Long before there were four boys and a girl, there was one boy and one girl. Every once in a while, we take time to get away, the two of us, to remind ourselves that we came first. So after arranging carpools, planning meals, writing a small novel about the boys’ schedules for the week, and Grandma & Grandpa arriving safely for babysitting duty, we were ready for takeoff and on our way to…PARIS!

One of our travel essentials is the game Left Right Center. It’s simple and small. I keep it in my bag, and we have played it at dinner tables and airports wherever we go. There are three dice, and on each die is an L for Left, an R for Right, a C for Center, and a black dot for Keep. Everyone starts with three chips, and depending on your roll, you either keep your chips, pass them left, right or put them in the center. The last person to have a chip is the winner. To make the game really interesting, you can play with dollar bills or M&M’s instead of chips. The winner keeps all!

There’s only so much relaxing these boys can do. Fortunately, there was no shortage of activities at our hotel.