Little did I know that July 2016 would have the same theme as the Lego Movie–or at least the same theme song “Everything is Awesome.” It is this catchy, can’t-get-out-of-your-head tune that is forever repeating. Because of my great nephews, DeAveon and Noah, I know that song quite well. Or maybe I should say is is because of my husband, Bobby, who constantly sings the song to DeAveon and Noah whenever he sees them. Either way, it has been playing in my head most of July. First because July was a great month. Secondly, because it seems that Legos have been more prevalent than in previous months.
When Bobby and I were in New York City, we walked to Rockefeller Center from our hotel a couple of times. A prominent store in the center is the Lego store. The place seemed to be busy every time we were there. In the windows were displays made with Legos. There was one that was a model of the Rockefeller Plaza, one was the Lego name spelled out using thousands of the little people Legos which you couldn’t tell until you got close to investigate.
Once inside the store they had a dragon that seemed to traverse the whole store made entirely of Legos as well as other displays. Then of course they had displays of their actual Lego packs you could purchase. It seemed like there was every type of Lego set you could imagine. There was even one that you could build the Frozen movie set. Bobby had wanted to buy some Legos for the boys (DeAveon and Noah) but when it came down to it, we had no idea what they would have liked. So instead of buying something and being wrong, we bought nothing (and kept our mouths shut about it when we saw the boys).
Fast forward to the end of the month. It turns out that on Saturday, July 30, we had nothing scheduled. (This is unusual because we always seem to have something going on the weekends–I’m sure you can guess why.) Bobby asked if we could go see the boys in Columbus, where they live. I suggested that we meet them at the Mansfield Art Center for “The Art of the Brick” exhibit.
This artist of the exhibit is Nathan Sawaya. The medium he uses is the Lego brick. He has created large scale pieces using only Legos as well as portraits for the wall. It was really inspiring. DeAveon even convinced his mom, Ashley, to re-enact one of the sculptures. It is titled “My Boy.” (The exhibit is running through August 27, 2016. The price of the tickets is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Really is worth seeing.)
After we viewed the exhibit, the Mansfield Art Center had a tent set up outside so that the visitors could create their own Lego masterpieces. I will say that the only Lego things I had ever built before were things like houses or buildings. However, after seeing what could be done, I attempted to work outside my own box and figure out how to make a person and a dog. DeAveon and Noah both proclaimed that I was the “winner.” Although Bobby stated that his “fully operational battleship with radar and a transpositional responder” won. I think that was something he just made up to sound impressive.
After we left the exhibit and got lunch at Golden Corral, our last stop included a trip to the Toys ‘R Us store near the Mansfield Mall. Bobby finally got to get the boys their Legos, after a bit of negotiation by Bobby’s “attorney” DeAveon. Both boys seemed pleased with their purchases.
Bobby asked that they send pictures once they had created their own exhibits.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that throughout the day Bobby played the “Everything is Awesome” song from the Lego Movie. He had downloaded a YouTube video onto his phone. So even if we didn’t have that song going through our heads on our own, Bobby made sure we didn’t forget it. And believe me, it is still going on and on in my head. Here it is for you…you don’t have thank me!
