I love this newsletter! It brought me so much joy and returned many memories. For me, my brothers and cousins the coffin was a chest used to store the stuffed animals. But we were ensuring the "dead" wouldn't come out by sitting on the top of the chest.
My brothers and I also had ideas for using cardboard boxes. Who knows, maybe your girls would like them?
First, there was a go-kart long time ago. We were small kids and the youngest of us just got a little plastic toy car to ride outside. After it was unboxed, we took the cardboard and made it to be our indoor car(t). The "engine" was one of us pushing the one sitting inside from behind. We took turns and it turned out fine, except when the youngest wanted to push me. The carton kart served us about one year, until we ripped off the floor and outgrew it at the same time.
The second one was when my computer and gaming chair arrived. With bros. we were huge fans and players of World of Tanks (we were such big geeks that we used our backyard playground, which was looking like a house on stilts, as our imaginary tank carried into battles and refused to call the site other than "the tank", which became its name in the family). Anyway, when the PC gear was unpacked, I took both boxes and intended to make a tank out of them. Rectagular one from the chair was at the bottom, imitating tracks, while the square one from the PC became the turret, in which I have cut out a small hole for the periscope that I made in school and marked where I'd make larger for the gun.
But it turned out there was no possibility of turning the "turret" without exposing one or two of us who could fit inside. What was more, using a cardboard tube as a dummy gun felt lame, so we had to postpone the idea. A few years later, when younger of my brothers acquired few nerf guns, I returned to the idea, deciding we'd make a tankette. In the meantime I wasn't asked to throw the boxes out, adapting them as a decoration/storage for stuff in my room, hence we still had the material to work on. After re-constructing everything and placing a nerf gun in the much smaller than planned hole it turned out to be a great tankette.
Adding Nerf guns to box play is a brilliant idea! My kids haven't got their far. I haven't made a "no tanks in the house" rule yet, but there's still time.
Oh, yes, the big packing box clubhouse. I remember making those (even before Amazon, when we'd get a large appliance) and my daughter making them as well. Being that we were both only children (well I was until I was in high school--another story for another time), we RULED but had friends over to share. So fun!
Then there are the regular-sized boxes that come weekly now and the cats... We always say, "I fits, I sits" when we give them the empties and they squeeze themselves into even the smallest ones.
When I was about Betsy's age, my dad bought a treadmill. It stood in our way-too-tiny kitchen breakfast room for years, mostly unused, and collected a fine assortment of green fossilized bread crumbs under it (revealed to light of day when we finally moved it). But the important thing was that it came in a Big Box. I took the two halves of the box into the garage and turned them into the roof of my very own multi-room play house, constructed with assorted other garage junk and blankets. Seriously, the thing took up half the garage. It was awesome. I retreated there when my toddler siblings got too much for me. Of course my slightly-younger sister wanted her own house too, so she built one next to mine in the other half of the garage out of construction blocks actually designed for building play houses, but mine was better. She didn't have a Big Box to start with. Both houses stayed there for weeks, until my parents got tired of not having any garage space and made us take them down. I protested and mourned. It was an epoch of my childhood.
I can't believe they thought their parking spots were more important than your play houses. Cars can stay outside. Cardboard can't. You clearly had the right of way.
Oh, we almost never parked cars in the garage anyway. ;-) (Rarely necessary in Southeast Texas, unless there's a hurricane or something.) They just needed it for storing other stuff.
I read recently that a stuffed polar bear was stolen from a museum in Canada. I was immediately suspicious and checked newsletters to see if the Breakwell family had traveled to Canada at around that time.
The best thing about seeing that box is the signs. The "Closed for now" cracked me up for some reason. I hope that box holds up at least until they get bored with it.
When I was little, I remember going downstairs with my bro and sis to wait for the Saturday morning cartoons to come on the TV. Until the CBS eye and droning tone went away and the shows began, we built a "fort" with blankets under the dining room table. There was just something special about being in that protected space that we 3 kids magically didn't quarrel or nit-pick each other. Good times, for sure.
Kid's imaginations are so much fun! I have a craft room with a walk in closet. My grand-goddaughter, who is 8, loves to craft with me when she visits. The closet is "another dimension," and there are very strict rules for entering because you never know if you are going to encounter dinosaurs or cowboys and indians. Since I don't follow the rules every time, I had to write out the instructions for entering and tape them to the door so that I remember when she isn't here.
I remember fondly playing with a gigantic cardboard box when I was about 5 years old. I think it came with either stove or a fridge, and my sister being 8 years older than me graciously helped to make it into a room, no curtains, but with windows that could be opened and closed. I remember the feeling of being inside that box. I had fun for hours and I’m sure my mom missed me (NOT) while I was for once in one place and not messing around with something. Good times!
