Cowabunga Dudes!

My cousins and I were absolutely obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when we were growing up. We loved the cartoon, lived for the movies (I still own the trilogy on DVD), and most of our make-believe games consisted of us acting out various TNMT scenes. My sister Erin, my cousin Tara and I could never agree on who got to be April O'Neil, so in the name of fairness we often became April One, April Two, and April Three; in age order of course. This was on the days when we weren't playing the Turtles themselves (I was always Leonardo because duh, as the oldest I was the leader and the boss!). Erin and Tara would argue over who got to be Michelangelo, because obviously he was far cooler than his brothers, Donatello and Raphael.

After our respective roles were agreed upon for the day, it was time to drag the little kids into our games. My brother AJ and my cousins Shane and Kate were systematically assigned less desirable roles such as other Turtles, Master Splinter, or evil villains like Shredder. If we were feeling generous we'd like one of them play Casey Jones. My aunt has a hysterical home video of all of us playing TNMT in the woods behind my grandparent's house. We're running through the trees feigning some sort of battle, and poor Shane has lagged behind. We don't wait up for him, so he eventually stops in the bushes and sadly cries, "I'm not Shredder!" complete with a lower lip pout. I think he's about four or five, and it's absolutely adorable. He's just lucky we didn't make him a lowly member of the Foot Clan.  

Google Image.

Needless to say, our fascination with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has not diminished over the years. We talk about it constantly and are sure to alert one another when we come across any radical TNMT items. A few years ago I found Ninja Turtle t-shirts at Forever 21 and gave them to Erin and Tara for Christmas. And recently Kate and AJ alerted me of the Ninja Turtle Nose Tattoo... I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time.

 

Almost as good, Erin found this handpainted Ninja Turtle bra on Etsy...

And Kate saw these amazing beanies at the Pike Place Market...
perfect for winter!

She also discovered these radical shot glasses...

And I found these amazing costumes at the Southcenter Mall.

We may not be kids in the '90s anymore, but for some reason the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles never get old. There's something about them that gives me those nostalgic childhood feelings of when life was simpler and we could spend an afternoon chasing each other around the woods with absolute glee (except for poor Shane, of course). And whenever I'm feeling down, I just think about Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap and remind myself not to take life too seriously... (Note to self: Must perfect those dance moves).

But when we all start having kids one day we'll probably have some serious arguments over who gets to name their daughter April.