A love affair to remember

Diego discovered a new passion in life: the watermelon. 

(Rubbing my hands in a sinister fashion: 

The first taste is always free...now he's hooked for life! Mwahahaha!)

We had a picnic for dinner in the Idaho countryside

. Dutch-oven style: BBQ beef, roasted vegies, and baked brownies. 

Imagine this picnic on the Muir farm, 

surrounded by tall pines (or spruces, or whatever they are) 

with the scenic foothills in the distance. 

Birds serenaded in the fading light.

The sunset was breathtaking and the air was cool. 

(I do miss the spectacular Idaho sunsets!)

The children laughed and played on the swings while the adults ate and played games. 

One game we played was a "Getting-to-know-you-AGAIN" game. 

You know, because even though we're related we still don't see each other very often.

Here's how it works- each person is assigned another family member to introduce (preferably assign them a person they don't know very well.). They can ask everyone else (other than their assigned person) for any details to use in the introduction.

It's a great activity for breaking the familial ice after years of being apart. 

It was also very wonderful to hear what everyone thinks of each other. I discovered a lot of talents and character strengths in other people that I hadn't noticed previously. 

It was such a great activity to strengthen our friendships. Everyone felt loved by the group. 

(I'll confess, it also fed my self-esteem.)

One last parting note- don't let your Littles eat just watermelon for dinner. 

You'll regret it and so will he. Just sayin'.

Family time

I'm always searching for great family activities. When I think about my own childhood, family games have a prominent place. I remember spending almost the entirety of Christmas vacation playing board games with my siblings. We'd choose a game from the closet and play while laying on the floor in front of the old wood stove. Whoever won the game was privileged to choose the next game. This cycle could go on for hours. We would take a break for meals or to go play in the snow, or occasionally we'd call a truce in a desperate attempt to end a days-long ordeal of Risk. Generally it was very fun. I feel like it strengthened my relationship with my brothers and sisters. Even now, we play lots of games when we gather together as a family for reunions or vacations. 

I'd much rather play a game with my kids than watch a movie. I feel like it's more meaningful than staring at a screen, and it fosters good interactions. It's such a challenge to find a game that everyone can enjoy simultaneously. Even though I love my children, it's so tedious to sit through some children games. Think of Chutes and Ladders. It goes on forever and is pretty boring. The only redeeming value is the fact that it helps children work on counting skills. Other games are too difficult for Daniel (age 4)  to participate. I offer to let him be my 'team' so we can share cards or strategize together, but he really wants to be independent. He wants his own cards and gets frustrated when he can't understand the rules.

I wanted to share our favorite family game. It's called Blokus.

Blokus is perfect merely because it's enjoyable for all cognitive levels. The rules are simple: your pieces can only touch by the corners, and try to get down as many pieces as possible. Daniel can comprehend and remember this. Adults can strategize as much as they'd like and make it much more complex. It's even more challenging to play it alone. The solitaire version is very tricky and I haven't figured it out yet.  I love how this game uses spatial intelligence. There aren't very many games that use this part of the brain, and I love the refreshing change. We can all play together and all enjoy the game, no matter where we are on the intellectual spectrum.

I have a closet full of a variety of games. This is the only one that's played several times a week.