Sunday, February 1, 2009

Flip's Birthday

For the last couple of years, Dean and I have tried to take each grandchild on an individual birthday "bonding" excursion. You really get to know each one in a special way, when they are one-to-two...AND the little "beggars" are so much easier to control!!!!

This year, the grandfolks seem to be getting older???? When did that happen? Dean's back was out again, and rather than disappoint Flip...Grandma was on her own..OK..first mistake..."Where would you like to go, Flip?" (He's five) "I want to go to your house in Monticello." Well, that is, a bit of a drive so I suggested a couple of other maybes..maybe Busch Gardens, maybe Mosi, maybe The Florida Aquarium, maybe Chuck E. Cheese.... after a small debate, (Flip wanted to spend the entire 5 hours in C.E. Cheese...just shoot me now!) we settled on the Aquarium and then the Cheese palace!!


When we got over to Tampa, there seemed to be a larger than normal group of folks at the Aquarium...I am not kidding, it took me until the next morning to put together the answer as to why....The Super Bowl!

Flip really enjoyed the Aquarium, though I don't believe he trusted my suggestion at first. He liked lying on top of the glass floor, pretending to swim with the sharks, the black lights, that made his socks look "purple", the really "BIG" fish that Papa (Joe) would like to catch, touching the starfish and the anemone, AND the "Dipping Dots". Before we left, we completed another tradition of picking out a "prize" for the others...You will have to ask the other kids, but I think he picked out special things for his brother and sisters...Flip also picked out a lovely emery board for Lori, and a hammerhead shark "grabbie-thingie" for Adam.

Then, it was back over the bridge for a lovely pizza meal and games at Chuck E. Cheese. For the life of me, I do NOT see (or taste) what kids see in Cheese pizza.
We got really lucky on a couple of machines, (actually, there are workers wandering around, helping bedraggled grandparents win tickets for the little ones!)and Flip and I ended up with over 900 tickets! ("If Grandpa had been here we would have over a thousand.")Anyway...that's a lot...but, since he had already gotten prizes for everyone at the Aquarium, he settled on some "big" things for himself! Lori, I am SO sorry about the Spiderman foam gun thing...I didn't know what it was 'til I opened it up... I told him that if he pointed it at any human child or beloved pet, I would take it away..oh well, I'm sure it's history now, anyway...

I am complete agreement with Lori, Flip is a real sweetie!!! BUT...they are just getting too old too quickly!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I vaguely remember Chuck E Cheese and I totally agree. That one place and the birthday parties I went to there may be the reason we only have 2 children. Great place for kids bad place for adults.

Have a great Sunday.

Anonymous said...

I know that "anonymous" comment sounds just like me, but it wasn't. However, I TOTALLY agree with them!!! I have never had any pizza that I disliked---except Chuck E. Cheese!! They did have the greatest birthday parties though (at least 25 years ago).
Margaret

Unknown said...

Good Morning I still agree that Churck E Cheese is a nightmare for parents and Grandparents thought up to punish us for spoiling them.

Kasjaniuk said...

That is a GREAT picture of you and Flip! At least you didn't have to spend the whole day at Chuck E Cheese.