Who are these Star Wars kids?

Adam and Walt performed their first Star Wars play for me the other day. Apparently it was scenes from Episode 3 in the Lava World. Adam was Anakin and Walt was Obi Wan Kenobi.

Micah was cast as Yoda.

There were frequent uses of "The Force."

And much intensity.

It wasn't quite "The Three Little Pigs" play that they learned that morning in CLUE, but they had fun and grasped the concept of putting on a play! I look forward to many more.

We Should Charge for This Privilege

Today marked my first time taking Adam and Walt to school, and although I'm taking a break from blogging, twitter and facebook for the season of Lent, I thought I would exercise my liberty in Christ by sharing my experience. Three things come to mind:

1. I believe there was a total of 22 seconds of silence during our 15 minute drive downtown
2. Walt begins every sentence with "And Adam..."
3. Walt shared with Adam that they had played with the light saber yesterday at his house, but then they left it outside and he forgot to bring it in. He then said, "And Adam, that's why I knew that was a bad idea." Then, and I kid you not, there was a silent gap of 8.5 seconds, with me waiting in anxious expectation for a response. Finally, Adam answered, "I don't know what you're talking about."
   
   

Spicklers on banking

Walt: I got a new Star Wars dvd. Episode 3. But I'm gonna save my money to buy more.

Me: Oh, did you buy the new one with your own money?

Walt: No, my dad did.

Me: That's nice of him. Do you know how your dad gets money?

Walt: He gets it from being a lawyer.

Adam: No he doesn't! He gets it from the bank.

Walt: No he doesn't! He never goes there. Only mom goes to the bank!

Something Mysterious

Technically, this didn't happen during carpool, but during a playdate. After playing outside on one of the first sunny spring days in months, Walt came inside looking for me.

W: Mandy, Adam and I have found something mysterious growing in your backyard and we need you to come out and tell us what it is. It's green and mysterious.

(Curious myself, I went to check it out.)

Me: Um, boys. This is what you call a weed. Walt, have you never seen this before?

(Seriously, Spicklers! The kid's never seen a weed?!)

Walt: Can you eat it?

Me: No, but feel free to pull it! Pull all of it. Make a soup with it. Make a Star Wars juice with it. But don't eat it. That would be gross.

(I return inside. After a few minutes, Walt returns.)

W: Mandy, um. We have to apologize. We accidentally ate some.

Me: You ate the weeds? Well, what did it taste like? Was it good?

W: It was kind of good.

Me: Please don't eat anymore. It's not very good for you.

W: Okay.

You know, when we lived in California, they would bring in a few hundred goats to clear out all of the overgrown grass on the hills on the campus of the seminary. I didn't know that we could use our kids for that! We discover new benefits to this parenting thing every day!

On Bell Towers and Proper Nouns

Today's commute was all about Walt.  About how Walt can read.  About how Walt knows the names of things. About how much Walt knows about . . . well . . . everything.  As told by . . . who else? . . . Walt.

W:  One time when Meredith was over at my house watching Star Wars, I read the part at the beginning that tells about the episode.
A:  Meh (or something else insufficiently enthusiastic)
W:  That sign says 'New York.'
A:  How did you know that?
W:  Because I can read.
. . . . . . 
W:  Do you know that bell tower across from Schnucks?  I think I just saw it.
A:  What?
W:  The bell tower.  The one across from Schnucks.  Do you know it?
A:  (emphatic) Where?
W:  (exasperated)  At Schnucks.  (exhale)  Schnucks is the big store.  Where you go in.  And they have the cookies at the front . . . .
A:  Oh yeah.  I've been there.
W:  There's a bell tower across the street that has bells in it that they ring.
. . . . . .
(Lengthy discussion about The Force, its uses, various practice sessions for its use, the varying degrees of said Force, things The Force can and can't accomplish, etc., etc.)

W:  There's another bell tower up here that you can see.  It's by where the smokestack is.  It has a college hat on it.
A:  (ignoring the fact that Walt just said a bell tower had "a college hat on it")  Where?
W:  Up here (rounding the corner, at which time the three of us are craning our necks for a glimpse of what must be a very strange looking building).
A:  I don't see it.
W:  It's taller than the other buildings, and it has a college hat on it.  See that little pointy thing?  See?
A:  That one right there?
W:  Yeah.  See?  It has on a college hat.

Sure enough.  The bell tower at the UT Health Science Center campus has a teeny tiny little . . . well . . . mortarboard-looking thing on top it.  But Mr. Smartypants just calls it a "college hat."
. . . . . . 
A:  Hey.  There's the basketball stadium.
W:  It's called FedExForum.  You can call it FedExForum.
A:  It's a basketball stadium.  I can call it a basketball stadium.
W:  But its name is FedExForum.
A:  I can call it a basketball stadium if I want.
W:  But, like, if someone said, "Hey, where are you going to watch the basketball game?"  You would say, "At FedExForum."

The fact that Walt had just referred to a mortarboard atop a bell tower as a "college hat" was completely lost on Adam.