Back home, summer

Halina and Luke had nothing to do all day at home while I unpacked, so it was a perfect day for them to launch into epic pretend play. It's what they do in the summer or whenever there's a break from friends and school. Today they watched a Dragon Tales episode about visiting a carnival fun house and they decided to build their own in the living room. It went on forever and I wasn't allowed to go in there. I was consulted on some spelling for signage and persuaded to plug in a fan while using a hand as blinders to shield my eyes from the spectacle of transformation underway in the living room. It went on for so long that I was sure the house was being torn apart while I was doggedly unpacking and tidying and reorganizing in the bedroom, and so I was starting to grouse. Everything they got out had to be put back, I called repeatedly, all sour grapes-ish. And, no, they certainly could not use push pins on the wall to hang up whatever big piece of paper that was --that I wasn't supposed to see. When, at 2:00, I couldn't put off eating my lunch any longer, I was told to go outside, walk around the house, and enter the kitchen through the back door to avoid seeing their work. A bit of a power struggle ensued. Soon after, I got to experience the fun house, which consisted of a low banner you had to scoot under but which fell down right away because of the lack of push pins ("Welome to the Fun House!" it read), followed by a short sensory walk over couch pillows arranged on the floor, followed by a fan blowing on you from the side that was supposed to be mysterious.

That's it. They were so proud. The fun house was also supposed to have a mirror and slide, but they didn't have these things so, oh well. I quickly rigged up a slidey ramp using the ottoman and put a step stool under the entry way mirror. They were ecstatic. What a heel I'd been for badgering and doubting them, especially when they were being such a creative and diligent team. But luckily they were quick to forgive.

Luke in his morning costume. 

Halina in her afternoon costume.

P.S. Here is a Luke quote from bedtime last night to quickly slip in. He said "I have something that's kind of nice and kind of not nice to say to you." Uh oh, I thought. I encouraged him to tell me, thinking maybe he"d say something about my breath being bad or his not wanting to snuggle so much now that he's four. Instead he said "You are my big, best friend." He said "best friend" in a breathy way. After I gave him an appreciative hug, Halina and I shared a quick grin. "You should write that down so you'll remember it," she said. So I am.