Imagination Overload

I have loved watching the girls play together this summer. They really get along great (except for the occasional sister-fight...I think those are mandatory). I've been taking note of some new "games" they have invented together and wanted to remember.

"Window Washer" - This involves walking around with their toy mop and broom, pretending to use them as squeegees. They take intermittent phone calls from clients as they work. Conversations go like this:
"Hello? Window washing. Yes. Yes. Ok. Well, I'm washing a window right now but I can come over later. Ok. Bye."

"Pet Shop" - They line up all their animals and one pretends to be the shop owner while the other is a customer. They go down the line, looking at each animal. Finally, based on important criteria such as color and whether or not the animal has a bow in its hair, they make their choice.
"Vet" - Using their doctor kit, they examine and care for all of their animals. They also play "kennel" and take in all of the animals whose mean families have gone away on trips and left them all alone. The disturbing part of this game is that they put them in the playroom, turn off the light, and walk away saying, "Bye puppies! See you in the morning!" I sure hope that's not what they think happens to Hope when we board her!

"Princess/Evil Queen" - In this game, Lauryn is almost always the evil queen and Allison is the princess. It involves a lot of face scrunching and low, evil hissing from Lauryn and a lot of running and ending up in the dungeon for Allie. They both seem very confident in their respective roles. I'm not sure why the queen is always evil...surely there are movies with nice queens that we can watch. Hmmm....

"Doll House" - Bringing this to our house last Christmas was one of Santa's finest moments. The girls absolutely adore playing with the doll house. There are two parents and two babies, so they each get an equal share (veeery important around here!) I also love when they combine wholesome family living with the attack of an evil queen (see a pattern?!)

This "doll" (have NO clue where she came from) is the evil queen. When her little red light shines (on her tummy) she is able to take over the doll house family with her hypnotic powers.

So, WHERE do they learn this stuff!?

When the queen approaches the house, Allie's job is to gather the babies and animals and hide them under the bed so she won't get them.

You'd think maybe we would be having more nightmares around here with this kind of imagination!

The evil queen has been known to ransack the place.

I love this invention...it's Lauryn's solution to the limited bathroom access in the dollhouse. I mean, how else are they supposed to get across there?! (Yes, the end of the necklace is stuck in the fish's mouth.)

"Barbies/American Idol" - I saved an American Idol barbie from several Christmases ago until Lauryn was old enough to enjoy it. It was in a closet and I just found it a few weeks ago. Well, they adore it. Especially because it comes with a real microphone and an annoying catchy song that plays over and over when you push a button. They have never watched American Idol, but you can't live in this country and not hear about it at some point. They love having their own concerts.

"Birthday Party" - One baby is selected to be the "birthday girl" and all the dolls and animals come to her party. The only (apparent) rule is that the baby is always turning one year old. Never older. Never younger. She is dressed up in the best doll dress they can find. Then they dig out gift bags from the storage closet and fill them with "gifts" for the party. These gifts can be anything from dress up jewelry to a baby blanket. Whatever they can find that they think would be appropriate seems to work.

"Dress Up" - This game has stood the test of time. They probably dress up at least once a day. We have a trunk full of dress up clothes, and they can usually get to the bottom of it within the hour. I have also loved watching L "make" her own dresses. It's so sweet to see her create something that she has seen me involved with (I have been spending most of my free time lately making dresses, so she's had an eyeful!)

She took a blanket and made her own "side seam"!

I have really loved our time together this summer. Both girls are old enough to enjoy each other's company. We haven't really had to go anywhere or had to do anything, so we've spent plenty of time at home, just playing. I mostly love how they have come up with every bit of this on their own!