Hogwarts Castle

Derek's been saving his money for quite a while to buy the Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle and a few weeks ago he had finally saved enough to get it. But we've been so busy that we had not gotten to the store. Thankfully, Derek had been pretty reasonable about pestering us - except for a couple occasions where he didn't have enough other things to do and I had to tell him to quit asking.

This weekend, we finally made the commitment to go to Target after Adam's soccer game on Sunday. Derek was so excited and told us that once he got the castle he was going to be in his room for days and no one was to bother him. As soon as we arrived at the store, Derek excitedly did a walk\run back to the toy section. The store was being turned into a Super Target so everything had been reconfigured and, at first, Derek couldn't find the Lego section and was getting worried that the store had quit carrying Lego's. We finally found the Lego's, but there was no Hogwarts Castle. Once we confirmed with one of the workers that there weren't any in the back either, Derek started getting misty eyed. He had waited patiently for weeks and the day had finally arrived only to be thwarted.

Adam was also caught up in the money madness and couldn't wait to dump his hard earned money on the Matchbox Shark Attack. But that Target did not have any Shark Attacks, either. So I proposed that if they were willing to combine their money then I would chip in the difference and they could get a Nintendo Wii. Derek gave careful consideration to the offer, but Adam wouldn't go for it.

Adam wasn't too upset, but Derek had lost all hope. We were beat from all the weekend activities and still had lots to do to get ready for the week, but we decided, since Derek had been so patient, that we would drive over to another Target to see if they had a Hogwarts Castle. Derek's demeanor quickly changed from mopey and sad to one of eager anticipation.

When we arrived at the store, Derek hustled back to the toy section where he found the last remaining Hogwarts Castle and as we rolled up with the shopping cart, he had the biggest grin on his face and quickly deposited his prize in the shopping cart. Adam also got his Shark Attack.

When we got home, both boys immediately headed up to their rooms with their new toys. It's been a few days and Derek spends any free time he can get up in his room setting up his castle. He gives his friends at school daily updates and pulls us into his room to show us how far he's gotten. Adam has his Shark Attack setup in his room and closes his door so nobody will bother it.