Why I Highly Recommend Not Being an Only Child

Exhibit A: So that you don't have to play board games with your children. Chutes and Ladders was out before this one. (Is there a worse game on the planet than Chutes and Ladders? I think that is only a game you give to the children of people you don't like.)Exhibit B: So that they have someone else to jump on.
Exhibit C: You know how kids like to sit on you and squish you and hold your face while they talk to you and wiggle a lot while they're doing it so that their bony little behinds* dig a hole straight through your flesh to your femur? Well, if you have siblings--your kids do it to them!
Ok, here's the back story: In July, I got an e-mail from my sister Emily saying, "Hey, I think David's in Egypt." Ok, more back story: I have this brother named David whom, while not technically my brother anymore (his mom and my dad used to be married), I still consider to be my brother. But aside from occasional e-mail forwards and intermittent Christmas cards, we had mostly lost touch, until this e-mail from Emily. So, to recap: she says, "I think David's in Egypt." So I e-mail Dave, "Are you in Egypt? Cuz {sic} I'm in Egypt," and he writes back, "Yes, I'm in Egypt, why are you in Egypt?" My thoughts exactly! Turns out he works for G.E. (which I knew) and had been working in Alexandria all summer supervising the building of a power plant (which I did not know). He was able to get away from work one weekend in August and came for a quick visit. Though, hello? Of all the places to meet up? Egypt? Go figure. Anyway, he just moved his family from Texas to Oman, where he'll be building another plant, but G.E. sent him back to the Egypt project until the end of Ramadan, and it just so worked out that his work there ended a full day before his flight home, so he came and spent the downtime with us. We went out to dinner, I made him a breakfast that included neither Pepsi nor Snickers (his usual fare when he was working here), the kids smothered him, fun was had by all.

One thing that I suspect Emma will want me to tell you is that she beat him at Clue. David, see, is really smart. Really really smart. I wish we had grown up together because I so would have made him do my math homework for me. That way I would have learned as much as I did, but I would have had better grades to show for it. But I digress. David = smart, and also = likes to win games. The man doesn't let anybody win, no matter how young and cute. So for Emma to win Clue was quite the feat on her part. Were she here she would also want me to let you know that she beat him at 2 out of 3 games of Uno the next morning. Since I am here, I will inform you that David is a sucker. But then, see, that's the beauty of having siblings! Your kids can sucker them into doing whatever they want with them (see also: indoor jungle gym, video games, sugar), and it works out great for everyone--kids get quality time with uncle, uncle gets to play with kids, you get left. alone.

Just for our viewing pleasure, this is what the rest of us were up to whilst the game-o-rama was going on: Jess was updating her ipod, and Kevan, well, you see that look on his face? That's right: Guitar Face.
Sam was trying out his favorite facial expression. And his shirt, it ain't just whistlin' the proverbial Dixie.
Sam went with Kevan the next morning when he took David to the airport and then for the next week every time we got in the car, Sam would say, "Bave 'ight back?" And to keep him from crying we would have to say, "Yes, Dave will be right back." Hopefully either we'll be able to make it to Oman or they'll be able to make it to Egypt before our year here is through, since, I mean, c'mon! It makes too good of a story not to! Oh, and it would be great to see them :)

*If you are a Lewis, this is more commonly referred to as "beeny bohind," following cousin Matthew Beale's pronunciation. At least I think I remember right that it was Matthew. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.