Jump In The Middle Monkey

Today's fun included trampoline jumping, dancing in Spangles (a fast food restaurant), and learning to play Crazy Eight.

For lunch after church we ate at Spangles with a friend. The boys like to dance to the 50's music, so if it's not crowded we let them dance around the big round table they usually choose as our dining location. The one other group of diners were quite entertained!

We have a large trampoline in our backyard (that actually belongs to our neighbor). This afternoon's weather was so nice that we went outside for some jumping. DS2 was running around the edges a little too close for my comfort, so I got a piece of chalk and drew a circle my arm's length in from the edge. Then I wrote JUMP IN THE MIDDLE between the circle and the edge. That made the jumping target easy to see and fun for them. Then DH added MONKEY to the words. We had fun playing with the order... jump in the middle monkey, or monkey jump in the middle, or the middle monkey jump in, or jump in the middle monkey jump in the middle monkey jump in the middle monkey jump....

Later, DS1 wanted to play a card game with me. Instead of picking one of our "game" decks, he chose a regular 54 card deck. I suggested Crazy Eights since it is much like UNO, which they know. They picked it up very quickly, even calling the suits by the correct name. When DS2 needed a club, DS1 suggested that he look for a "3 clover club" in his hand. We have the added twist in games with jokers that when you play a joker, you have to tell a joke. Since I'm not too good at thinking of jokes on demand, DS1 pulled out his joke-coloring book for this game. After playing a joker (or 8), you read a joke to the others, then you pick your suit. I won the first 2 hands and was glad that each of them won a hand also before we stopped playing.