hi angy,
good luck with it all,
I'll show the truck my 7yr old daughter, she's obsessed with building houses... [not to be encouraged]
one thing that we pull apart, paint and modify together is 'KnightGame' http://www.sketchupdemos.com/knightgame.zip
there a thread in the forum somewhere as well.
it's not the greatest game in the world but she loves that you can interfere with it, and it's seems to have sunk in that computers need someone to tell them what to do, and what to look like. and that person can be her... or me when she's being apathetic.
john