It took me 3 days to get through the concert on TV. Mostly because I could. I know someone who watched one Era at a time. It just made it more fun for me to truly enjoy what I was watching. It also gave me an opportunity to watch her backup dancers, which were phenomenal. As for boxes….we recently had to redo my son’s space downstairs. That included ALL new furniture. Kitchen (it’s a studio so not full size) living area, bedroom and bathroom. All the furniture came in boxes. Some multiple. Your daughters would have had a damn field day. I made it all because, like Lola, it’s a challenge but gotta tell you, black furniture with black screws on a black carpet made me want to scream more than once. Matt decided that he wanted all black, white and grey. No matter how hard I tried to talk him into SOME color. He’s 44 and has his own taste and does NOT need his mom to suggest green throw pillows. LOL. Point is now we have a minimum of 15 big ass boxes that we have to try and get rid of. Even the recycling truck will only take what when can shove in the bin. So, there’s a huge pile of boxes gathering by our 2nd, never used, garage door. I’m assuming that they’ll disintegrate with the weather or will be fodder for many animals to use as homes. Just like your kids. Lol.
Boxes used to be huge with my kids too, until one was delivered with a scorpion in it, which of course we did not know until it got one of the kids. Luckily, either it was too young, or my kid was really fast, because he got no venom. He did develop the ability to see a scorpion from 5 miles away though, and that was the end of the box fascination in our house. I hate Az., but at least it is not Australia where everything can kill you LOL
I received a big item in an even bigger box yesterday. It could probably fit both of my girls. I made the decision to hide it from view before they even came home. As far as they know it does not exist. I am afraid of what they'd do if they found it, and how long it would have to sit in my living room before I decide to finally throw it out. Throwing it out would of course make me the evilest person in the whole world, and would be talked about for months.
You may wish you’d bought those tickets for a one-time experience. The older girls will probably play it so often you’ll know the words to all the songs 😂
I love this newsletter! It brought me so much joy and returned many memories. For me, my brothers and cousins the coffin was a chest used to store the stuffed animals. But we were ensuring the "dead" wouldn't come out by sitting on the top of the chest.
My brothers and I also had ideas for using cardboard boxes. Who knows, maybe your girls would like them?
First, there was a go-kart long time ago. We were small kids and the youngest of us just got a little plastic toy car to ride outside. After it was unboxed, we took the cardboard and made it to be our indoor car(t). The "engine" was one of us pushing the one sitting inside from behind. We took turns and it turned out fine, except when the youngest wanted to push me. The carton kart served us about one year, until we ripped off the floor and outgrew it at the same time.
The second one was when my computer and gaming chair arrived. With bros. we were huge fans and players of World of Tanks (we were such big geeks that we used our backyard playground, which was looking like a house on stilts, as our imaginary tank carried into battles and refused to call the site other than "the tank", which became its name in the family). Anyway, when the PC gear was unpacked, I took both boxes and intended to make a tank out of them. Rectagular one from the chair was at the bottom, imitating tracks, while the square one from the PC became the turret, in which I have cut out a small hole for the periscope that I made in school and marked where I'd make larger for the gun.
But it turned out there was no possibility of turning the "turret" without exposing one or two of us who could fit inside. What was more, using a cardboard tube as a dummy gun felt lame, so we had to postpone the idea. A few years later, when younger of my brothers acquired few nerf guns, I returned to the idea, deciding we'd make a tankette. In the meantime I wasn't asked to throw the boxes out, adapting them as a decoration/storage for stuff in my room, hence we still had the material to work on. After re-constructing everything and placing a nerf gun in the much smaller than planned hole it turned out to be a great tankette.
Adding Nerf guns to box play is a brilliant idea! My kids haven't got their far. I haven't made a "no tanks in the house" rule yet, but there's still time.
Oh, yes, the big packing box clubhouse. I remember making those (even before Amazon, when we'd get a large appliance) and my daughter making them as well. Being that we were both only children (well I was until I was in high school--another story for another time), we RULED but had friends over to share. So fun!
Then there are the regular-sized boxes that come weekly now and the cats... We always say, "I fits, I sits" when we give them the empties and they squeeze themselves into even the smallest ones.
That's how you know cats are smarter than dogs. Only one is obsessed with boxes.
You haven't met my dog, put clothes of something soft and you will find her curled in it. She was a pound dog, so maybe she's part cat
Ah, the cardboard playhouse! We loved ours.
When you order something and then forget, we call that Amazonesia. It rules, because then when a package shows up, it's like a gift from you to you.
I just wish I had better taste. I keep buying and forgetting about boring household stuff. I'm a terrible gift giver, even to me.
