The Mall of America's coolest corner

Many people think that the most exciting part of the Mall of America is Nickelodeon Universe or perhaps the big rotunda - or, you know, the more than 500 stores that draw gazillions of visitors annually.

Today I learned the truth: the best part of the Mall of America is - wait for it - the build-your-own-Lego-person station within the massive Lego store!

And to think: I never would have known if Josh's nephew (you know him as Loco) had not been dreaming about visiting this store for months!

We arrived at the mall early this afternoon and made a nearly direct beeline for the Lego store. There were approximately 28,000 people inside the store already and I wasn't much help in discerning what would be the coolest Lego set to choose. (Plus, Loco wanted to survey the whole store so he could make an informed decision.) But lurking way in the back corner of the store was this little station with bins full of fragments of Lego people.  For $9.99, one could assemble three mix-and-match Lego people with the head accessory, head, torso, legs, and accessory of his or her choosing. This was an immediate must-do activity for the younger members of my party, although given the opportunity on my own, I can't deny that I'd be interested myself. Wouldn't it be intriguing for anyone who grew up with or around lots of Legos?

Here are the two kids, focusing intently on the process.  This also gives you a look at the station:

And here is a close-up of the work tray:

The first best part was seeing the discarded Lego people that people had opted not to purchase.

No words

Astronaut?  Robot?  Elvis?

Mostly, I did not know that Lego people could frown, or sideways-smile, or all-out grin - or have so many wardrobe options!

The second best part was seeing Lala and Loco's creations:

Here is one of Loco's, with the saddest face I've ever seen on a Lego dude:

Here's one of LaLa's, with a very nice unitard (I think) and either a shovel or spatula in hand:

You get a little box for transporting them. Here's Loco's final trio, including a sailor holding a chainsaw in the middle:

We discover something new every day, right?