7. Nerf Battle

When Nicholas was born, I told everyone that I would never buy a toy gun for any of my kids. And for the first few years of his life, I kept my word. But eventually, I had to give in. After all, water guns and "super soakers" are a lot of fun in the hot summer days. Not to mention "Bionicles", those Lego robots armed with all kinds of weapons, that both Nicholas and Anthony were so found of! Building these things kept them busy for hours at a time. How could I not buy those for them?

So when Nerf came out with these big guns that shoot Nerf darts, of course, both of them wanted to have one. Nicholas enjoyed playing with them but not nearly as much as Anthony; And for the past 4 years, that's all he wants for his birthday and for Christmas. Over the years, he has owned at least a dozens Nerf guns of all sizes and shapes. What can I say... It does not make him more aggressive.

And yesterday, as I was watching Nicholas, Anthony and his friend Nicolas play "Nerf Battle" outside, I realized that their game is more a game of strategy; Of course, they run around shooting each other. But they actually have rules and a goal! They each take up a corner of the front yard and each has a flag to protect. The ultimate goal is to steal the others' flags without getting "killed". It was interesting to watch each boy defend their flag: Nicholas built a wall with the Boogie boards to protect himself and his flag. But Anthony, was patient and waited until each player was far enough away from his flag. Then, he made a run for it and capture everyone else's flag. It was bold, but it worked. And in the end, Anthony was the "last man standing"!