I is for IMAGINATION

Well who knew that this yearly IMAGINATION post would eventually break my heart. 

Look at what my baby child is using her imagination on these days? Driving. 

Blech.

It's like the pinnacle of parenting paradox: you want them to drive themselves around, but you don't want them actually driving. 

The feeling of LETTING GO OF CONTROL. This is what is going on here. 

It's everything you do mentally and metaphorically as they become teenagers, 

and then one day you're sitting shot gun and you LITERALLY let go of control. 

There is definite phantom break-pressing and lots of butt puckering, but absolutely no actual control. 

Can you believe that toy cars are going to make an appearance in this post (as they do EVERY SINGLE imagination post) but they are used as props to instruct Avery on a few things that happen out there on the road. Jim used them to teach her about some 4 way stop stuff etc. 

This is where we are at with Evan and his imagination: I don't even have a picture of what we are going to discuss.

Fortnite is a major player in his imagination. I like it when he plays with friends online. 

Mountain biking is another big part of his "play". Look at the hold he has on this group of friends, post bike ride. 

But the main event taking over right now is: HE MADE THE BASKETBALL TEAM! 

Guys remember when he got cut from the baseball team in the spring and I almost let it kill me? 

Well here we go again with tryouts. Me with butterflies. Evan nervous but confident. 

Last night I was pacing around the parking lot waiting for him to come out and tell the results: He tried to hide his smile but couldn't - "I made the c team!" 

Such a relief. 

But then I hear about the kids that got cut and I can't help but be so sad for them. I had to talk myself out of feeling their emotions for them. They don't need me to feel so upset. 

Evan got a basketball hoop last Christmas, and he has been out there working hard on getting better at it, and here we are! On the team. He could not be more happy. 

I am so so happy for him. 

Andrew's imagination is always running. It's like a background energy pack that hums and hums. 

Sometimes I tell him "I need you to stop thinking and focus." 

He's always cooking something in his brain. ALWAYS.

It involves pacing and biting his fingernails.

Recently he was really into our Chatbooks. He ranked them best to worst. He captioned them.

He organized them, ordered them, discussed them. Hauled them around the house.

He taped a made up title on each one.

He is still a kid. Only a few more years before his imagination shifts and grows into something more mature. 

 I often times go back and watch videos of my kids doing kid-imaginative things, and "nostalgia" is too kind of a word. I feel so many painful feelings. I feel like my heart will break, except in a good way? 

I don't know what to call it, but it is hurts but it's also beautiful. Like a beautiful glowing coal, too hot to handle. I have to set it down and walk away. 

N is for imagiNation

Whoa whoa we are running out of year here. 

Usually this imagination post is BIG. But as you will find, my children are growing into giants, so they manifest their imagination so different. 

One thing that is consistent is Evan and cars. He doesn't play with them often, but I love when he pretends with the Christmas village. He is very particular about where each house goes, and he has a whole village imagined down there. 

But typically Evan spends his imagination on sports or drumming or playing video games. Oooh another big thing he does is practice his fortnite dances. Haha it's so weird how the middle school boys just wander around the school while doing little dances. 

Andrew's imagination is the most wild and non stop. NON STOP, everyone.

He never ever stops telling stories or cracking jokes or TALKING. There is ALWAYS something going on in his head. He is currently writing a comic book, but this is one of many comics he has going on. 

It's hard to explain or harness his level of creativity, but trust me when I tell you: I can't keep up.

I can't keep tuned in. I love it, but am also exhausted by it. There is not a lot of down time. 

 

Avery's creativity is manifested in her intelligence. 

She is SO SMART. 

Watching her work through logic puzzles is so great. She loves geometry. She loves board games.

She and I get VERY competitive at games. 

One time we were playing clue with Evan and Andrew. She and I thought we were being so clever using the UNSPOKEN clues to figure it out. We were head to head, then out of nowhere Andrew announced: "I'm going to mop the floor with you guys" and got all three cards right...without hardly writing anything on his notes! We were dumbfounded. 

One time we were playing Azul...and she was mocking me because last time she had beat me so badly, 

so THIS time I used offense and defense and totally won by a lot and she go  SO MAD at me. 

haha. I love competitive gaming with my family. It reminds me of gaming with Jamie. 

Adulting with Avery reminds me so much of my childhood with Jamie. 

Anyway. We are all just getting old around here, and I am stoked to watch the creativity evolve. 

 

I is for Imagination

There are two versions of my kids: 

a kid on a device

a kid not on a device

When they are on devices, it's mostly quiet and calm and clean around here. The 3 C's.

