When I was 4 and a half, my sister was born. I was thrilled to no end, and my mom actually had to inform me that she was not my baby. When I was 10, my second sister was born. I cried. I'd wanted a brother, not another sister. Of course, I got over that as soon as I saw her, but I still feel a little ripped off. You see, I wanted a brother so I could play with boy toys.

Legos, remote control cars, Lincoln Logs. Those things are cool -- ever so much cooler than the boring Barbie dolls, My Little Ponies, and Cabbage Patch Kids I had as a kid. One year, my best friend got a remote control car, and I was so jealous. I'd asked for one, but did I get one? Nope. The closest things I had were Brix Blox, which were kind of like Duplos (the bigger version of Legos). I played with those things for hours, building houses complete with doors and windows. I also had around 15 or 20 Hot Wheels (those tiny little cars). My grandma was a school secretary, so she sent us a bunch of lost cars that went unclaimed at the end of the school year. My sister and I played for hours with those things, too.

Fast forward a bunch of years, and I am apparently still feeling ripped off. Either that, or I just haven't grown up yet. I was out Christmas shopping the other day and came across Hot Wheels on sale, two for a dollar. I got a couple for a little boy's birthday, and then I grabbed two more. Those were for me, and they're going on my desk at work, where they will most definitely add to my small collection of toys(thanks in part to wintermute for the Kinder Toys).

The afore-mentioned little boy, Chase, just turned 2 and had his birthday party last night. That was the best party I've been to in quite a while. Guests consisted of his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunt, and some people from work, since his mom and dad both work with me. All together, we had three little kids running around, and it was very cute. Everyone went home after a few hours, so then just two of us from work were left. That's when the fun really began: It was time to put together the remote control car that races around a magnetic track. (Chase's dad was determined not to use the directions, but I had to read them to learn there were five power switches and we'd only found four.) I tell you, they make those cars pretty powerful these days. It had no problem plowing through piles of wrapping paper, and it even tried to conquer my shoe.

But that wasn't the only toy we put together. After we raced the car around the living room for a while, Chase's mom and I worked on this Hot Wheels ramp. Man, that thing was cool. You set two cars at the top, push the buttons, and away the cars go, around a volcano, avoiding branches, and then lava rocks fall on one of the cars. It was great, and when I was leaving, Chase pointed to my recently-vacated spot on the couch and tried to get me to sit back down and play some more. I almost did.

And that, my friends, is proof that boys have the coolest toys. It's equally fun to assemble Barbie toys and car race tracks, but when you're done, the Barbie toy just sits there while the race track provides hours of entertainment for adults and children alike. Well, for this adult, anyway.