Nintendo wii owners

Okay so i dont play on my wii that much, i go through phases of playing it every day and then not for ages...but, the main thing that puts me off, is that everytime i go to play it, the batteries in the remote have ALWAYS gone. Even if, last time i was playing on it, they were fine and werent running out at all, whenever its been left for a while (not switched on) the batteries just go flat on their own.

has anybody else had this problem, and can i do anything to stop it? it puts me off playing it cos everytime i think hey il have a little go (as i just did) i always have to change the batteries! i bought this thing which is like an adaptor that goes into your wii battery compartment, and its meant to charge via USB but it doesnt work at all. has anybody bought those wii charger station things? might give those a go.

also just for fun which are your favourite games on the wii? im a big fan of animal crossing