Christmas Surprise

 Not surprisingly, Allen asked for computer games for Christmas.  The one he really wanted was Call of Duty.  He has anticipated receiving this game and playing it for a few months now.

One of his other Christmas wish list items was a soldering iron.  He has begun to experiment with battery electronics and speakers and wires.  One of his grandpas buys and sells similar things at flea markets, so we knew Papa would come through.

I anticipated that if he didn't have anything to solder right away, he would be frustrated so I went on e-bay and bought him a $6 solar cell.  I had no idea what he would do with it, but that was for him to figure out.


So our festival of unwrapping comes to an end and we turn to our gifts - putting them away, powering and registering them (Kyle's kindle) and playing with them.

What I expected - Allen would disappear to his room to play his game only to reluctantly appear again at dinner.

What happened - Allen got out his soldering iron, the solar cell, his Ipod, and the charging/sync cord. He connected the proper wires (the black and red ones) to the properly charged spots on the solar cell.  The cell isn't quite powerful enough to charge the Ipod but it does (in sunlight) keep the battery from running down as fast.

Then Allen went out in the snow to play with the dog.  And yes, then he did go and play and yes he did come to dinner and then he returned to his game.  He is a teenager.