When I was dating my husband, I fell in love with him because he was kind, handsome and funny, but most of all because he had a mean competitive streak.

The two of us would battle against each other each day to see who would be the first to finish the crossword puzzle from our local paper.  It drove him crazy when I beat him.  Often.

Our kids have, naturally, inherited our love of games and the good-natured competition that goes with them.  This was never more evident than when we purchased our Ninendo Wii Video Game Console.

You just haven’t seen a real game until you’ve seen your 76 year old mother bowling against your 11 year old daughter.  Grandma can get a little crazy.

The best part is that we have taken our games off of the dining room table and put them right in the middle of our living room.  We ski, play tennis, fly airplanes, fish and drive race cars and we do it together as a family. 

The kids love the Wii, because it provides constant entertainment.  My husband loves the Wii, because he can occasionally beat our eight year old son at Mario Kart.  I love the Wii, because it keeps everyone moving.

Our latest acquisition is Wii Party.  I love a good party and I wanted to live up to the game’s name, so that’s exactly what we had.  A Wii party!  We invited a few friends and their kids over on Saturday afternoon for some family fun.

First, we needed sustenance.  The pizza went a lot faster than the fruit and veggies though!

We had a TON of laughs creating our Mii characters.  Here, my friend tries to imitate the eyes we gave her before she arrived.



The kids got the party started!



A disco ball and balloons make all parties better!

My son listens for animal sounds during Hide and Hunt.  The Wii Party version of Hide and Seek!  So fun!



The adults enjoy a game of Time Bomb.  They need to work on their skills.  Just sayin’.



Then we handed out trophies!

I can honestly say that we have not had that much fun in a long while!  We had such a great time that our friend sent us an e-mail the next day and said he’s planning a Wii party at his house.  I’m already looking forward to it.  After all, I love a good party.

And, a little, friendly competition.

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Roughly one month ago I pulled my favorite pair of Old Navy jeans from my closet. Faded, with frayed hems and long enough for my 5’10” frame, they were just the right color of blue and super comfortable. They were perfect jeans. Notice I said, “were”.

When I put them on that day, I noticed a big hole in the left, inner thigh. Years of friction will do that. And, I’m not little. There was a lot of friction.

I wanted to cry. Okay, I did cry. Don’t judge me.

A few days later, karma stepped in. As if my trip to Chicago hadn’t turned out to be great enough on its own, it turns out that while I was there, I met a representative from Brand About Town. They looked at me, my kids and my blog and thought I would make a good Old Navy enthusiast. (Little did they know, I already was one!)

They offered me an “Old Navy Experience”. I didn’t really know what that meant, but part of me was secretly hoping to replace those jeans. So, heck yes! Sign me up!

Yesterday morning, they sent us a car. Here are the kids in the back seat just before sucking down juice boxes which the driver had chilled for them.

When we got to Old Navy, the kids ran off to pet Barker while I was introduced to our stylist.

They quickly left the dog so they could start shopping.

…which were loaded, not just with clothes, but with organic cookies and lemonade for the kiddies!

They tried on TONS of Fall clothes.

And, because he needs to learn that he will someday spend a lot of time waiting on women, my son entertained himself in the clothing racks while his sister kept trying on outfits.

Finally, out the door we went with FOUR bags full of stuff.

Including tax, we spent $359.00 and we got 35 items. I’m no math major, but I AM a good shopper and I can tell you that is one incredible deal. We got quality clothing that averaged less than $10.27 a piece.

I bought the kids some school uniforms, jeans, sweat pants, shirts, jackets, pajamas…and I even got myself two long-sleeved t-shirts and a stainless steel water bottle.

Here is the longest receipt I have ever had.

The only problem? I forgot to get new jeans.

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