Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger

"To 'finny, and 'yond!" Rascal shrieks, as he hurtles himself off the ladder into the pool.

The best way to perform this trick is to wait until Tweenie and BFF are engrossed in their pool-side Barbie world:

"Like, I totally love your bathing suit, Maxine!"

"Yah, like, when Ken and I were shopping it was on sale. And then he, like, asked me to marry him!"

"Ewww!"

"Ok, pretend she didn't say that. Pretend your girl is like "ooh, true love!", 'k?"

This will ensure that Brother's approach goes unnoticed. The resulting furor is most definitely worth the wait.

If Mama is the target, the best launching position is from the sofa toward the loveseat. As this is a Evel Knievel death leap of over 4 feet, the chances of injury are fair to good and as such will guarantee a speedy response.

This week, Rascal and Tweenie have been attending Vacation Bible School at a little church down the road. When I drop him off, he looks at me with liquidy blue eyes, lip trembling, and a very brave but shaky "Bah-bye mumum". He follows the teacher into the room and sits obediently in front of the Play-Doh.

The parents come to collect the kids at the end of the night in the sanctuary. They wrap up their evening with a few songs and a talk about "what they learned today". The windows overlook the parking lot, so I peek in first to see if they are finished.

During the final bouncy song, Rascal sat in the pew quietly with his hand folded in his lap. As soon as the leader got up to pray the final blessing, he jumped up onto his seat and crowed,

"To 'finny, and 'yoooooooooond!"