Carpet - the new toy

Who would of thunk (can I say that without bringing back a whiff of 80's nostalgia?) that buying an area rug for the living room combined with a large tent in the shape of Thomas the Tank Engine would have brought on hours of entertainment?
Evenings these days consist of John and I just sitting on the couch in the living room, maybe reading the paper, but usually watching the show in front of us. The stars - Zach and Asia, the stage - the new carpet, the props - the tent or other toys. The kids just love to be on that carpet.
When the carpet was first delivered, just unrolling it out of its plastic wrapper was an event. Zach, of course, had to help John cut the plastic, while I tried not to look and imagine what could happen if Zach decided to jump around at the wrong second while one of my good kitchen knives was in use for something not related to cooking. Then once the carpet was out of the wrapper and unrolled, oh the fun the kids had with the cardboard tube that was hiding inside that carpet roll. John cut the tube in two (again another non-cooking use for a new kitchen knife), then we had swords, telescopes, phones. The sword play didn't work too well since Zach would swing the cardboard tube really hard as if he were swinging at a baseball. Telescopes didn't last that long either. Asia doesn't get the concept yet. I don't think Zach even gets the concept of closing one eye so that you can focus with the other. Also, sometimes I'd hold my eye up to the tube only to be looking into the little mouth of one of the kids. But playing phone, that was fun. Whispering in one end, while the receiver giggled on the other. Occasionally both ends would be whispering at the same time or trying to listen at the same time.
Now to actually playing on the carpet. One fun game is just falling down. Asia often initiates it by pushing Zach down. Actually, she pushes. He falls down on his own will because he knows it will make her laugh. Once Zach falls down, Asia will also sit down on the carpet. Zach will stand up, Asia will get up and push him down. This can go on for a very long time. Another variation - push Zach down, laugh, push Zach down, laugh, push Zach down, laugh. Get it? Occasionally, Zach will push Asia down but forget that she's a little smaller. She'll end up crying and that's the end of that round.
Another fun game will include the Thomas tent. The kids go into the tent and peek out of the various windows. Sometimes Zach decides Thomas needs to start moving, so he'll be standing up and walking Thomas around while poor Asia, who thought she was going to just sit inside Thomas and play, now finds herself being dragged along for the ride until she is no longer inside Thomas.
Asia has some rendition of hide-and-seek or peekaboo where she moves to the corner of the tent and starts chanting, like she's counting. Then when she's done "counting," she pops her head to the tent window and says something like, "There she is!" Very cute.
Then there's the let's smoosh Thomas game. The Thomas tent can be twisted up so it fits in a little bag, so it's very smooshable. The kids like to fall on it or push it to the ground. Sometimes, Thomas pops back into shape, other times he stays crushed. Another version is smooshing Thomas from inside the tent. Basically, standig up inside the tent and pushing on the wall til you and the tent fall over. Usually the tent is near the couch so you never really fall all the way over. I just wince sometimes when the tent is near the coffee table. Ahh.. the joys and paranoia of being a mom.