Who Knew?

Who knew that the simple task of sliding shoes down a slide could be so fun?? Yesterday, I took John in the backyard to play on his climber. He likes to climb up the slide, but couldn't quite do it with his slippery shoes on, so I removed them and let the monkey go. He climbed up as usual, acted all proud and then turned around to go back down the slide. After several times of going up and down the slide, I thought it was time to put the shoes back on and do something else. Well as I was putting his shoes on, he started laughing and trying to kick them off. This eventually lead to one sliding down the slide and he thought that was so funny. Hey, wait a minute...I thought mommy was the hilarious one...not shoes!!! :) Anyway, the shoes falling down the slide became a great game and he loved enduring that over and over.

Why is it that you can give your child a brand new toy that you spent a considerable amount on because of the flashy lights and crazy sounds and they will play with it for about 5 seconds and be bored. But give them a $5 pair of shoes and a slippery surface and they are good to go for at least 30 minutes!! I've been contemplating filling all the toy bins with kleenex boxes, remotes, tupperware, ripped pieces of paper, sports bottles, toilet paper rolls, and q-tips...all of which are more entertaining and fun than actual toys!