Monopoly & Bunks

Last night at the Brown house...

Ryan and the girls played a marathon game (two actually) of Afton's new "Build It Monopoly" game that she got for her birthday. It's been updated for modern times. Boardwalk and Park Place have been replaced with the new hip "districts", and you can no longer procure a piece of real estate for $380. Nope, we're talking millions now. The small bill in the bank is $10k. Some things cost upwards of $7 million. There are new hazards like power plants and sewer stations and prisons to diminish the value of your properties and make them "unrentable." You can build industrial or residential. You can pay $1 million to the planning and zoning department and get perks.

Yep, it's Monopoly for the present day. And our kids are diggin' it.

Meanwhile, the two youngers colored more Christmas pictures to add to our already fantastic display of kid art covering the office french doors. And they colored and fully assembled their very own "dream" book using the stash of scratch paper we keep handy for just such crafty occasions. Truly, I was impressed. Each page, illustrated by Easton and narrated by Rowan, expressed things they dream about in pretty amazing detail. Things like chocolate and monsters and Christmas morning and camp outs and bunk beds...

Ahhhh...that brings us to the newest addition to the Brown house. Yes, we got new furniture for Easton's room. Actually, it is now Easton and Rowan's room, and Afty Cakes is beyond stoked to finally get her own room. Rowan & Easton are sharing the new bunks - a twin over full number - plus two new dressers and a cool ladder desk. Their room looks super sharp and they are seriously loving it. All the kids are really. There's something a little magical about bunks. Kids are drawn to them. I about died day one just trying to sheet them up. I broke two nails and skinned my hand. Broke into a full sweat by the time I was done climbing up and down, moving the dang ladder back and forth. Lifting the mattresses. Tuck here, tuck there. Heaven help them to not wet their beds. I don't think I can handle sheet changing more than every few weeks.

But they're great for forts. Most of our linen closet has already toured their room in the tent parade in just three short days. Barrett has managed to sneak in the last two nights to sleep with Easton on the bottom full size bed under the guise that "she forgot to put clean sheets on her bed." Um, hummm....

So the bunks are a hit. We still have some rearranging to do in Afty's room now that she's minus one extra full sized bed. It feels enormous. Hopefully, the troops will be happy in their new digs, and Rowan won't make Easton crazy with her...her, um, everything. Messiness, 'tude, sassy pants. We'll see. So far, so good.