Fun and Games

 I read about this game in multiple comments on a blog asking for game suggestions. I picked it up the day before Thanksgiving to play over the break and it has been a hit. I found it on a great sale before Christmas and so have given a few away as well. There are at least 5 different ways to play the game and each one is fairly fast paced. Reed can play it too but when he gets behind he'll yell out, 'someone spot it for me!'. If I ever give him a card or take one off his pile (depending on what version we're playing) he always says 'Thanks!' in the most animated voice. I like helping him more than winning. The best part is that since it goes fast, if hurt feelings or a sibling fight breaks out, you just play another round. Love it.

 This is Owen's latest game. It's so fun for him. He takes anything he can find and dumps it in my tub. This 'little' pile was all done one morning while I was getting ready. I kept trying to stop him or lock him out of the bathroom but his crying was too much so I let the pile grow. I'm soft in my old age but it's worth it. His favorite is peaking over to see his masterpiece. Anything is better than the toilet brush and plunger I had to hid from him!

Last Saturday Lindsay's kids came over to play. She was in town doing some shopping and asked if I wanted to meet up with her and her mom. Nate had a game and Dane had soccer so instead I offered to have her kids here so she could shop with her mom and oldest daughter (the one needing jeans) and without the dead weight of two boys. Her younger daughter wanted to come here too, she's a big fan of Owen and he's a fan of her. It was a balmy 45 degrees outside but not a one of these kids cared. Reed eventually came in and found the computer and I forced a cold, crying Owen inside after an hour. They live in the country so when they are at our house, they like our sidewalks, driveway hill for scooters/skateboards and they loved riding bikes around the block. When we are at her house, it's horses, a trampoline, a basement and triple the yard. What a good balance for friends. 'City' kids (term used very loosely) and country kids. They played football, basketball, soccer, skateboards, scooters, rip sticks, etc. Hurry up spring, 3 hours with these guys wasn't long enough.