The next day Josh, Jenny, Molly, and I took Oliver to the park.
The rain had frozen overnight, and the park pathways were slippery with ice.
"Whee!" cried Molly, sliding on the ice.
"My feet are freezing," complained Oliver.
"Mine too," said Josh, stomping his feet.
"I wish Iggy could invent something to keep our feet warm."
"Oliver, did you know that Iggy is an inventor?" asked Jenny.
"What's an inventor?" asked Oliver.
"It's someone who invents things to solve problems," I said proudly.
Maybe Oliver would realize that his big cousin Iggy was special.
Instead Oliver just scowled.
"Big deal," he mumbled.
I scowled back at him.
Then I went back to thinking about an invention that would keep our feet warm.
My mom had a hair dryer.
"What if I made a special holder for the shoes?" I thought.
"Then I could blow the hot dryer inside the shoes!
That might work!"
We headed home about an hour later.
"My feet are soo cold!" Oliver complained.
"It was a dumb idea to go outside."
"Why don't you take your shoes off," I said.
To my surprise Oliver listened to me and took his shoes off by the fireplace.
My mom had built a fire there.
While we were drinking hot cocoa, I asked Mom if I could borrow her hair dryer.
She narrowed her eyes. "What for?"
"A shoe-warming invention," I explained.
"How will it work?" she wanted to know.
"I'm not sure," I said. "I have to experiment."
Mom shook her head.
"I don't think I want you to experiment with my hair dryer," she said.
"It's brand-new. If something goes wrong, I'll have to buy another one."
Oliver looked miserable.
"Now my socks are cold,"
he whined, swinging his feet under the kitchen table.
I was getting better at ignoring him.
"It would be great if I could keep our shoes warm while we were outside," I thought.
I imagined walking down an icy street with toasty warm feet.
That would feel fantastic.
I went back into the living room and stared at the blazing fire.
What if I used the fire to warm up shoes?
The other kids were still in the kitchen.
I could hear Josh telling jokes.
"Why did the farmer throw the clock out the window?" he asked.
"Why?" asked Molly.
"He wanted to see time fly!"
"Ha-ha!" Molly and Jenny laughed.
"I don't get it," said Oliver.
"When time goes fast, you say 'time flies,'" explained Josh.
"The farmer wanted to see time fly!
That's why he threw the clock out the window."
Somebody else started telling a joke.
I took one of Oliver's shoes and stuck it on the end of a long metal poker.
Then I propped up the poker near the fire.
Now Oliver's shoe would get nice and warm inside.
I went back to the kitchen.
Tate was telling a joke now.
"What's worse than biting into an apple and finding a big bug inside?" he asked.
"What?" asked Molly.
"Finding half a bug!" said Tate.
To my surprise Oliver actually smiled.
But Jenny made a face.
"That's disgusting!" she said.
"I would hate to eat a bug."
"Or even half a bug!" added Molly with a shudder.
Josh started telling another joke, but then suddenly he stopped.
He sniffed. "What's that smell?" he said.
"It smells like leather," Mom said. "Burning leather."
"Oh my gosh! Oliver's shoe!" I cried.
I ran into the living room.
The poker I had propped up had fallen into the fireplace.
And Oliver's shoe was on fire!