http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D4a5bcae175ef1db6%26itag%3D5%26source%3Dpicasa%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%253Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1419410509%26sparams%3Did,itag,source,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D78D3EE18A99F214D5CAE16946590E1CAE15B4B59.205F0EEA6167EBB5EC4C5766A76E78629C40703E%26key%3Dck2Picture this.  I’m twelve and my sister is somewhere around five.  She’s spent her short life collecting toy horses and my parents bought her this beautiful barn.  These horses aren’t like My Little Ponies either, I think they were Breyer or Bayer or something with a B horses, really top end (can you tell I’ve had a stressful day when ice cream and pain reliever companies are the first to come to mind.) Anyway, I digress.  So, my sister has never really had a good grasp on money, even at five she had saved up an allowance but basically didn’t spend it on much.  It was around this time that I taught her how to play “Saratoga.”  Basically, the game was that I’d setup a horse racing track and we’d bet our allowance on each horse while I “race” them around the track.  I was smart enough to make sure she’d win three or four races and I’d stagger her victories so that she’d win one and then I’d win two or three.  At the end of our race day, I’d walk away with four or five victories and most of her allowance for the week.  To be honest, I can’t remember how long that went on for but I think it was my father who put a stop to that, or it was my friends who were concerned that I was playing with toy horses.  

I share that story to setup this video of Coop and Ryan playing together for one of the first times.  It’s not much, Ry is playing with some board game buzzer but apparently Cooper thought it to be just hilarious.  A good solid reminder not to spend too much money on toys for these boys, I think their imaginations will serve better than any toy.