Indy and Harry

We're heavily into many things at our house, as is the case with many houses. So here are the fruits of many hours spent with Harry Potter and Indiana Jones.

Somehow, I'd like to see an Indy/Harry mashup, but after the disaster that was "Crystal Skull," I'm not sure my favorite would come out the victor. These first two are from a pupative book our youngest started to write. It got this far.

Then we have good ol' Henry Jones, Junior. Looking mighty dapper with his whip and his stubble, I might add.

Double Duty: Who Are These Guys?

Lots of machismo on the menu tonight. Indy wins the contest in our youngest's mind because if he understands anything, it's coolness and power. Power and coolness. Lots of both. He understands that. And sooooo wants to exude it. But he's a slob like his dad. You can look cool and exude power if you're stubbly and sweaty, but if you're stubbly and sweaty but also dribbly, notably with ketchup down your front, coolness and power goes right out the window.

So we have our pictures. Thanks, son.

How DO They Keep the Hats On?

Obviously, our oldest child has also pondered that life-long question: In the movies, how do they keep their hats on during the action scenes? He's come up with a logical scenario:

Indiana Jones and the Briefcase of Doom

Indiana Jones always looks pretty slick, pulling out his gun when necessary, snagging those Sankara stones and generally whipping things up. But I'll bet there were times he had moments like this one.

Wo ist Jones?! Part III

Indiana Jones and his corral of friends and enemies certainly keeps our kids occupied. I present here tonight an eight-page illustrated story our middle child and youngest wrote earlier this week. Hope you enjoy it.

"Indy works in Barnett College," their story begins. "One day while Indy was teaching, some bad guys came into Barnett College. They wanted to kill Indy. But before they could, Indy killed the men that were bad."

"All of the children cheered for Indy. A boy said 'We should give our hero a hug.' Then all of the children lined up to give Indy a lot of hugs. Then after all the hugs, Indy went to teaching the children."

"Then after Indy was done teaching the children, he diecieded to go on a adventure. But Indy didn't know where to go. Then Indy's friend Marcus came running up to him. He said 'Indy, there is a hidden grail.' Indy said 'That's a perfect adventure for you and me.'"

"Then they packed up there bags. And they also bought tickets. Then they went to the airport where they would be tooken to where they wanted to be for their adventure. But the didn't know they were being spied on."

"Then three bad guys jumped right in front of them. Indy pulled out his gun and shot the bad guys. Then they climbed on board the airplane. They were arrested when they were they saw . . . "

". . . Kuzim. He said 'Show the right grail for me instead of you, Indy.' Well, Indy did but it was a death grail. Then Marcus and Indy had to find the right grail. Then Elsa picked out a grail."

"It was the right grail!' Indy grabbed the grail out of her hands. Then something started to rumble. Then a cracked showed. Finally Elsa fell down that crack! Indy loved her. But she was an enemy."

The End.

I have no idea whom Kuzim might be, but it's fun to read their re-telling of the story, even if they're getting their information not from the movies (they can't make it through that Benji film where he gets lost in Greece for heaven's sake; they're not ready for Indiana Jones) but from their Indiana Jones Lego games.

Thanks for the Update, Sallah

Once and a while, one of your kids' drawings will just up and surprise you. That was my reaction when I saw this one sitting on the kitchen table amongst the detritus of homework, backpacks, empty lunch boxes, and a gigantic spilled box of crayons.

I have to emphasize again that they've not seen the movies. The closest they've come is playing a DVD Indy game in which clips from the movies are played. And he runs out of the room when they play because "they're scary." Still, he's fascinated with the characters and situations. If it weren't for Lego Indy, he wouldn't know them at all.

Jones Trifecta is Complete

Tonight, a special treat for visitors to My Kids' Refrigerator: A complete Indiana Jones story, as told and illustrated by our middle and youngest children. No adults were involved in the making of this story. And, I might add, no experience with the actual films; just a lot of time playing the two Indiana Jones Lego computer games we've got. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.

Wo Ist Jones!? Part II

If you think you've seen the last of our family Indiana Jones pictures, then you're as wrong as Satipo was when he thought he could get out of the temple with that little idol without getting skewered.

Today, however, rather than show you the whole picture, I'll focus in on a few of the scarier and funnier caricatures our oldest drew.

First, the scary: Major Toht and a Thuggee:

Here, it's all in Major Toht's smirk and in the Thuggee's scowl.

Now, for the fun. Here's Belloq, in the "butthat" I mentioned in an earlier post:

And finally, you of course remember the big thug who beats the crap out of Indy before he meets his end in the propeller of that flying wing. Our oldest calls him the "enemy boxer." And as an enemy boxer, he of course needs his own pair of enemy boxer shorts, complete with the Nazi kitsch you'd expect:

Before anyone gets their shorts in a knot that we're raising a nascent neo-Nazi, just remember: Context is key.

Wo Ist Jones?!

If it weren't for the two Lego Indiana Jones computer games our kids have, they wouln't know the man from the next fedoraed person to walk down the street.

They haven't seen the movies. They can't get through "For the Love of Benji" without flooding the room with tears of anxiety for the pup, nor can they handle seeing Sloth from "The Goonies," so I know they're not ready for a bunch of melting Nazis.

Nevertheless, they know the characters well. Our oldest made two character charts to prove the point. Here's the second:

They know the music, too, of course, thanks to a John Williams CD they keep sneaking out of the family room. Not that I mind. I like the music too:

Now I know it's normal for parents to brag about their childrens' talents -- why else would I put this blog up -- but I think our oldest might enjoy cartooning when he's older. We'll encourage him in that direction.