John's parents and brother came to town, and the kids were in heaven. We saw a play, went to the aquarium, ate lots of pizza and ice cream, but mostly we played.

Sorry

Board games for <6 kids played with >4 kids makes for rule problems. David likes to play by David rules, i.e., cheating. I think that's totally age appropriate and don't have a problem with it. Rose does. The kids played a lot of Sorry with the relatives and did a lot of negotiating about whose rules they were playing by. We had the bad day when John had to pack the game way, but mostly the good days where everyone compromised.

Uncle Michael

The kids only see John's brother twice a year, and they idolize him. Uncle Michael sit next to me! Uncle Michael can read me bedtime stories! Uncle Michael look at me! Luckily, Michael does not mind a week of intense uncling. He played a lot of games and read a lot of books.

Pig Latin

This visit Rose discovered the pleasures of secret languages. First, she and Michael made up their own involving starting every word with F. Then they moved on to Pig Latin. UnFay.

Twenty Questions

Rose also discovered the joys of playing twenty questions with the relatives. It's a great game for waiting around lobbies or riding in minivans.

All of us are suffering relative withdrawal today.