So today we went to Chuck E. Cheese for my husband's cousin's son's 5th birthday party. The kids had a blast! Seriously, it was so much fun - but exhausting...and crowded. I joked with my SIL that if we ever have a CEC birthday party it is going to be at like 5pm on a Tuesday afternoon so no one else is there.

The thing that kills me is that it was a BEAUTIFUL day outside. If we weren't already signed up for this party we would have been playing outside for sure...so what on earth were all of these people doing there that weren't at some party? Take your kids outside! Let them run around and play in the fresh air! It doesn't cost anything - is a lot less crowded and noisy...and will tire them out 1000 times faster. Oh, and you can take a blanket, chair or what have you and plop your butt somewhere and watch...that is if you don't feel like chasing them around or playing with them.

This was NOT the case at CEC. There wasn't an empty seat to be had in the whole freakin' place. Not that my kids would have let me sit for an extended period of time. There was the 3 minutes that Nate was playing air hockey with Porter that I was able to plop my butt down at some table where people had left all their stuff...I figured if they came back they'd understand...and if not I would be standing up in the next 2 minutes anyway.

So - here's some pictures. They really did have a great time and it was well worth it. I just wish there were about 100 less people there. :)