Braden: The Machine Maker

For at least a year now, if not longer, Braden has been into building machines! In the past he has built machines out of boxes....lots and lots of boxes all glued together. After a couple days he decides he needs a different kind of machine and tears it all apart and makes a new one. Often it's a similar machine with a better design.

For a long time claw machines were his favorite thing to make. He'd even make the prizes for them (his very own stuffed animals). And of course, all of his machines require money to "make them work" (he's also a salesman)! We eventually had to ban him from charging family members and neighbor kids to play his prize machines because we were feeling badly about the how much money he was making from the same crowd.

Showing Great Grandpa Hansen one of his prize machines.
He whipped this one up in Iowa during our summer visit.

Just in the last month, Braden has been learning how to build machines with legos. He watched a few video clips for ideas on You Tube, and since then has taken off building his very own lego machines. He's especially interested in making candy machines that take coins. I'm not kidding when I say that he will spend most of his day building a machine. It's also been fun for him and Sheldon to build together. The fun never ends because after a couple days he takes it all apart and builds a new and better one!
Here are just a FEW samples of what this boy's been up to. I had to do LOTS of cutting because I had video clips of so many different machines:

I must say, I'm quite impressed with what he's able to build!