I gave Layne this space book for Christmas. 

I think I’ve read it to him front-to-back over a dozen times.  And that doesn’t include all the times Steve has read it to him or the times we just read a few pages about his favorite topics (i.e. craters and flying to the moon).  He’s so full of important facts that I somehow miss when reading.  He can rattle off the sequence of planets starting at the sun.  And the other day, he wanted to know why almost all the planets had methane.  I tell ya, that kid has an amazing memory.  (He sure doesn’t get it from his father!)

This past weekend, Layne got the bright idea to make a solar system of his own using things we had around the house.  

Yes, those fruits, toy balls and other various spherical objects orbiting in a chip-and-dip server are our universe.  Layne even had me make rings for Saturn and Uranus (although I think we’re missing some on Neptune) out of paper plates.  Earth is the small white, green and blue bouncy ball.  The yogurt-covered raisins make up the Asteroid Belt.  He included a dwarf planet for good measure… because everyone knows Pluto is NOT a planet. 

Sometimes, he is so creative it scares me.