I Heart... Fun 'n Games

We are a game-playing family.
I learned how to lose playing Chutes and Ladders.

We play dominos with my maternal grandparents, and have fantastic games of Mexican Train. My paternal grandparents have always been into word games, and we have had some great matches of Upwords at their house.
I love playing Apples to Apples, and we had a fantastic game with all of my sisters (ages 9 - 31) over Christmas.

My sister, Lisa, beats the pants off of me daily at Word Twist. But I go back for more day after day because we can play it on Facebook despite the fact that we are 2000 miles apart.

By the way, are you my friend on Facebook? If not, friend me (Angela K. Nickerson)!

My favorite game: Scrabble. Hands down. Bar none. At our New Years gathering we taught Lily (age 9) to play, and she is a formidable opponent. Yikes!

And when I travel I tend to take games with me. There's nothing better than a card game to pass the time when stuck in an airport or on a rainy evening in a hotel. Plus, a good game inspires conversation, laughter, and great memories.

What games do you play with your family?

Play on!
Welcome to all visitors from DeliciousBaby.com 's Photo Friday! Ciao!

Passports with Purpose: Thank You!

Many thanks to all of you who participated in Passports with Purpose. I am thrilled to note that we raised $7420 total for Heifer International. Thank you for being so generous!

Thank you, too, to SkinStore.com! They donated the amazing gift basket full of beauty products, and I am pleased to announce that Shannon won it! I hope you enjoy all of those goodies, Shannon.

And more fun news…Those of you who entered the Christmas Giveaway… well, I told you it might be worth it! Not only did our three winners win a Rome with a View calendar, they also won a PwP raffle ticket. And one of those tickets was a winner! Congrats to Richard who won the prize from TravelswithBaby.com!

Again, thank you to all of you who supported Passports with Purpose! And thanks to the organizers:
Beth at Wanderlustandlipstick.com
Debbie at Deliciousbaby.com
Michelle at WanderMom
Pam at Nerdseyeview.com

Felice Anno Nuovo!

I am truly blessed.  I have an incredible group of friends who, for nearly a decade, have been gathering to greet the New Year somewhere in the world.  We spend four or five days together reconnecting, laughing, and relishing our ever-deeper friendship.  Oh, and there's amazing cooking, profound wine choices (with a sommelier in the group), and music like you wouldn't believe (an opera singer, a pianist, a harpist, percussionists, singers... and there are only 7 of us total).

The tradition began at my house in Faribault, Minnesota, but we have celebrated in Philadelphia, California, Chicago, Minneapolis... and Italy.  Two years ago we met in Rome for two weeks of Italian wonders in Rome, Florence, and Venice!  These photos are from that trip... and I am writing having just arrived at the Corner House for our annual gathering.

We've been friends since college, and we know that at a minimum we will see each other once per year.  It isn't enough, but it is the promise we make to each other.  When we were born, we were given a family.  But this -- this is the family we choose.  We are such dear friends, and we enjoy each other so much.  Our friendship is one of the great joys in my life.

We will be together again this year.  It is truly the best way to end one year and begin the next.

I hope you celebrate the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 with people you love, too. Happy New Year!