Not So Lazy Days: Road game of checkers drives competition between the kids

This week, my husband is off from work and is in charge of the activities. Here's his account of today's adventure:

After yesterday’s intellectual battle playing the board game “Clue,” the boys weren’t done testing their wits against each other, even as we set of for North Carolina.

We arrived in Woodstock, Va., and decided on Cracker Barrel for lunch after making some headway on the road. The little one’s eyes got big as he said “I’ve been here before!”

Well, not here, but other Cracker Barrels. This one had a gift shop packed with Virginia Tech Hokies gear, despite being a closer stone’s throw to the beautiful new football stadium at James Madison University. It’s even closer to Eastern Mennonite University (where do I pick up an application?)

In any case, the boys first played with the golf tee jumping game. We’ve all seen this thing, you know, the one that proves you are a genius if you have just one tee left at the end. Without the patience to try that, the boys invented their own game that, frankly, I was having trouble grasping.

But they were both into it, and whatever went down, the little one came out the winner, with as big a smile as his tiny mouth could muster.

(He is clearly the competitive one in the family.)

After we ate, the boys sat down in the rockers at one of the oversized checker boards out front and began to square off again. Once again, it was the little one vexing the oldest with a victory, though both could use a tweak or two to their strategy.

That fact aside, I love that they are developing both the drive to compete and the thought processes to do it intelligently.

I've challenged myself to find a new activity to do five days a week every week of the kids' summer vacation. Activities will fall under one of three categories: Arts & Crafts, Sports & Games or Field Trips. Follow me on Twitter @readallaboutsam for immediate updates on posts!