Bedtime Battles

Getting ready for bed at our house seems to take forever - at least hours. Bathing, snacks, brushing teeth, etc, etc, etc, not too mention too much whining times three and I am exhausted after the whole thing.  I ignore Gavin and he seems to find his way to bed, which gives me hope for the other three.
In an effort to create a more child-responsible bedtime, I have bribed my kids.  At 7:45 pm, I am on the couch in the family room with a book in hand and if the kids are ready for bed, they are welcome to join me and listen to me read out loud.  So far it has been very successful.
We are currently reading Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King.  This is the first book in The Guardian series by William Joyce.  I am completely enjoying it and the kids are too.  It's a great book, so far (we are four chapters in).
Tonight we read:
"The children were wily, even brilliant, at avoiding that dreaded span of the day called 'bedtime.'  It was the one nearly impossible task the village faced each and every day.  One night the children disguised themselves as statues.  Another, they figured out how to hide inside the paintings on the walls.  Most often they'd simply duck into the forest, where even the bear would sometimes hide them.  And the herd of Great Reindeer was clearly in on the game, for many were the evenings when they would gallop between the trees with the laughing children on their backs, just ahead of their pursuing parents."
Sound familiar?  We don't have reindeer at our house, but if we did...
"Child traps were finally invented, intended to shorten the nightly ritual.  Gently but firmly, the traps would catch the children, wash them, brush their teeth, clothe them in the proper pajamas, and catapult them to their bedrooms."
I'll take three, please.