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2017 Website Updates December 9 2017: Updates on the Project Christmas page - we're updating and adding families and creating a stand-by list for families we can't currently help - but hopefully donations will pick up and we'll be able to help all of them. We post updated photos of the storage unit each time donations are added! Pay it Forward for Christmas December 2 2017: This year's Pay-It-Forward Project for Christmas is being launched. See the page or apply for help - Find out how you can help us bring Christmas to kids & families who otherwise wouldn't have one this year: Evans Family- Pay it Forward for Christmas November 18 201: Kaedin's massive Minecraft MOC photos uploaded - updated pictures are from Minefaire October 2017! July 13 2017: Kaedins Minecraft MOC was featured at Philly Brickfest 2017 and was invited to be on display at Minefaire across the country. I was interviewed about his build (unfortunately he wasn't feeling well at the time) at Brickfest and a great YouTube video has been made about it. Check out pics, video and more about Kaedin's massive Minecraft MOC at our Custom Creations page. April 1, 2017: It's no joke- I'm starting off April by getting new business cards printed (So we're ready for Lego-hunting yard sale season) and updating some of the pages here throughout the day! I updated our contact page with our email address, added Brickfest information to the "Our Custom Creations" page (we'll be sharing photos of the things we're displaying once they are unveiled at the event later in April!). March 21, 2017: We continue updating our new Contest page, as well as updating many pages of our site that needed photo updates, as well as adding our new Travel page, that records the places we've been and the places we hope to go! March 21, 2017: We announced the four winners of our first ever Instagram Giveaway. Winners prizes are being shipped out! We're also adding information about our new upcoming contest (SEE INFO HERE- On our new contest page!). We're also updating recent hauls, and a page about our recent trip to Boston and Rhode Island. February 16, 2017: Updated and added new photos to site. Added info about our first ever Instagram Giveaway. Jan 20, 2017: I finished publishing our first dozen Hauls- we went back to 2014 and started in reverse, adding all of our best (and worst) Lego buys - documenting where we got them and how much we spent - it's a really fascinating history of our collection! We finished getting the first several months of purchases listed, including our best Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) story is now published. Be sure to check out the Hauls Page which is no longer blank - it will be added to and updated frequently! In the near future: We're going to be adding a new Collection page called "PolyBags" that lists all of the Polybags / Mini-sets (unopened) that we have in our collection - plus we're creating a new, seperate page with a list of anything Lego related that we have available for trade (as well as information about what we're looking to trade FOR!). Next, we'll be working on a detailed Minifigures page, also under Our Collection header - and two Maps pages - one to track everywhere our SigFigs have been on thier #SigFigAdventures, as well as a Map of all of the Lego Stores worldwide- keeping track of all the ones we've visited! These sites will soon be online - so check back often to see them when they go up! Jan 17, 2017: We began work on the new "Hauls" page, and touched up "Living and Blogging EDS updated." Updated Ehlers Danlos Syndrome info page. Added contact info to contact page. 2016 Website Updates Nov 17, 2016: New site layout (for better organization and surfing) - adding new pictures and working on "our collection". Huge overhaul to the "Meet the Family" page, with better fonts, and our bios have been cleaned up significantly. Nov 16, 2016: New blog post about dating someone living with chronic illness. Oct 14, 2016: New blog post! New photos all over the site too, please keep checking back. Oct 4, 2016: Moved many old blog posts from my other website to this one, so that everything about my EDS journey and diagnosis is on one site! Aug 18, 2016: Working hard at our house, finishing preparations on an area where we can film and photograph our building projects! May 22, 2016: New blog post update and info about how you can help our project! Check out blog posts on both "Living and blogging with EDS" and "Project Updates"! There's news about our YouTube channel and how you can help us with a recently released Lego set that we need! May 8, 2016: We've been working hard to update Kristie's blog with some of the posts she's written about living with EDS, getting diagnosed and living with chronic pain. Please look under the "Living and blogging with EDS". May 1, 2016: Eleven months ago, we got tickets to BrickFest2016 at the Oak, PA Convention Center. We were looking forward to attending, but due to last minute health issues, I was hesitant to reach out to all the folks we might run into - and because we were incognito - hardly anyone actually spotted us in the crowds. We had a good time, got to speak to some folks, but we've definitely come to realize I can't do events like that without a power-chair in the future. We're forgot to take our sigfigs though, so there were tragically no changes to Adventures In Lego! March 24, 2016: We returned from our trip to Florida, and will be posting photos of the trip soon - find out where we'll be next, and meet up with us, or make a suggestion to let us know about a Lego event or destination that we just can't miss: Adventures In Lego!  Our whole family - it's no secret. We *love* Lego. The company makes quality superior products, they have excellent customer service and the products the make are just as beloved by adults as kids.
