Crumpled Home

(overheard in the bathroom)

RJ: LR, when I move out, I have an idea so I wont be lonely.

LR: What’s that?

RJ: I think I’ll fall in love and marry a girl and we’ll have a baby boy.

LR: That’s a good idea!

RJ: I know… and… I’ll never make him move out… and we’ll be great friends… and he can stay and live in my house forever.

LR: You definitely wont get lonely then.

RJ: Exactly.

(later that evening)

RJ: Daddy, if you have to live by yourself, my boy and I will come over and visit you so you don’t get lonely. We can all play legos or do computers, whatever you like.

Dad: Awww… Thanks RJ.

(RJ has been concerned lately about what happens when he leaves home… Who is going to make him leave? Why do his parents want him to go away? Where is he going to live? Who is he going to live with? )

(while playing Charades)

LR: (crawls around the floor)

Dad: A horse! A cat!

RJ: A robot! A toaster!

Dad: RJ! It has to be an animal; she picked an animal card!

RJ: A dinosaur!

LR: (crawls around some more, points to her bottom and wiggles)

Dad: Something with a big tail? A tiger! A pony!

RJ: A lion!

LR: (crawls around some more, wiggling her behind and pointing)

RJ & Dad: Arrgh! We don’t know!

LR: Okay. Final clue then. (stops crawling, concentrates for a moment, makes a small noise, sits back and waits)

RJ & Dad: ???

… (a moment later)

RJ & Dad: Ugh! What’s that smell… OH! A SKUNK!!!!

LR: (grinning) YEAH!

(It’s a cold, rainy day when RJ and his friend J. suddenly streak through the room, wearing only underpants, yelling and creating an incredible racket)

Multiple-parents: STOP! What is going on!?? Upstairs and get some clothes on guys!

… (moments later as Dad tries to get some clothes back onto RJ)

Dad: What game were you guys playing? That looked CRAZY!

RJ: Zombie warriors! It’s a new game we made up.

Dad: So how does it work?

RJ: First, you have to take off your pants and your shirt.

RJ: Then you need to be about four or five, and usually a boy and a girl.

RJ: And you’ll need a small pterodactyl, just like this one (holds up one of his favorite toys, Flappy the Pterodactyl).

RJ: It’s really a lot of fun.

(while playing in the backyard)

Dad: Hey guys! What are you up to?

RJ: We’re cooking!

LR: Yeah! We’re playing Masterchef!

Dad: Sounds great… What are you making?

RJ: I made you some onion coffee.

LR: I made some caramel tea.

Dad: (taking a pretend sip of each) Delicious!

RJ: Now you can have some chicken soup.

Dad: Very nice!

LR: And to finish… Lemon meringue pie!

Dad: Fantastic ending. What a great meal, very creative. What prizes are you going to win?

LR: Oh, just a new stove and a fridge or something.

RJ: (excited) And, and, and!!! And some gummy fish!!! and red capsicums!!!

LR & RJ: YEAH!!!!

(while playing together)

LR: Let’s play, “Mums and Dads.”

RJ: No! I want to play, “Trapdoor Spiders!”

A minute later the kids were playing mummy and daddy trapdoor spiders.

(before school)

Dad: What are you guys up to? Are you ready yet?

RJ: (rushing out of LR’s room) Yes! We are! We’re playing, “Hide and Prawn!”

Dad: What the…

LR: (wanders out, looking confused, wearing one ear plug and airline socks) I don’t know how to play this game.

RJ: It’s okay! I’m teaching you!

On Saturday, LR and the Jets played the Nedaroos. It was a close match with both teams scoring and the Nedaroos jumping ahead into an early lead. The Jets came screaming back and nearly closed the gap, but couldn’t quite make it, finishing the game at 3 goals to the Nedaroos 4. After their stint in the international leagues, the Jets are still adjusting to the non-regulation, shorter games. All-in-all, a great match with terrific effort from both teams… (Not to mention the best looking coach on the field.)

LR is ready to get in the game!

LR had her second soccer match on the weekend, and they came away winners! That makes them 1-1 for the season.

More importantly, as LR said herself…

I ran the whole time! I never got to stop running!

Congrats to the team and to their coach (she hasn’t coached soccer before, but is doing an awesome job — great looking too)!

Great effort kiddo! Well done!

(We’ll try and get some pictures of the action at the next game.)