I have an 11 year old son, and I can attest to the truth of those statements as well.
I can also relate to the freezing of toys. It works like this in my house:
1) find a plastic container big enough for said toy
2) place toy in container and fill with water
3) place filled container in the big freezer in the laundry room because mom is less likely to find it there
4) after toy is frozen in water, take it out of the freezer
5) find dad's good, expensive screwdrivers (never use the cheap ones) and a hammer
6) use screwdriver and hammer to chisel "fossil" out of ice
