The family dinner is an interesting entity. Mainly because it is really three families that get together. The Paces, Scheffers, and Flinns. We all each bring something yummy and lighter on the deserts than in the past. They occur sporadically, but it seems like we get to do it about twice a month in the winter and even more often in the summer. They usually occur on Sunday evening. Always a lot of fun. I linked the photo gallery and there are some cute pictures of Abbey and Hannah. Click the photo for more.  (By the way, we played a six person round of Settlers after the babes had been put to bed and Brian stompped us with a come from behind sneak attack.)

Last night we played one of the best board games ever made.  It is called Settlers of Catan.  The board is made up of hexagonal pieces of cardboard that each represent a different resource.  The goal is to collect resources in order to build towns, cities, and roads.  The first player to reach 10 points wins. For anyone that hasn’t played this before we definitely recommend it.  There is trading and alliances and it gets pretty cutthroat.

Brian and I were on the same half of the board and started battling early on. Meanwhile, Ashlee and Michelle expanded their settlements rapidly. About halfway through the game Bryan and I realized that we were in a pretty sorry state. Ashlee and Michelle continued to expand their empires. Finally, Ashlee with all the shrewdness of the Mongolian Emperor, conquered most of the world and won the game.  The coolest thing about the game is that even when you’re losing you feel like you still have a chance to win.  The games are always close and action-packed.

The best thing about the whole night was Michelle’s cinnamon bread.  The bread came out as a delicious doughy mixture of cinnamon and butter. The four of us ate a whole loaf and Brian and I washed it down with a couple Thai beers. We had a great time, thanks Scheffers.  Check out the pictures below and as always click the photo to see more.

Playing Settlers of Catan