.

Unlike Big Box shops, our local toy store is an anchor thread in the fabric that makes up our community. Staff members live in our community. The owners have a vested interest in seeing our community -- schools, parks, businesses -- thrive and provide opportunities for linking neighbors economically and socially. The store gives back to our community in a multitude of ways. It provides a living for employees who live and work in our community, champions the causes of local non-profits and school groups, and works in partnership with other locally-owned businesses.


An added bonus? They wrap. Beautifully. Quickly. You can stop and get a gift en route to the birthday party without spending an extra $10 on the right-sized bag and tissue paper.

According to my four-year-old, she’d much rather spend a few hours at “Miss Claudia’s store” than go to the playground.

"Because, Mom, you get to play with everything!”

That’s reason enough to love the store, right?"

FLashback Friday

We're getting ready for our 3rd celebration of Neighborhood Toy Store day tomorrow!
I can only imagine that toy stores like ours across the country are as excited as we are to 

share the Best Toys for Kids 2013!

Here's how we started our day last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPmtE3_EY18

 

Dinosaurs 101

Dinosaur Origami!

Make your own dinosaur from a sheet of paper. We have the complete kit to get you started and to keep you going. Learn the ancient art of paper folding as you make dinosaurs for your play scene.

Here's how the kit works! Choose an origami dinosaur to make from the instructions Choose a piece of origami paper for your dino Follow instructions in making the origami folds to make your dinosaur Add sticker eyes to your dinosaur if you want! Or even googly eyes! There is enough origami paper to make several of the samedinosaur. Try a different dino, or a different piece of paper with the same animal! As you make each dinosaur, use both hands to make the folds. Play with the origami dinosaurs using the backdrop! Have fun!

Mock Flea Market

 The girls set up shop, prepared with a pricing gun, some change, and a calculator! Ready for their booth at the Kidz 2 Kidz Flea Market!

Everybody had fun shopping! 

The boys went for the spy gear 

 and other cool stuff!

 They received the most excellent service.....

Word of the Day

Nuyeak!

New-eek!

Being the only one of its kind,  standing out

This is what you say when you're really tired and you're really trying to say "unique" 

Make up your own words and you can be nuyeak too!

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you guys local folks?

Yes, Yes, Yes we are!

We‘re locally owned and operated. 

That's why you see familiar faces every time you come in. 

It’s always nice to have a friendly chat with our certified toy consultants 

whether it is about the toys or about the last snowfall.

 If you’re lucky enough, you may even hear one of our really bad jokes or get popped by a Popper!

Stop by today for your 3D, hands on, happenin', kinda experience.

Did ya Know?

Every year, I would ask Santa for a chemistry set....

Santa was a very wise man!

Now, I can have almost any chemistry set I want! 

We choose Thames & Kosmos.... here's a little about them so now you'll know

 why we choose these science kits!

Thames & Kosmos (T&K) was founded in 2001 with the mission of improving informal science education by publishing high-quality science and technology related educational products for children of all ages. T&K places an emphasis on teaching concepts and skills through hands-on modeling of real-world devices and processes, and by offering comprehensive, meaningful reading materials for a rich learning experience. T&K is headquartered in Providence, RI.

Partnership with Kosmos
Thames & Kosmos operates as the exclusive North American distributor for the science kit line of our partner company — the 189-year-old, German-based publishing house, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH. Kosmos has an existing line of high-quality science kits that T&K translates, rewrites, and distributes in the English language. T&K has also started to design its own new science kits in 2005.

Current Products
Thames & Kosmos currently offers more than 60 kits in thirteen categories: Chemistry, Physics, Alternative Energy & Environmental Science, Technology & Electronics, Biology, Earth Science & Natural History, Fun & Fundamentals, Astronomy, Classic Science, Little Labs, Ignition Series, Sophisticated Science, and Construction Series.

Recognition
Thames & Kosmos products are highly regarded in the specialty toy and education market. Since the beginning, T&K products have received dozens of awards from the most reputable organizations that review products for children.

Boredom Busters

 Find some chalk and try to trace your shodow on the sidewalk!

 You can even color it just like the outfit you're wearing.

 Although this island is small, it is deserted. 

Make a list of the things  you would take with you if you had to live on a deserted island...

This is a fall favorite! 

Rake up a giant pile of leaves and 

jump in them!

Then you rake the pile again

and jump!

Flashback Friday!

Wow! What a week it has been!

It's always kinda wacky around here this time of year, we're anxiously awaiting Halloween, then we have Neighborhood Toy Store Day,  then right into Thanksgiving, and we join Durangotangs to celebrate Noel Night!  After that, the rest of the year is pretty much a blur.... then we start all over again.

It's important that we create a very festive atmosphere between now and then....

We'll have to put our thinking caps on, close our eyes, imagine..... 

For now, we'll work on unpacking boxes and unveiling the best toys for kids for 2013!