One of the ONLY problems with falling in love with Lego is that they are an expensive toy. The large majority of Lego we buy is second hand. Occasionally we'll buy sets on sale, and once a year we save up and make a big purchase at the Lego store, taking advantage of double VIP points (in October and April each year). They offer $5 on every $100 you spend, but during Double Points time, you get $5 back for every $50 spent - that way we get the most for our money. Unfortunately for those who LOVE Lego - even second hand Lego is often tremendously overpriced. When it comes to second hand Lego, we have a general guide we go by when deciding to buy. When it comes to "mint-in-the-box" and expensive collector sets (Many of the older Star Wars sets like the Death Star) are EXTREMELY valuable if they are complete and especially if they are still in the box. While those things are super important for collectors - that's just not our style. We are firm believers that Lego is meant to be BUILT and PLAYED with. Very little of what we have is kept on a shelf - like the very first little hovercraft Kaedin's mommy built when she was just three years old. (she paid her neighbor $.10 for those blocks back in 1985. We also have a collection of the Collectible Minifigure Series that we're going to buy frames for - but that's about it. All the rest of our Lego will come out of boxes and bins and be PLAYED WITH. As a result, we don't aim to buy super high-priced mint sets, we'd much rather have something that might be missing a few pieces. We'll download instructions online or use parts to build our custom creations. We don't need boxes and manuals - to us - every single Lego brick has value -sentimental value - FAMILY-time value. Those things are worth WAY more than money to us. Kaedin's mommy, Kristie has been building with Lego since she was just three years old, and even before Kaedin was born she had a pretty sizable collection. Every Lego part and piece we have is something we've collected for this project, mostly by buying it - we've invested quite a lot of time and money into this project, as many of you know, Lego is NOT an inexpensive hobby. As a result, we have to really think carefully about the things we buy - if we overspend on one set, one bucket of Lego from a yard sale, or one Ebay auction... it's less that we will have in the long run. As a result, we have a "going rate" that we generally keep in mind when making offers to buy Lego, and we hope you'll understand that the INCREDIBLY inflated prices you see on Ebay or Amazon when you google Lego - ISN'T REALLY what Lego is WORTH or even what it's SELLING FOR. Our favorite thing to buy is a big bin of mixed Lego - while it's not fun to dig through the inevitable mix of doll hair, Barbie shoes, Gi Joe arms, McDonald's toys, Matchbox cars, playing cards, board game parts, dominos, dice and other random bits... It's economically the smartest way to go. We STRESS to people - please don't bother to go crazy if you're giving us a bin of old Lego. We're happy to sort, wash and organize all of it - in the end, that's a lot of fun for us. We love digging through bins, and using the pieces and minifigures (and sometimes instruction books) to figure out what sets might be (mostly!) in the bin, and in the end, we've gotten tons and tons of REALLY great Lego sets and parts that way. Depending on what kind of "bulk" Lego you have, and how "pure" the bin is (if there's lots of other toys, or more than just a few off-brand bits, like Megablocks) - then bulk rates for Lego are most sensible at under $4 a lb. If you have particularly SPECIAL things in your bulk bin of brick - like lots of Star Wars or Harry Potter sets, then they might be worth a bit more, however, unless you're willing to spend the time to pick out all the pieces for each set and organize them along with the instructions, you're not going to get the ridiculous prices you see on Ebay. To be honest - the prices you see on Ebay are every bit as ridiculous as the look. Sadly, the second-hand Lego market is often full of incredibly jacked up prices by adult Lego investors who buy up massive amounts of brick, sit on the sealed sets for some time, and then when the set is retired and no longer abundantly available on the shelf at Target and Walmart, they ask five and six times (or MORE!) the original cost... it's a sad practice that shuts true Lego lovers out from buying sets that came out before they were collecting, and it means that many kids born in the 2000's will never have the opportunity to have some of the incredibly cool sets made in the 80's and 90's. The reality is - if your Lego has been opened and played with, there are GREAT resources to find the value of individual sets at website like Peeron, Brickset and Bricklink - but unless you've sorted the sets before selling, keep in mind that even those USED prices aren't accurate once you've lost a few pieces or misplaced the building instructions, the box or the mini-figures that it originally came with. It's ALWAYS our goal to offer you what your second-hand Lego is worth, and if it's worth more than we can pay - we're happy to tell you that too. Many times it makes more sense for us to hold off and buy unsorted buckets of loose brick, rather than complete sets. In the end, we're going to be working on this city project for years to come and if