Told the kids (older 2) they could stay awake all night if they wanted to

Violet and Calvin have been very interested in "night time" when we are all normally sleeping.  They ask about what the house is like, how long "night time" takes, etc.  For fun we thought it would be something for them to discover themselves.  We told them last night that they didn't have a bedtime, and they could try stay awake all night if they wanted, and end up sleeping wherever they wanted to when they got tired.  You should have heard the screams of excitement!!  They couldn't WAIT to NOT go to bed. :D  This may be interpreted as irresponsible, but we had to get it out of their systems so they'd stop asking to stay up all night.  Of course we knew they would never make it all night.  We wondered when they'd eventually fall asleep and where.

Dave put Vanessa to sleep around 8:30 like usual.  Violet and I played a game she created (drawing numbers 1-45 out of a bucket and writing down what number you get and adding it all the numbers at the end of the game).  Violet made score sheets for everyone with 45 boxes each.  Calvin only was interested in drawing numbers and writing them down about 9 times, then he got bored and left.  Violet, Dave and I played the rest of the game.  Eli eventually went to bed around 9:15.  Violet made a list of things she wanted to do when she was awake all night.  Her list included coloring, playing legos, making crafts, cards, playing house, and playing school.  After coloring for awhile, they both got interested in legos, and played those quietly for almost an hour and a half while Dave and I talked in the kitchen.
We couldn't really believe how quietly and nicely they played together.  Maybe they enjoyed their Vanessa-free play time.

We still made them brush their teeth and put pajamas on, "just in case" they felt tired enough to sleep.  A few times we would catch a glimpse of Calvin he looked all glassy-eyed and tired.  He would try spring to life and act like he wasn't tired.  He did grab a big blanket and a few books around 11:00 pm and say "I'm just going to lay on the couch and look at some books for awhile."  Violet informed me "he was just taking a little rest, then after resting, he would come play with me."  Calvin was sleeping with in 5 minutes of "looking at books".  Violet was bummed her play mate was no longer awake.  She got her little pink kid computer with games on it and played some music on it, trying to have her own little dance party to stay awake.  At 11:30 Dave and I decided to go to bed and leave her alone, wondering how much longer she'd be awake.  She liked the idea of being awake with everybody else sleeping.  She got herself all set up in the corner behind her cardboard house with plenty of things to do and said goodnight.  Dave and I got ready for bed then he sneaked downstairs to spy on her.  She had gotten out a blanket too and decided to lay on the couch with Calvin.  She was asleep shortly after that.  Calvin sometime got up and went to his bed.  Dave tried putting Violet in her bed later but she refused that, and decided to sleep on the floor instead.  I think they both wanted the fan on to sleep with.

Funny night!