Garage sale season

We've had a fun summer of garage sales around town.  Cheap fun, but it does result in a large increase in crap toys around the house.

We kicked off the season with the Baldwin Citywide sales.  At the first one or two places we stopped, Cooper didn't really find anything he truly wanted, but he would pick something up and say "well, I guess we can buy this." I certainly didn't want to foster the idea of buying stuff just for the sake of buying stuff. So we talked about waiting to find something he really wanted, that way if we came across something a little bigger (instead of just a small car or something), we could get it.

He found this:

A 3-foot by 4-foot doll house.  It's the Little Tykes Grand Mansion from the 90s, and it's in spectacular condition.  Good thing, because now it's in our living room.

Also notice the outfit -- a clown costume to go with the jester hat he got for his birthday in England.

Cooper's doctor outfit became a vet outfit when we found a plastic animal crate, stuff dog (he named Ralph), and vet tools.

And it's possible I may have lost my mind here.  Coop found a box with a pirate ship on it.  We bought it for $1 and then I noticed that it contains a zillion tiny plastic pieces that we're supposed to glue together.

So bit by bit, Cooper and I have been piecing it together.  He much prefers to watch me do it and then count to 20 while we hold the freshly-glued piece in place.  So far, we've built about 45 cannons, three decks, and the hull.

Many  more steps to go.