When they are not on devices, they make messes, they problem solve, they argue, they cooperate, they are loud and silly.

You can see the dilemma right? So I guess we will just continue with a little bit of both. 

It's going to be fine.

Andrew is always writing and drawing things, 

then comes along and tells anyone who will listen all about it. 

I have to shoo him away: "It's my turn to talk to Lisa".

Avery's version of playing is this:

Bea comes and knocks their secret knock on the door. Avery goes outside and they walk up and down the street talking. Sometimes they sit in their spot beside McKenzie's house and they talk. 

Middle school stuff. 

Here is a sampling of Andrew's work, depending on what he's obsessed with at the time. 

He made up his own planets on this day.

Evan has been making elephant toothpaste. 

He expects it to be a big exciting chemical reaction like the ones Mark Rober does, but every time it's just very similar to vinegar and baking soda. 

But that doesn't stop him from pouring and running, like it's going to explode.

"Everybody stand back!"

So last week we had a cancelled day of school because of the crazy rains and flooding throughout the valley. 

With the kids home, I declared that they could not get on devices during the hours they would have been at school, and my house exploded with imagination. 

Toys, experiments, noise. 

Me and Avery spent an hour making this marble run. She is so fun to be with. 

She teases and jokes and is so smart. 

She also jumped out of the picture, darn her. 

I would say cars are the toys my kids play most consistently with. 

Cars and Legos.

They go through Pokemon obsessions still.

This particular day they were playing "flip it or rip it".

It is a version of Russian Roulette where you pick between two cards and you have to rip the one you pick to rip, no matter how valuable it is. 

I suspect they watched a YouTube of this because Andrew is wearing this headband reminiscent of the Russian Roulette scenes in The Deer Hunter.

So what brought this weird/terrible game to an end is when Andrew ripped one of his very favorite cards and was in tears about it. 

Duh! 

I put an end to that. I hate when they destroy their toys. It is just gross. 

A lot of Avery's time is spent texting with her friends. She has so much fun with it. 

Koda is a big part of our play. The kids pet her until she gets overwhelmed and runs away from them. 

Andrew had to disguise his turkey so that it doesn't get eaten on Thanksgiving.

He chose to dress it as a race car driver. 

Evan spends a lot of time drumming. 

For band in 6th grade you have to choose an instrument. He wanted percussion, but A LOT of kids want percussion, so they do try outs.

He didn't think he would "make it" but he did! And he loves it. He's getting pretty good at tapping a beat on every hard surface in the house. 

I grew up with tappers in my childhood home, so I know how to cope. 

ha

I is for Imagination

Bookmobile Wednesdays we meet up at the new library. The kids always play group games. 

Usually they play Among Us...here they are playing red light, green light.

While I puzzle, the kids play around me at the table. 

Sometimes they make up their own story lines, and sometimes they imitate a show.

This lego creation is a theater. 

This is a jail with three different tiers of confinement. The police officers would take turns sitting up at the look out, watching for escapees. 

While we were painting, all the furniture was pulled out. 

Evan went on a "treasure hunt" and dug around in the back of the piano. 

He found these items plus lots of cobwebs. 

The Sonic tattoo is so old. I bet it's from the 90's. That baby nesting doll is also an old treasure, whoever owned the piano before us is probably looking for it. 

These creations were so great. The characters were having a building competition. 

He wrote the names of all the structures:

The Freakin Beakon

Lion Station

Donkey Rider

Fade Smoke

Police Station

The Great Grassland

This is "Donkey Rider".

For sure a lot of my kids' imagination is wasted (shaped?) by devices. I try not to let it take over their whole lives. 

 

This day Andrew was playing "Titanic" with the markers. 

I'm not sure exactly what was going on here, but Andrew directed me to throw something on the floor, 

but then he handed me this "ticket". 

I was in big trouble. 

I love that they love to write stories. 

See me and Andrew in the back there? He is telling me what to write for his book, "The Sassy Sassy Weener". It's so great. We are almost done with chapter 8. 

Here is a sneak peak into The Sassy Sassy Weener.

I have to sneak pictures of them playing because they get bashful about playing pretend.

Here they are reinacting A Christmas Carol with the Koopalings. 

"guess the scrunchie"

This is my favorite.

Early in the Fall, Avery wrote a screenplay. 

All our friends have parts, and it's a really great story. 

They have big plans for where the scenes take place, and all the action and stuff,

but it's having a hard time really happening because the kids are too shy to act in front of each other. 

I will be so sad when they stop playing pretend with each other.