planking

Most of you have heard of planking, right?  If not, here's a description from wikipedia:

Planking (or the Lying Down Game) is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. Both hands must touch the sides of the body. Having a photograph taken of the participant and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game.^[1] .... Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it's supported in only some regions, with other parts of the body suspended.

Here's some sample photographs of planking:

I don't have a clue who this is.  I just happened to find it on the internet...

So, you get the idea, right?

Well...

Rhys is a planker.  We've yet to plank in our house, so she's not copying anyone.  She just does it naturally because being a planker is apparently instinctual for some people.  Perhaps it's genetic.  She doesn't have the technique perfect.  Usually instead of having her arms by her sides, she has them hidden under her chest since she's usually planking in order to hide something under herself.

This is how it works:

Rhys grabs someone's toy (or whatever it is).  She runs with said toy, often with a look of pure glee on her face. When they get very close, she lays down flat as a pancake with the toy hidden under her chest.  She holds very still and doesn't move for quite a while (at least for a little kid).  She's hard to roll over or even figure out what it is she is laying on.  She usually doesn't make a peep either.  She does this whenever she does anything she shouldn't do.

I'm pretty sure she thinks we can't see her if we can't see her face.  I think that's why when someone is chasing her, and they get very close, she drops to the ground, face down so they can't see her.

Here are some photos that I managed to snag on a few occasions.  This is how she planks.  She always starts off in this position.  Though, by the time I get the camera out, she's usually no longer quite in this position.

Her face is always flat, face down on the ground because she's weird, and she lays there still, not moving.  (Have I just repeated that several times?  I can't tell, and I'm running out of time to edit this as much as I should because I need to go to bed!)

BELOW:  I was cooking and felt someone by my foot.  I had Ella in the baby carrier on my chest, so I couldn't see my feet.  I stepped back, looked down and noticed Rhys was planking on my foot.  I can't remember what she had hidden under her.  She was starting to get up by the time I finally got the photo taken.

NEXT:  Again, it took me too long to get the photo taken, so she might not look like she was planking, but she was.

I don't know if it sounds funny, but it totally cracks us up.

Today Tyler was trying to get her to do something.  I can't remember if he needed her to move so that they could vacuum the floor or what.  But I heard him say something like "Planking isn't going to save you" because she dropped to plank again.  hahahaha!

Here my sister Ani is trying to unplank the planker:

It's not like she's screaming and crying while doing it either.  Most of the time she's so quiet.

BELOW:  I almost completely missed this one, as you can tell since she doesn't really look like she's planking here.  But she had been!  I caught her right before she got up.  She was planking behind the bathroom door for some reason that I can't remember.

She does this several times a day, and it still makes me laugh.  I sure love that funny little girl!

Anyway, so there's the story of our planker.  I'll probably keep posting photos as they come!  hehe....  My other kids never did this.  They sometimes ran away from each other, but the way she planks is so similar to "real" planking that it cracks me up each time!

I shall post pictures of my sister's visit when I get a little more time...