Saturday, August 23, 2008

who needs t.v.?!

...we don't here, at least most of the time. Last evening my parents stopped over for a visit. I think when they get tired of silence (perhaps bored) they drop in to see what's cookin' at our house. (and somethin's always cookin!) Last night was not a disappointment. The kids drug their skateboard ramp (of the scrap-wood, homemade variety) out of the garage, and were trying to "find something different to do." They placed it in the grass at the end of the sidewalk that runs along side our garage. The grass made for a softer landing, and the ramp was angled so that they could run their scooters off better. It didn't take long before they pulled other scraps of lumber out of the garage to raise it a little higher, and give it a little "spring." Soon scooters were left at the wayside, and the ramp became a spring-board. Even the toddlers were involved, and the line of 9 little people taking turns doing jumps was a crack-up to watch. I think the laughing turned to hysterics when Alice took her turn and jumped right in the middle of the ramp, cracking into two pieces. It was classic. I should have known that the fun wouldn't stop here though. What one doesn't think of, the others will. They began stacking the ramp pieces in a teeter-totter fashion, so that Emma would jump onto one side, just as the runner hit the other end, springing the runner into the air even further. The thought of an ER visit did cross my mind, but I hadn't seen my parents laugh this hard since we were kids doing dumb tricks around the house. Even my dad took his turn as the "jumper" once. (only once.) When they started dragging chairs and coolers out of the garage to get higher jumps, I had to stop the show. I mean, where would it end? I had visions of them trying to jump off the garage roof next...just trying to get a good "spring." And I wouldn't put that past Emma for a second! She has no fear. Oh well, gave us all a good laugh, nobody was hurt, and the television stayed off for another evening.