we have to work extra now to find the right pieces for what we want to build, that's alright. If you think you may have a valuable set, or are just interested in what your collection might be worth, we're happy to help point you in the right direction. We'll gladly make an offer, or just help you to find out the value. If you're looking to sell your entire Lego collection - weather it's all sorted and in the original boxes, or just tossed into a huge bin, please reach out! Let us know what the bin weighs, send a list of the sets you have, along with some photos, and we're happy to make an offer - if it's in our price-range, or the kind of sets we're looking for right now, we'll be thrilled to buy them from you. And if you're one of the awesome angels who isn't looking to be compensated - please know that your gift of Lego, no matter how large or small - will be TREASURED, and most importantly, built and PLAYED WITH. Because no matter what the price guides say - to us - all the value of Lego is in the time spent building with your loved ones, as well as playing and growing your child's imagination. We love Lego - it's a huge part of our family, and you can never put a price tag on what it means to have a safe, fun, and educational activity that we can all do together, even on the days when our health prevents us from doing anything else. Mommy has spent a lot of time in hospital beds searching online for the Legos we need, and Kaedin and Mommy can OFTEN be found, propped between heating pad and ice packs, with splints on their fingers, sorting or building, and that's just priceless. Very upset this morning... I saw a Lego post online today about some of the collectible mini-figures that an adult Lego fan had for sale. We've been collecting the entire series for as long as I can recall and we've gotten most of the series complete... they've been on a board, waiting to be framed to hung in Kaedin's new Lego room and studio that's under construction (we've renovated the finished basement to be a safe, handicap accessible, build- friendly place!!)
But today, upon pulling the (yes, very dusty,sorry about that!) board down... I was troubled to find DOZENS missing. Now, there aren't that many people who have access to my bedroom where these are kept. Kaedin having taken them down is out of the question, For one, I see his play area daily, and would have seen all these figures if they made their way into the Lego he builds freely with. Two, he is a really good kid, who would NEVER touch something that we keep safe on a shelf - We have VERY few things displayed that aren't for play - and those few things we all agreed on as a family. The one time Kaedin wanted to take a PICTURE of some of these figures, he asked both mommy AND daddy to be SURE it would be okay AND he asked us to get them down AND put them back away. Needless to say, regardless of who is responsible (and we do, sadly, have an idea, fortunately the suspected culprit hasn't been welcome in our home for some time)...but now I'm upset and anxious to replace them. Sadly, many get FAR more expensive long after they've retired...so they won't be $3/each anymore if we COULD find them all. But we're sharing this sad news in hopes I can fix this before Kaedin ever has to have his heart broken over it, as he was very excited to have them framed and put up as soon as the Lego Room is complete (We're painting, the ceiling light and fan just went in!)... If anyone has ANY of the following, we'd REALLY like to arrange trades, or to buy them if you know anyone with any at a reasonable cost. Sadly, the Bunny Suit Guy (that i KNOW we had two of,and both are gone!) WAS supposed to make an appearance on Easter, which isn't going to happen now. Hopefully he doesn't ask. :- ( Thank you in advance to anyone able to help us piece this mess back together. And to whomever stole from my child, presumably to support your drug habit? There's a special place in hell for you, just you wait. -A very dissapointed and angry Kristie Evans If you have any of the following, please reach out to us at [email protected] so we can get them put back in his collection hopefully, before he ever even finds out. THANK YOU! NEEDED (will remove as they get replaced!); Series 1; caveman, circus clown, cowboy, crash test dummy, forrest man, ninja, nurse, spaceman, wrestler, tribal hunter, zombie Series 2; explorer, surfer Series 3; rapper, space alien, mummy Series 4: muskateer, viking Series 6: bandit, butcher, flamenco dancer, genie, highland battler, intergalactic girl, lady liberty, leprechaun Series 7: aztek warrior, bride, grandma visitor, viking woman Series 8: thespian, lederhosen guy, diver, alien villeness, fairy, football player, business man Series 9; hollywood starlet Series 10: bumblebee girl, roman commander, warrior woman Series 11: constable, holiday elf, scarecrow, scientist The Lego movie: velma staplebot Series 12: space miner, battle goddess, prospector Series 13: palientologist, samurai, king |
AuthorKristie, also known as TheBrixChick, is a 34 year old mom living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Together with her husband, Justin and her son Kaedin (5) they are building a massive Lego city and hoping to bring awareness to Rare Diseases and invisible illness, like EDS. Archives
September 2018
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