'Spoons' and Other Family Fun

Last night we taught the kids how to play 'Spoons' (well, Julianne was a
little too little, so she just watched). They loved it! We played until
Matt and I were thoroughly sick of playing and couldn't do another round.
The kids would have kept going forever if it had been up to them.

As hard as some aspects of village life can be, I would say that probably
the whole family would agree that our family times are really great. One of
the perks of having nothing else to do and nowhere to go is that we have
lots of time to do stuff together as a family. Each week we look forward to
game nights. Uno Attack is definitely the family favorite. But we also
play Sorry, Settlers of Catan, Carcassone, War and Cribbage. We also have
our "Friday Night Movie Night". We try to bring out family movies that we
haven't seen before and can all enjoy. Some of the ones we have watched
this time around include several of the "American Girls" movies and "Planet
51". On Monday nights we have our "TV Show Night". During our last village
stay we watched Season 1 of "The Brady Bunch". This time around we are
watching shows from "Modern Marvels".
On the nights when we don't play games or watch a show, Matt is reading
through the Lord of the Rings trilogy with the kids for the second time.
The older two kids are the ones that enjoy this the most, but Justin does
kind of come and go during the reading.

Back in Ukarumpa it seems like it's a lot harder to have "family times".
There is homework and instrument practice in the evenings. Our couple's
Bible study. Matt's Floorball night. And suddenly the week has gone by and
we haven't had a game night or reading times. It's amazing how busy life
can be. So we really enjoy the slower pace of life in the village, if only
for the chances it gives our family to spend some special times together.