grad night!

Sydney and Jack agonized every time they saw the commercial with kids singing "where a kid can be a kid" and running around wild in kid-paradise, still waiting for the day we would take them. They had been asking for months and I dreaded it. So, for the graduation celebrations we finally did it! Surprisingly, I probably enjoyed it just as much as they did, having a blast reliving my childhood memories of birthday parties and the singing Chuck E. Cheese and friends. I don't know if it was broken or what, but they never sang while we were there. I would have inquired the staff and done anything in my power to see the show, but I was too busy chasing the kids around. I'm still bitter about that. But it was hysterical to just see them up there on that stage again! Everything so pleasantly similar to how I remembered it. The games and prizes, that are like 20 tickets for a pathetic tiny sucker or plastic spider ring. If you want something cool like a stuffed animal, forget it. You need 5,000 tickets and nobody I knew ever accomplished that. They have so many of the same prizes. It's awesome! More than collecting tickets though, our kids were more interested in all the mechanical rides a kid could never have dreamed of in one place. I think it made up for all the times walking out of the grocery store or Toys R Us, when we never, ever have quarters.


Our adorable friend Keiji, and parents Kalli and Justin
joined us for some the greasy,loud, dirty, disgusting fun!


The virtual roller coaster ride...another favorite.
Here are the two boys, who look just like their moms.
It's the little boy versions of Deann and Kalli!

Jack found the clock ride thrilling. Allie did not.




Allie didn't find any of the rides thrilling.


Not even the up and down clown.

The dog ride was a bit more tolerable.



She finally found her happy place, comforting herself with
3 and 1/2 pieces of pizza!

With cheese on top.


The highlight of the night was watching play the basketball
game. She'd hand the ball to Chad, watch him throw it in,
and then wait to for it to roll back down, screaming and laughing
when she saw them coming!

Here she is waiting...

Then when the balls stopped rolling down, she'd say "I need token, I need token" to Chad until he gave her one and then push the button to get it all started again. They probably did this 20 times before we exchanged tickets for a Belle tattoo, plastic spider, and a sucker, and called it a night.