Whenever we take a car trip longer than 10 minutes Cameron asks if we can play the "animal game". I am sure there are many different animal games. When I was little, our animal game was where we awarded points for different animals we spotted out of our side of the car. One point for cows, five points for sheep, ten points for dogs... you get the point. If you saw a black cat in a window it was worth 100 points! But, if the person on the other side of the car spotted a cemetery on your side and said, "Cemetery on your side!" you instantly lost all your points.
My kids are not ready for that game, but I am excited for the day I can teach it to them. Our animal game right now is a 20 Questions animal game. Someone thinks of an animal and we all ask questions until we can guess what it is. Not many rules, and very simple for Cam. He thinks of some pretty fantastic animals, like a Hammerhead Shark, or a leaf bug, and knows lots of answers to lots of questions about them.
When it is Olivia's turn to think of an animal it goes something like this:
Grown-up: "Olivia, did you think of an animal?"
Olivia: "Yup."
Cameron: "Is it a mammal?"
Olivia: "No."
Nana: "Is it a fish?"
Olivia: "No."
Grampa: "Does it live in water?"
Olivia: "No."
Mommy: "Does it live on in the forest?"
Olivia: "No."
Cameron: "Does it live in the jungle?"
Olvia: "No."
Mommy: "Does it live on a farm?"
Olivia: "No."
Cameron: "Can you find it at a zoo?"
Olivia: "No."
Nana: "Is it a bird?"
Olivia: "No."
Grampa: "Is it bigger than a lion?"
Olivia: "No."
Grampa: "Is it smaller than a lion?"
Olivia: "No."
Hmmmmm......
Mommy: "Is it a goat?"
Olivia: "Yup!"
At a restaurant tonight Olivia walked through the entire dining room saying, "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" She said it over and over and other guests were chuckling. When we got back to the table she said it to my brother Wit and then said, "That's from the 'Winnie and Boz'. That's a movie." She just cracks me up!
Love your Olivia story, Amanda. Can't wait until I can start telling stories about the cute things that new granddaughter Lila says!
ReplyDeleteAnd I commend you for teaching your kids car games. What has happened to us that dual video screens in the backseat of a van are considered a good thing? Siblings are supposed to get along sometimes and squabble sometimes...that's life!