An Engineer In The Making

Dallin is an engineer in the making.


Last week Mimi broke the handle off my make-up mirror (the second mirror of mine she has broken in the past couple of months). Since the mirror was inexpensive and can easily be replaced, I wrote it down on my shopping list.






Today Dallin noticed the mirror's handle was missing. When he got home from school, he pulled out his erector set, and designed and built me a new handle/stand. The new stand even allows for me to tilt the mirror up and down at different angles. Don't that beat all!






Since Dallin was a little boy, he has enjoyed designing, building, and working with his hands. Even as a toddler, if his favorite toys were confiscated--such as his beloved vacuum--he'd just build new ones to play with. Dallin is passionate about Legos, Tinker Toys, erector sets, Mega Blocks, and Lincoln Logs, just to name a few.

As a little boy, Dallin was fascinated by big equipment (excavators, bulldozers, compactors, scrapers, etc) and would spend hours watching the progress at construction sites. Dallin also loved small equipment like power tools. So in love was he that his favorite bedtime stories were his daddy reading to him out of the Home Depot catalog. By age four, Dallin could site and name six types of saws. He also knew all major brand names and where they could be purchased. A trip to Home Depot was never complete without obtaining an updated tool catalog to study with the younger siblings.

Semi-trucks are another passion of Dallin's, one he can talk about at length. So if you are ever in the market for a semi-truck or road train, Dallin can recommend the best brands to you such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Western Star, or Mack. Dallin can also draw any model of said trucks, with your preferred features.

But vacuums were Dallin's first love. Even as a baby Dallin was enraptured by them. I can remember leaving my vacuum out in the family room all day when he was little; it made him happy. Sometimes I would vacuum my family room many times in a day, because it would calm Dallin down. As Dallin got a bit older, he would play with the vacuum, using the on-board attachments to his liking and make his own sound effects. Any time we went to a department store he would beg me to take him down the vacuum aisle. He could look at and study vacuums for hours. When he went to anyone's house, the first thing he would ask is, "Do you have a vacuum? Can I see it?"

Over the years, our family has had to retire old vacuums and purchase new ones. When we have needed to purchase new vacuums, Dallin is our guide. He asks about the suction power, amps, available tools and attachments, whether the vacuum is bagless, and how often the filters must be changed. He is a true asset.

I'm surprised that he has never taken one of our vacuums apart to find out how it works...Yet...

At age 11, Dallin can still spend hours building with his Legos. He has created some amazing things!










If you want to know anything about the above Lego creations, check out my blog of the same name.


When building and designing, Dallin has the patience of a saint--even when it comes to a house of cards. Check out these pics.











Oh yes, Dallin is an engineer in the making, and I couldn't be more proud.


Cara