Games, a chef, and a princess…

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few."
-Shunryu Suzuki

It’s only natural that gaming parents will produce gaming children, and it seems our kids are following the path.  Ashlyn is getting old enough to play real board games that require strategy and she’s an incredibly quick learner.  It only took her a few minutes to learn how to play Carcassonne, and after seeing her enthusiasm I’ve already ordered three more games to add to our collection.  James may not be old enough to play those games yet, but he’s the best of the three at video games.  His willingness to try multiple times in different ways to clear a difficult spot in the game is impressive for a four year old.  Which is interesting, considering he gives up at the first sign of difficulty when we play the Clean Your Room game.

After watching Master Chef Junior on TV, Ashlyn has decided that she wants to be a chef when she grows up.  Since cooking can be an art, she can also be an artist.  Chefs can also teach others so she gets to be a chef, artist, and teacher all at the same time.  We have no problem with this new interest, especially when we can put her to work making dinner.  This week was spaghetti, and it turned out pretty good if I say so myself.  Nothing burnt, no kitchen utensils were broken, and there were no injuries.  Success!

Isla on the other hand has been spending most of her time wandering around the house, doing art, banging on walls, pestering the cats, chasing the dog, finding the hidden candy, and in general getting into anything and everything.  She’ll still find time to play dress up with Ashlyn, and Ashlyn for her part has a lot of fun dressing her up as a princess.

Life is pretty good.