Kids in Tow

One of the joys of coming home to young kids is making up and playing new games. The old stand byes; watching TV, building blocks, and tag are fun, but often you get bored with those and have to branch out to new and more creative activities.

Last night, James was playing with a rubber snake. It's about 5 feet long and is very stretchy when pulled. He was running around and slipped on the floor, sliding several feet in his sweat suit. I considered his nearly frictionless state and thought it would make for a fun new game.

We cleared the kitchen, dining room, and part of the living so that we would have a clear path on hard floors. He sat in the furthest corner of the kitchen, and I pull him through the rooms as fast as I could, making a crucially timed 90 degree turn to prevent a collision into the door frame into the living room. Our tow rope, the rubber snake, was elastic and provided a powerful slingshot effect that further elevated the top speed and the fun James was having.

James loved this game! We even got Sam to sit on his lap for a couple of Sunday-Drive speed rides.

Occasionally, I'd pull a little too hard and the snake would slip out of his hand, whipping back behind me. One time, this happened in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I had not remembered to put away the cup full of chocolate milk that was sitting on the kitchen table. As if Indiana Jones had done it himself, the snake whipped the cupped with great precision, splattering the chocolate milk at a high velocity over about half of our kitchen. I even found drops on the ceiling in the next room 15 feet away!

We all laughed and cleaned up together. After that, Bets pulled James for another 20 minutes before it was bath time and we had to stop.

I know I don't post much here, but I wanted to share part of our day to day lives with you. I hope to keep it up!