When I was about Betsy's age, my dad bought a treadmill. It stood in our way-too-tiny kitchen breakfast room for years, mostly unused, and collected a fine assortment of green fossilized bread crumbs under it (revealed to light of day when we finally moved it). But the important thing was that it came in a Big Box. I took the two halves of the box into the garage and turned them into the roof of my very own multi-room play house, constructed with assorted other garage junk and blankets. Seriously, the thing took up half the garage. It was awesome. I retreated there when my toddler siblings got too much for me. Of course my slightly-younger sister wanted her own house too, so she built one next to mine in the other half of the garage out of construction blocks actually designed for building play houses, but mine was better. She didn't have a Big Box to start with. Both houses stayed there for weeks, until my parents got tired of not having any garage space and made us take them down. I protested and mourned. It was an epoch of my childhood.
I can't believe they thought their parking spots were more important than your play houses. Cars can stay outside. Cardboard can't. You clearly had the right of way.
Oh, we almost never parked cars in the garage anyway. ;-) (Rarely necessary in Southeast Texas, unless there's a hurricane or something.) They just needed it for storing other stuff.
You always make me chuckle when you mention the Bear and the Mountain Lion. 👍
I've done very few worthwhile things in my life, but those were two of them.
I read recently that a stuffed polar bear was stolen from a museum in Canada. I was immediately suspicious and checked newsletters to see if the Breakwell family had traveled to Canada at around that time.
Me too!!!
The best thing about seeing that box is the signs. The "Closed for now" cracked me up for some reason. I hope that box holds up at least until they get bored with it.
When I was little, I remember going downstairs with my bro and sis to wait for the Saturday morning cartoons to come on the TV. Until the CBS eye and droning tone went away and the shows began, we built a "fort" with blankets under the dining room table. There was just something special about being in that protected space that we 3 kids magically didn't quarrel or nit-pick each other. Good times, for sure.
Kid's imaginations are so much fun! I have a craft room with a walk in closet. My grand-goddaughter, who is 8, loves to craft with me when she visits. The closet is "another dimension," and there are very strict rules for entering because you never know if you are going to encounter dinosaurs or cowboys and indians. Since I don't follow the rules every time, I had to write out the instructions for entering and tape them to the door so that I remember when she isn't here.
It's good that she's looking out for your safety. Other dimensions can be dangerous!
Get them Makeadoo!!!! And get ready for next level!
I hadn't heard of that before. Those tools are cool.
They are! I can see Waffle building an armored car ans conquering the world. With a little bit of coaching they might rebuild the house for you!
Oh I want a set LOL
I remember fondly playing with a gigantic cardboard box when I was about 5 years old. I think it came with either stove or a fridge, and my sister being 8 years older than me graciously helped to make it into a room, no curtains, but with windows that could be opened and closed. I remember the feeling of being inside that box. I had fun for hours and I’m sure my mom missed me (NOT) while I was for once in one place and not messing around with something. Good times!
Appliance boxes are the best! You can't beat those real estate prices. The absolute best foundation for a play house or fort.
I am with Lola. Don’t call a casket a coffin!
Bad vibes all around. Fortunately, the kids are flexible.
It took me 3 days to get through the concert on TV. Mostly because I could. I know someone who watched one Era at a time. It just made it more fun for me to truly enjoy what I was watching. It also gave me an opportunity to watch her backup dancers, which were phenomenal. As for boxes….we recently had to redo my son’s space downstairs. That included ALL new furniture. Kitchen (it’s a studio so not full size) living area, bedroom and bathroom. All the furniture came in boxes. Some multiple. Your daughters would have had a damn field day. I made it all because, like Lola, it’s a challenge but gotta tell you, black furniture with black screws on a black carpet made me want to scream more than once. Matt decided that he wanted all black, white and grey. No matter how hard I tried to talk him into SOME color. He’s 44 and has his own taste and does NOT need his mom to suggest green throw pillows. LOL. Point is now we have a minimum of 15 big ass boxes that we have to try and get rid of. Even the recycling truck will only take what when can shove in the bin. So, there’s a huge pile of boxes gathering by our 2nd, never used, garage door. I’m assuming that they’ll disintegrate with the weather or will be fodder for many animals to use as homes. Just like your kids. Lol.
So many boxes. You're right: My kids would be in heaven. Glad to hear you got everything assembled. Sounds like your exhausting saga is finally over.
Boxes used to be huge with my kids too, until one was delivered with a scorpion in it, which of course we did not know until it got one of the kids. Luckily, either it was too young, or my kid was really fast, because he got no venom. He did develop the ability to see a scorpion from 5 miles away though, and that was the end of the box fascination in our house. I hate Az., but at least it is not Australia where everything can kill you LOL
I received a big item in an even bigger box yesterday. It could probably fit both of my girls. I made the decision to hide it from view before they even came home. As far as they know it does not exist. I am afraid of what they'd do if they found it, and how long it would have to sit in my living room before I decide to finally throw it out. Throwing it out would of course make me the evilest person in the whole world, and would be talked about for months.
I think I made the right call.
You may wish you’d bought those tickets for a one-time experience. The older girls will probably play it so often you’ll know the words to all the songs 😂
Schrodinger’s Cat!