Martin reads to Akiva.

Iris reads to herself.

Both of them passed their karate belt test

and lost a tooth

on the same day!

The silver tooth is the 12-year molar that Iris broke when she was five,

in the horrible sled crash where she broke her leg and Akiva smashed his head.

It is probably true that most people who enjoy traditional board games have heard of Sorry.

It is probably true that most people who enjoy traditional board games have not heard of Traffic Jam.

Were it not for the distinguished mid-century artwork and the fact that it has cars, roads and street signs,

we all would probably be ignorant of Traffic Jam. Some games have little worth remembering.

Pop is my grandfather on my mother’s side. Mom says we called him Pop because she called him Pop so Cate called him Pop and we followed suit. There was still no other Pop in our lineage when my kids came along, so I saw no reason to refer to him as anything other than Pop. Thus, my kids are the 3rd generation to refer to my mother’s father as Pop. Like many owners of a Y-chromosome, Pop was good at napping. Although he was very tall, he napped on a very short couch. His knees would hang over one arm rest and his head would rest on the other. I’m certain my father napped on the couch. He can nap anywhere. Here is Martin napping on the couch. Akiva doesn’t nap yet; he’s too young.

Iris needed encouragement to stay seated in order to focus on school work.

I got a kitten to hold her down.