The beginning.... 2012

I love January 1. Its the ultimate beginning of all that to begin. When I discuss this whole concept with others, some nod their head in agreement, while others roll eyes, raise eyebrows or do that all knowing tilt of the head, as if to say... you are cracked! But, to each his own, right?

New Years in our house was sort of typical. We usually stay home, with family or friends and do something like watch a movie, or play a game. With Jack being exactly 8 weeks old and a little too young for a movie... we decided to stay home and crack open this new game we received from Stephanie and Sean for Christmas. Its called "Ticket to Ride". At first glance, I assumed it was a game about Beatles trivia, to which I instantly gave up any hope of enjoying.. since I live with Mr. Beatles (or any music) trivia king. But on further inspection, we realized its about trains.. and not one bit about the John, Paul, Ringo and George.

We were all sort of intimidated by the colours, the roads, the little pieces and the millions of cards... and it just seemed like it would be impossible to follow... but alas... it was simple, fun and secretive..

We had to take a mid game break for Jack to have a little evening feeding, and Michelle snapped a picture of the rest of us studying our game...

For those of you who have experienced "Settlers of Catan"...it has a lot of the same characteristics... but a little more secretive.. and some fun strategy styles emerged over the two games we played... and the second game was a little more competitive than the first.. with all 4 of us.. neck in neck at the end of the game (as you can see, three of us were tied and the blue guy (Terry) was in the lead by one. You think your winning...until the final scoring happened... and then... there was a CLEAR winner... by miles.. but you just don't know it until you finish the game..

We had a midnight Skype Chat with Stephanie (although it was noon the next day for her). We kept her posted on the thrills of our game all evening.. but by 12:05.. after a few sips of Champagne... we were all off to bed.

Some of us got to sleep faster than the rest of us... because he had a head start!