The Agony & The Ecstasy

I fired off a series of snapshots on Saturday night, and I find them so darn funny that I have to share them here. If nothing else, they give you a glimpse into our life at this point in time.

(Also, please excuse the crazy mixed lighting of my kitched at sunset. It's just not made for gorgeous photos.)

Following is the story of this particular picture, which I have dubbed "The Agony & The Ecstasy." There's just no better name for it.



But let's back up for a second, and I'll give you the backstory.

My kids are nuts over everything Super Mario Brothers, including these little packs of trading cards. While out to dinner on Saturday, we promised to give them each a pack when we got home if they could remain on their very best behavior. This is a HUGE carrot for them, so they remained extremely well behaved.

The problem was, we realized when we got home that we only had two packs stashed in the cupboard, not three.

So my clever husband opened the packs, combined them, and divided them into three piles. He let my daughter pick the first pile. Here she is as she anticipates her loot:



Then she rakes it in, a happy girl.



Next up, E wants his dad to announce the specific cards in his haul. Will it be good? Will it include one of the two most coveted cards? (Bear in mind that these packs are totally and completely random. They include only a handful of cards from a collection of a few dozen.)



Success! He picked the pile that includes a coveted card!!



But this leaves his brother in serious distress. I mean really, how is it fair that he just gets the leftover pile?



But then Daddy reads off the specific cards in his pile. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT????



It had the card he wanted most in the world!!! He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he was still sobbing as he celebrated. SOBBING.

Which brings us back to my favorite photo of them all.



Oh, to be a kid again.