Game night

Alex got in some Chess practice with Papa and me. I also had him watch a couple of short videos on youtube.

I taught Sabrina to play Checkers. Frank also played her when he got home. She caught on pretty quick. After a few more games she will be a challenge to play.

We played Octopus Garden. We have not gotten all the rules down yet, but by immediately replacing tokens we were able to cut the wait time down. We had fun.

Another game we played was Fruit Ninja Card Game, which is one of Sabrina's favorite games right now.

Ninja Vs. Ninja  is a new game for us (came in the mail today). It is a two player game that Frank and Alex played. The goal is to "sneak" into the opposing players dojo and safely back to yours. They liked it.

Marie-Anne

Mommie and Alex time

Alex had a dentist appointment this morning. Afterwards I got to spent time with just him. It was very nice. The dentist's office has a video game in the waiting room. Since Alex didn't get a chance to play before his appointment we stayed for a little while afterwards.

At Toys R Us Alex showed me the new 2017 Lego sets. He also spent some of his money on one.

Next we went to the mall so he could go to Collector's Playground. Alex loves this store- old toys and comics. I let him take a Sailor Moon doll I had picked up at the thrift store to sell. He got $5 store credit. Since I always buy them a small toy when they have a doctor/dentist appointment; (started that when he was a toddler and I felt so bad about him getting shots...) I put a few dollars with it so he could get an action figure; Cyclops.

Next we had lunch at Subway. We spent quite a while there just chatting. It was a great day.

Marie-Anne

Game Day

Frank had today off. We mostly spent the day at home, (I am the only one who went out). So we relaxed, straightened up, hung out, and played games throughout the day.

Frank and I played a few rounds of Rummy.  It's amazing how entertaining a deck of cards can be.

Frank and Sabrina played Apples to Apples Freestyle. She really likes this game. The rest of us think it is okay.

I got a chance to play Tabletop Shuffleboard. It is more challenging than it looks, but also very fun.

Star Trek Panic is another game we got for Christmas. Frank and I jumped in and figured it out as we went. At first I was confused and overwhelmed, but by Mission 3, I was starting to get the hang of it and by the time we won I really enjoyed it. It is a cooperative game that I think we will really enjoy as a family, though it will take time for the kids to catch on.

Sabrina and I played I Sea 10! She likes it much better since we changed the rule about the shark eating all of our tokens.

Alex and I played Attila. I have to admit he is much better at this type of game than I am. As his Mom, I do take some credit for that because I assign the kids logic games as part of their school. Still doesn't change the fact that I keep losing to a 12 year old- great fun.

Sabrina and I enjoyed playing Fruit Ninja Card Game.

Niya remains one of Sabrina's favorite games. We play it often.

Sabrina and I also played Connect 4 and More. It is a fun tile laying game.

Chess is another game Alex likes. He participates in our homeschool group's chess club. He is both teaching me to play and using me as practice.

Tonight was the first time Frank and Alex played Tally Ho! together. Alex managed to win.

The guys also played a few turns of Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures. Frank took time to paint. Sabrina watched a movie. Alex played a computer game. I went to the store and did a couple of Wordsearches. All in all a wonderful day.

Marie-Anne

Marie-Anne

Games- Trying out the Christmas Games

I Sea 10 is a math game. Each player flips two tiles. If the numbers revealed add up to 10 the first player to shout, "I Sea 10!" gets them. The unused tiles are left face up and the next player flips two more. The only thing we did not like about the game was if the shark is flipped the player loses all tokens. So we changed it to lose a turn.

Of course, Sabrina can add to 10, but I thought this would be a fun way to improve her speed. (Math is not her favorite subject right now.) I can also easily change the game to practice adding whatever tiles are flipped or subtracting to get 3 or any other number less than 9.

Tabletop Shuffleboard is a game I talked Sabrina into getting Frank as a gag, but actually it is fun. Players slide their disks across the table to try to land on a number. It is not as easy as it sounds. The player who goes second can also hit the first player's disks and knock them off of a number.

Octopus Garden is a tile laying game. It is not confrontational; points are added at the end. However you have to buy the entire row which sometimes has things you do not want. The starfish is worth 5 points, however if it is on or near the sea worm then the sea worm loses points only to regain them when the starfish has moved away. The starfish also moves one place closer, each turn, to oysters which he eats. Oysters produce pearls which are money.

The only thing we did not like was the wait time between turns. So next time we will immediately replace tiles we bought so the next player can start while we design our garden and pay ourselves.

Crab Stack is a game I have wanted for a while. I really like Blue Orange Games, so I was disappointed that the board was warped coming out of the box. When we tried to straighten it out it ripped. We played it anyway, but I don't think we totally understood the rules. I am hoping for a replacement. We have thoroughly enjoyed all of the other Blue Orange Games we own, which is close to ten. Based on our prior experience with this company, I think the warped board was a fluke.

