My parents were visiting for a few minutes yesterday afternoon, and the boys were using their typical "hey-we-have-someone-new-to-show-off-for-so-let's-act-as-crazy-and-out-of-control-as-possible" company manners. They were running frantically through the house, hitting each other with the above toy snake, and shrieking with laughter, and let me tell you, it is next to impossible to try to carry on a conversation under those circumstances! After asking nicely several times for them to stop, I finally resorted to taking the snake away, and asking them to read some books quietly in their room.
They obediently disappeared into the bedroom, but a few minutes later, Yikealo emerged wearing his stocking hat, his binoculars around his neck, and carrying his backpack and a blanket. He informed us melodramatically that he was running away, since I had taken his pet snake away. Sintay, who copies pretty much everything that his big brother does, said he was going too. They marched over to the door, jerked it open, and stared out at the wet concrete in our driveway.
S: "Uh-oh! It's waining!"
Y: "Oh blast! Well, I guess I can wait until tomorrow to run away!"
(insert snickering from the grandparents....)
Me: "Yeah...because if some barely-there rain is going to stop you, I certainly wouldn't risk it. Besides, you're not even wearing shoes."
Y: "Well, I guess I'll go get some more supplies while I'm waiting." (grabs his water bottle and a banana that he holds like a pistol). "Now I've got some food fer if I get hungry." (adds the Jesus Storybook Bible to his backpack, and puts his tennis shoes on.)
S: (dressed in a spiderman costume with a pirate hat) "I'm taking 'dis!" (holds up his plastic hammer, a cup half full of water, and a pair of nunchuks from a set of ninja weapons.) "Kahlo, you need put dis inna bag" (holding out a belt to a Batman costume.)
Me: "Excellent. I'm glad you're going to have the Word along with you, so you can keep learning about Jesus. Sintay, what are you going to eat? Yikealo only has one banana."
S: (running to grab the bag of kettle corn from the fair) "Popcorn!"
Me: "Very nutritious. Yikealo, what all do you have in your bag?"
Y: "Don't worry. I have all the clothes I need. I think I'll take my cash register to keep my money in."
Me: "But you don't have any money. You just spent the last of your money at the fair."
Y: "I have one dollar to buy gum, and I'll stop at the bank to take my savings money along."
Me: "You can't. Your account is in Daddy's name, and he wouldn't let you take your money out so you could run away."
Y: "Well then I will sell lemonade, and we can buy food with that money."
Dad: "Yikealo, how will you buy the lemons?"
Y: "I will ride my bike to the fair. They have lemons there. Besides, I will take my bow and arrow, and maybe we can shoot animals, AND I know where there are some apple trees in the forest. Here, Sintay, let's get your sippy cup. We should take our toothbrushes too."
By the time all of these supplies were gathered, the rain had stopped, so the intrepid adventurers headed outside. First though, they stopped to discard the banana ("Mom, this banana is getting too squishy. I'll just share Sintay's popcorn.") I kissed them goodbye, but told them to be sure to hurry back, because Daddy was going to be home soon. Yikealo said he wasn't coming back, and they walked toward the woods at the end of our little dead-end street. When they reached it, they turned back for home. Yikealo needed to see if there was any mail for him, and they were getting way too hot. It seems that running away is more work than they really wanted to do. They decided instead to explore the new toy catalogs from the day's mail while eating their popcorn in the air-conditioning. Besides, Yikealo informed me, "I forgot to pack any clothes for Sintay, and I didn't even have any swimming trunks for him, in case we discovered a river and needed to bathe."
