Family Fun Night - Aggravation

Our weekly "Family Fun Night" is usually on Friday nights when we have Mommy's homemade pizza and choose something fun we can all do together.  Sometimes this is watching a video, or a bowling tournament with a tennis ball and empty plastic bottles that we have collected, or maybe just reading extra books together for bedtime stories.  One of the more common things we do though is play a game together.
We have played several different games, but easily the most popular is the 1960's game of Aggravation. Do you remember this 'retro' game that can be played by up to six players, with the object being to get your four marbles around the board from Base to Home without being 'aggravated' by another player who lands on your marble in the process and sends your marble back to Base?  Well, it is making a comeback (at least in our house).

Noah usually doesn't make it through the whole game, as someone almost always has to start rolling on his behalf and moving his marbles for him.  He is still sad when he loses and happy when he wins, but the process doesn't hold his attention. You can't blame him though.  It says right on the box that it is for Ages 6 and Up.  Noah just shows us why it is correct to not be for Ages 3 and Up.
Everyone else plays the whole game and enjoys it, but Wiley is by far the most competitive about it.  He has rightfully earned the title of "Aggravation Champion," and will even flash a "trying to be humble, but I am only 5 years old and can't hold it in" kind of grin when you refer to him that way.  He knows he is good and is quite proud of it.  It could be the way he can convince you not to 'aggravate' his marble this time, but most likely it is the hours of practice he puts into it as he develops and figures out his best strategies and tactics.  How does he do this? 

He plays the game over and over through the week, whether anyone is willing to play with him or not.  Some times, Aden will play against him or even Daddy.  When nobody wants to play though, he just plays against himself, and himself, and himself, and himself, and himself. Yes, he plays as all six players and won't stop until each color has safely made it from Base to Home.  He likes to announce the winner and placing of each marble color as he goes.  He is so intense and competitive about it that by the time Family Fun Night rolls around again, the rest of us are basically just playing for 2nd place.

So, who needs the electronic gaming systems out there, when you have the timeless classics like Aggravation?  I think Pit might be ready to make its debut next.  

Evening the Score

After losing his sixth tooth last night, Aden was pretty proud that he met his goal - losing two teeth in each of three countries:  South Africa, the US, and now the Philippines. 

Aden's Toothless Smile

We didn't keep up with the blog on our Home Assignment, so we missed posting that he lost one tooth in Oklahoma and one in Tennessee.  In Tennessee, we were in our hotel room getting ready for church one Sunday morning when the boys were wrestling around on the bed.  When we saw blood on the sheets, apparently coming from Aden's mouth, we realized that Wiley had knocked out tooth #4.

Tooth #5 came out on our newly established tradition of Family Fun Night last Friday.  Aden was somewhat disappointed that the whole family no longer crowded into the bathroom to watch the Tooth-Pulling, but it certainly made the FFN a memorable one. 

With tooth #6, Aden is already making plans for what he will buy as he saves up his Philippine pesos, and Mommy is trying to plan meals that don't require much chewing!