Armed for... ?

Parents can be so paranoid. Their children can be playing together just fine in another room, and if they happen to get too quiet, what do parents assume? That they're doing something they shouldn't.

In reality, it could just be that they're preparing to give you a really good laugh. (Whether they intended to, or not.)

Take for example AJ and Sydney. They disappeared into AJ's room Saturday afternoon. (I was in the kitchen, Jeff was in the living room.) I could barely hear, but not really understand, AJ giving muffled instructions to his sister.

A few minutes later, I heard - quite clearly - AJ and Sydney come marching out, with AJ singing a made-up chant, "We're rea-dy... for bat-tle." The next thing I heard was Jeff's loud laughter. Here's why:

The kids had been wrestling with Jeff, and apparently AJ wanted to notch up the battle. He'd found his knight's "mail" and sword, and somehow convinced Sydney to be his ally versus Daddy. But what could the little princess wear that was comparable to her brother's? Hmmm... AJ's "Little Frankenstein" hood (that he wore for Halloween as a toddler) is kind of the same shape. And the Hulk fists are the same color. Voila!