While your parents shopped for our upcoming Disney World vacation, you & Camden stayed at our house.

The minute you came in, you started asking… “Can we play in the basement Papa?” You didn’t give up… kept asking… persistence will get you to your desired destinations and goals Miss Ainsley.

On our way to the rec room, we went outside and took some shots.

It was a sunny day in the high 30’s.  Grammy said “They don’t have any coats on and aren’t wearing any shoes!”  We made it quick.

We came into my office, then Camden tried on my reading glasses… he thought they were hilarious.  You soon followed.

In the rec room, surrounded by games and toys of all kinds, you gravitated toward the plastic animals.  Grammy joined us and together matched up the Mommy animals with the baby animals.

Camden and I played table hockey, foosball and raced cars down the ramp. You tried the cars for a little while.

Eventually, he took out the cardboard “town” and set that up. He always talks about how he and I made that together when you guys lived here.  You got into the act too. We each took cars and moved them along the roads, drove through drive-in restaurants and watched the hockey game on the UNH ice rink we drew.  When your car went through McDonald’s you said “Can I have 50 million cheeseburgers please?”

Around 5pm, your cousins arrived…  you & Molly tag-teamed as usual. The two of you are peas in a pod and love to go on adventures in our giant house… often getting into trouble. You played “restaurant” taking our orders and disappeared in the bathroom… locking the door and playing with two kid soap pumps until they were empty. Always something going on!

The number one game you ask me to play when I come over is Jail.

Jail is one of my interactive, we don’t need no stinkin’ board game, mind-creations.

It goes like this:

I block off an area which is “the jail.”  Usually it’s a space at the foot of a chair or base of a sofa – we take ottomans and pillows and make a square box.  Sometimes we throw in a blanket.  There may be a “door,” or not.

There are three fun parts.

1. The song:  “If you talk and do not walk, you will go to jail.”  (I hit paydirt with that one… catchy, huh?)

2. The game:  you and Camden walk around a room… taking a broad, wide course, walking behind the sofas and past the jail.  You start off slowly, never opening your mouth.  Then sounds are emitted – sometimes hesitant, sometimes bold.  Then a casual paced walk turns into a fast walk which turns into a fast run.  Next thing I know, you guys are running around screaming like wild bandshees.

Sheer madness!

My job at this juncture is catching you and putting you in the Jail.  Sometimes you cooperate during the catching process; sometimes you struggle and don’t want to go in.  Eventually you’re in there!

3.  The quiz:  to get out of Jail you have to successfully answer a question.  You never know what I’ll ask you.  For Camden it may be “what was Larry bird’s number?”  For you it might be “what number comes after seven?” Your eyes are always wide-eyed during this part because you don’t know what’s coming.

After successfully answering the quiz question, you are able to leave Jail and return to the walking/no talking thing.  The process repeats itself over and over and over.

Because you (and Camden) never get tired of it, I have to – at some point – suggest picking up our jail building items and moving onto something a bit more q-u-i-e-t.

That hardly ever goes well.

If you talk and do not walk, you will go to Jail!