Game night

What started with the girl with a million toys pouting because she couldn't possibly think of anything to do other than play Barbie games on the computer, turned into an oldies but goodies night at the Kazel house.

Behold the queen of Candy Land.

Six games in a row I played with her while Jeff was with AJ at hockey practice. And how many of those six games did I win? One. It's a game of pure luck, which always scares me because how do you make it easier for the child to win when the outcome is pure luck? But luck was on Sydney's side: When she played me, when she played AJ later in the evening, and when she played Daddy after supper.

While playing with me, the game was a friendly experience. Sydney was as excited to greet the girl characters along the route as she was to cross the finish line. Princess Frostine and Grandma Nutt were the favorites.

Of course, the game against Daddy turned into a trash-talking competition. "You're going down, clown!" and "Girls rule!" were among the taunts leading up to and during the board game battle.

When Daddy shouted with mock excitement, "I got the Princess Ice Cream card!" Sydney was outraged.

"That's Princess Frostine, Daddy!"

AJ, meanwhile, embraced game night with a request of his own. Battleship is his new favorite game, even though he doesn't fully seem to handle where to put the pegs. But it's war related, so it must be important, he figures.

And the ship with four holes in it, "Don't you think it looks kind of like the Titanic?" AJ asked. That makes it even cooler.

How I love the classics! There's a reason they've stood the test of time. I had a Candy Land game as a child, and the Battle Ship game actually is mine from childhood.

Still, I can't help but realize that this was just the first day of single digit temperatures. It's going to be a long winter.