Chucky Cheese

We've been promising Alex's we'd take him to Chucky Cheese all year. Finally, the last day of the year, his wish came true. He won (with Mark's help) 350 tickets. You'd think that would get him something good -- he won a Tonka (Hot Wheels size) tractor and penny toy. Penny toys are those toys worth less than a penny and break the first time you try to use them.

He had a lot of fun. He found my favorite place when I was a kiddie -- the ball pit.

We beat ducks together. He won.

We feed hungry hippos together. He won.

We even played skee ball together. He won.

Either I'm a loser or he's good at games.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Monopoly Jr

Alex and I just finished playing Monopoly Jr. I won! I came back from the brink ($2) and won. It would be a more thrilling victory if it hadn't meant beating a 5 years old. It took nearly 2 hours to finish. By the end, Alex was ready to just hand the cash over and call it quits.

Basement visitors

A group of three just stopped by to check out our basement -- friends of a friend. That sort of creeps me out. From this point forward, new rule, Mark must be home for stranger to enter.

Rainy Days

Alex and Andy and I are having a hard day. First there was the interupted nap -- Andy still is a grouch.

Alex is bored silly -- he was caught jumping from the coffee table to the couch.

I finally kicked them both downstairs to the basement for a while.