 

Star Wars X-wing Miniatures isn't a new game to the guys, but they did get expansion sets for Christmas that they had to try out.

Apples to Apples Freestyle is not a game we got for Christmas, but rather one I had for a while and waited until I thought Sabrina might be interested. Our box was damaged and the instructions are missing, I guess that was why it was on clearance. There were several ways to play online. We took turns reading the sentence then we all filled in the blanks. Sabrina loves this game!

Marie-Anne

Christmas Gifts

Thank you to everyone who gave us presents. A lot of the things the kids received were from relatives. We appreciate you!

Alex got several games; Attila, Crab Stack, and Ninja vs Ninja, He also got books, an expansion to X-Wing Miniatures, a sketchbook,  2 Lego sets, and action figures.

Sabrina got several games; I Sea 10,  Me Want Cookie, Kaboom, and Great States Card Game. She also got books, a loom, 2 Lego sets, a magnifying glass, (she is a detective), and a couple of movies.

I got a game, Octopus Garden, a beautiful Wordsearch book, a lovely decorative clock, and a very nice breakable bird.

Frank got two games; Star Trek Panic and tabletop Shuffleboard. (He kept joking that we need to learn to play Shuffleboard for when we get old, so I talked Sabrina into getting it for him.) Alex also chose an expansion to X-Wing Miniatures for Frank without knowing he got a different one for Alex.

We also got a very nice food basket with different foods to try- the kids said it was like a buffet! Part of the money from grandparents is going to pay for classes at the rec center, repairs around the house, and help with our trip to California next month. 

Marie-Anne

Christmas Stockings

The kids love to get their stockings on Christmas Eve. I shop clearance throughout the year to get them stuff they will like at cheap prices. (I already have a few stocking stuffers for next year.) They got games (Catan Dice and Fruit Ninja Card Game), little notebooks, Tricky worms, small toys, and Sabrina got a movie and art supplies. Two very happy kids!

Marie-Anne

Christmas Eve

We had our neighbors over for a late lunch on Christmas Eve. Frank cooked a turkey. I made ham, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, steamed broccoli, mac and cheese, 2 pumpkin pies, and an apple pie. Needless to say we had a very nice feast.

The kids enjoyed playing several games while the adults talked.

Sabrina put on a puppet show that was totally her idea. She used her stuffed animals as actors and read the Christmas Story from one of her kids Bibles. She worked on it in secret for several days.

After her play Brandon showed us the tricks he can do on his very nice new scooter. My kids also brought their scooters out and showed off their tricks too.

We had a wonderful time.

Marie-Anne

Games- Mommy vs everybody

I get to play games just me and Sabrina whenever the boys are gone to Men's Discipleship Class so tonight I made a point of playing games with Alex while Sabrina was busy.

Struggle for Catan is a card game that Alex really enjoys. I enjoy it as well, though I am not as good at it as Alex is. He has played it a lot more than I have and normally wins.

Battle Sheep is always fun. I beat Alex the first round and he beat me the second round. The goal is to claim more pasture than your opponent(s). It can get pretty cutthroat as you try to block each other.

Tally Ho! is a fun game that I introduced Alex to. We both enjoyed it. We didn't keep score because we are still figuring out the strategy of the game.

Scrabble Junior isn't my type of game, but Sabrina likes it so we played it. She won by quite a bit, okay she had twice as many words as I did.

Ticket to Ride Europe is one of my favorite games. Frank won by one point.

In Mommy verses everyone I didn't do too well, but I had fun. (See, I am modeling how to be a good sport.)

Marie-Anne

Spread the Word Nevada

Spread the Word Nevada has more times available for book cleaning than in the past. So we cleaned books again this morning. There was more people there than I have ever seen today. We are starting to get to know some of the others who clean books regularly.

Marie-Anne

Crystal Palace Skating Rink

Crystal Palace is only open during the weekday when school is out so we haven't been since Summer. We had a great time. Naturally, Sabrina made friends with other girls her age. I didn't skate as much as the kids did, but I still enjoyed myself.

I didn't realize the cost of admission included pizza, drinks, and tokens. Nice! Alex loves foosball and is quite good at it. We both played the video game.

Marie-Anne

Games

Taboo for Kids is back by kid request. As predicted the kids are getting better; hopefully after a few more times and they won't need any help giving clues.

Carcassonne was our next game. We enjoy this tile laying game of building roads and cities. For one player it had a bit of character training today as that player got frustrated that things didn't work out quite as expected. That is another benefit of board games.


One reason we have more game nights this time of year is because it gets dark so early. Another reason is that once we start playing games more regularly we remember how much fun they can be.

Marie-Anne