It’s that time of year again—time to let our competitive spirits have free reign, time to stoke the fires of healthy competition within our clan, time to pull out the teatherball, dust off the badminton net, and pull out the horseshoes! It’s game time!

We love games year round, just ask the poor souls who have to play Trivial Pursuit with us every New Year’s Eve, but summer is THE season for the sport of gaming around these parts.

In our ‘hood, summer means games. Yes, we love choking down cheeseburgers and corn on the cob with the best of them. And crabs too. We’re on the eastern shore, y’all. Yes, our toes are spending their fair amount of time in the sand. And yes, we are swimming in every pool, pond, or plage that’ll have us. But summer will always mean week-long Monopoly games, endless card games (especially Sleeping Queens!), board game extravaganzas, and of course, the MOTHER of all summer games, family reunions.

Erin is blessed to have married into a family nearly as boisterous and competitive as her own. Every summer Dymowskis harken from hills and dales far and wide to meet and eat and test their mettle in the friendliest of competitions.

Fearsome competitors come in all sizes.

We take this shizz seriously. Now we are not saying there is training for these events, but, well, there are medals on the line and Dymowskis will walk miles, scale mountains, and wrestle alligators into submission for free stuff.

Step back, Cuzz! I got this!

Most of the day, we are a regular Norman Rockwell painting with all the intergenerational fun. Eating the crabs, sharing the memories, and wolfing down the awesome cakes (Steve’s cousin has some mad baking skills) would be worthy of a trip to our ancestral home every summer in and of themselves. We get practically giddy with the happy, family vibes we are all imbibing . . . or that could be the beer that goes so well with the crabs.

Don’t we belong in a frame from Kohl’s?

But don’t look too closely once the competitive events begin. The dark underbelly of family fun gets exposed and, well, you’ll see. . .

Yep. That’s a baby wielding that water balloon.

Let the good times hop!

MARSHMALLOW on a spoon. Less mess. Same fun.    You’re welcome!

As the competition heats up, so does the temperature. It’s summertime in Baltimore after all. Since nobody has yet bitten the bullet to put in the pool, we are reduced to sprinkler and hose fun. But nobody seems to mind.

Family bonding via garden hose

But the best part of pulling out the hose means we get to see our favorite aunts get transformed from this:

into this:

Want to make happy family memories like this with your own tribe? Keep it simple. Think classic, easy-to-execute, and good for all ages. And when in doubt, just add water.

But adding medals is highly encouraged.

Game on!

Erin and Ellen