Lego Competition

The big boys competed in the Nashville Library Lego Competition this weekend.  This was Carter's third year competing and Rylan's second.  Last year, Carter won a superlative award in the preschool-kindergarten category with his entry (he got a certificate and big ribbon).

For the contest, the entries can be no bigger than a base of 2'x2' and 4' tall.  I've bought two large bins of Lego pieces over the last year from Buy Sell Trade sites so the boys had plenty of Legos to use (unlike previous years where they used Legos from their sets that I then had to spend days on resorting).

The boys were excited to build but it took awhile to decide on a theme.  Eventually I encouraged each of them to build something that represented something they really love.

Carter loves dogs.  So he decided on a dog agility competition.

The fans watching the competition in the bleachers and the judges ...

The course ...

The awards platform and three more people and their dogs waiting for their turns ...

Rylan loves music and dancing so he decided on a rock concert.

The stage with the band, their instruments, speakers, lights, and pyrotechnics ...

The t-shirt stand ...

Two "guys" coming in through the security line ...

The sound and audio control table ...

The crazy collection of fans in attendance ....

Before the awards ceremony today, their was an hour to view all the entries.  There were almost 300 entries spread over several age categories.  Carter was in the 1st-2nd grade division and Rylan was in the preschool-kindergarten division.

Look who took first place in this age category!!!  We were all a little shocked (and excited!).

When they called out Rylan's name and displayed his entry on the screen, Rylan jumped out of his seat and ran up front.  He hopped on stage and got his award.  I barely had time to snap a photo!

Rylan received a certificate, ribbon, and $75 gift certificate to the Lego store!!!

Unfortunately, Carter did not win anything this year.  He handled it REALLY well.  There were 80+ entries in Rylan's age group and 70+ in Carter's.  There were a lot of really good entries and it comes down to a lot of luck to win.  Since you can build literally anything, it comes down to what the judges like.  Carter is already talking about what he's going to build for next year's competition.  Rylan just wants to show off his ribbon and buy some Legos :)