Very cool toy

One day, when River was still a baby, I was pushing him in the stroller when an elderly woman called out to us. She told me she had some trucks from when her grandkids were little and wondered if we wanted them. She asked us to come into her house and take a look. So we did.

She had a collection of beautiful trucks – a semi that opened and carried cars, a firetruck, another semi that carried a rocket. They were in pristine condition, in their original boxes, with lights and realistic sounds. We happily took them home and freecycled the duplicates. The ones we kept became River’s favorite toys, as well as the main attraction for other kids who visit. I felt so lucky that this nice lady randomly picked us as we walked down the street as the next home for these treasures.

So I was surprised when I turned on the TV the other day and saw an ad for a truck that looked a lot like the one we have – and it’s currently available. Looking through the website, I see Hess has offered a different model almost every year. I think the one we have is the 1999 model. Eleven years later, it’s still a great toy. If we didn’t already have one so similar, this would definitely be on my shopping list this year.