To the Moon!

Monkey takes all the play vegetables out of the basket and puts the basket on her head. I say, “Are you wearing your space helmet, like Little Bear?” She says yes. Turtle then picks up a metal toy pot and puts in on her head. “Hel-mit, too!” she says. “You’re both wearing your space helmets! Do you want to go to the moon?” Yes, they do!

“Ok,” I say, “Let’s get our space ship!” I get the toy rocket out of the play room closet. “Now, let’s get Astronaut Sally and Astronaut Neal! And don’t forget our moon rover.” We collect the astronauts and I ask, “Do we need anything else?” “Sonya Lee,” says Monkey. She grabs her Little People character. “Now Momma needs a helmet,” I say, picking up the toy frying pan and putting it on my head. “Ok, let's go!”

The rocket makes a flying noise, so I take the lead with the rocket “flying” through the air, with Turtle and Monkey following me, each of us keeping our helmets on with one hand and bringing our supplies with the other. They follow me out of the playroom, down the hallway, across the living room, and into the dining room. “We’re here,” I say, “Boy, it’s dark on the moon, isn’t it?” They agree that the light from the living room gives us just enough light to park. The rocket lands, the astronauts disembark, and Astronaut Sally drives the moon rover under the dining room table to explore.

“Let’s eat while Astronaut Sally explores,” I suggest. Turtle and I pull our helmets off and start cooking with them. Luckily, Monkey picked up a plastic egg on the way to the moon, so we have something to eat. Sonya Lee goes to the potty on the toilet inside the rocket, then cooks some food in the microwave. Astronaut Sally returns from her exploration, then Neal goes out to check the quadrant by the potted plant. While he is out, Twin Daddy comes home. “Moon Daddy, sit down, here!” insists Monkey. So Twin Daddy joins us on the moon, still in his work clothes.

After a little more exploring, it’s time to return to Earth. We collect our gear, which has multiplied thanks to Monkey’s frequent solo trips home for more supplies (a plate, a spoon, and Mr. Potato Head’s accessories). When we land I say, “Ok girls, now we have to write a report to NASA about our findings. You use these and I’ll use the computers.” I hand out their Doodle Pros and they each get to work on scribbling, while I pretend-type on the oversized remote controls Uncle C. gave them for Christmas last year. “I want computer, too,” says Turtle. So I give her a remote control and she types her report instead.

We make several return trips to the moon, including one trip that requires both grocery carts to be completely emptied on the moon’s surface.

Best playtime ever.