Sunday Competitions

For those of you who know the Smart clan - you know we can be extremely competitive with one another - just ask various in-laws who have married into the family - our actions were almost a deal breaker. I have even received a phone call or two from my sibling that lives in Argentina in order to settle a disagreement as to whom REALLY won the card game (no names are mentioned, but it doesn't take a nuclear phyisics degree to figure it out...)

So - why on earth do we foster these so called "family bonding" activities??? Because it's so freaking FUN!!! Last night - we ventured on a rousing game of Phase 10. Here's a list of the players:

Minday Udall, Annette Thompson, Mom, Matt Brown, Lindsay Brown (whom you constantly have to watch like a hawk b/c she thinks she's a sly cheater), me, and Grandma Pat (OK - she didn't really play - she served as the office card shuffler & dealer...we try to include anyone who may want to be apart of the mayhem.)

As the game ensued, the swear words were more frequent, mom's grunting noises going up decibals each round, and the cut throat skip cards threatening to break up relationships. The picture below pretty much encapsulates how "Christ Like" the actions of the players were...(I'd also like to point out that mom's expression doesn't exactly say "let's play nice" either)

Grandma the card shuffler, Lindsay, Matt, Mom, & Mindy

Never fear - we all leave as friends. Just as the intensity level may have reached a bursting point - Annette threw her cards down on the table and exclaimed "I'm not playing any more" just as she realized she was missing the latest Hallmark Hall of Fame movie that started 10 minutes previously (we tryed to persuade to stay by telling her that someone has already died in the show - where's it going to go from there - but she wouldn't relent.) That's the great thing about being a "Smart" and marrying into the craziness. We may be out for blood, guts, and use cut throat tactics to win the game (as exhibited each year in our kick off summer event of 'death match pool stick competition') but we always leave as friends & lovers. It's an intensity that we leave at the game table and it patiently waits for us to return each week...