“Punch buggies and padittles,” you say?
“Yes,” says I “Punch buggies and padittles.”
Punch buggies and padittles: games. They’re not the same games, mind you, but separate games. Either play one or the other, or both together. (ah see, now we are getting somewhere!) They are games to play solely in the car, on the road, while traveling, to and fro, the church, the grocery store, to your friend’s house to…well, perhaps now you get the point. 
Punch Buggies
-the plural form of ‘punch buggy.’ Bugs, Beetles, etc… Here’s how the game goes: when you see one, call out “Punch Buggy____!” and the color of said punch buggy. Whoever calls one first wins a point; whoever gets the most points on one car ride or a set amount of time wins the game.
One cannot call the same punch buggy twice unless it’s on the return journey, neither can one call a punch buggy that is located in a dealership; if you find a punch buggy that looks exactly like Herbie (pictured above to the right), call out ‘Punch Buggy Herbie!’ and win 53 points. If you find a double punch buggy (one like this), call out “Double punch buggy____!” and its color. Double punch buggies are worth 2 points.
Get it? Got it? Good.
Onto Padittles now…
-the plural form of ‘padittle.’ A padittle is a car with one headlight out; if you spot one, slap your lap, the ceiling of your car, or a fellow traveler and yell ‘Padittle!’ Each padittle is worth one point.
A ‘padattle’ is a car with one back light out. These are very rare, therefore if you see one and call out ‘Padattle!’ you score 2 points. Whoever scores the most points by the end of the car trip wins the game. But watch out: if you call a padittle or a padattle and it turns out to be a motorcycle or nothing, you loose a point.
Got it? Great!
These games are huge in my family; we’re perpetually playing them in the car, on the road, looking out the window, virtually wherever we are! It’s not unusual for us to be carrying on a conversation with a friend and suddenly interrupt with a “Punch buggy green!” or a “Padittle! Right there, see it?” Crazy homeschoolers again, right?
Alright y’all; it’s time to play some punch buggies and padittles. You know the games, you know the rules, now get ready, get set, GO!!
(hint: punch buggies are best to play in the daytime, while padittles are better for night rides)
-Padittling and punch buggying Kasie
P.S. You must excuse the dry, rather zany sense of humor contained in this post. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist adding a little absurdity to the subject!
