When Papi Comes to Town

--> My dad flew in on Saturday night to spend a few days with us over Christmas vacation.  It’s been a LONG time since the kids have seen him, and they were all super excited for his arrival.  To sweeten the deal, they had just received his Christmas package a couple of days before, AND when Papi comes to town, there is almost always a trip to Chuck E. Cheese in the forecast.  :)
This trip did not disappoint, and yesterday -- while poor Scott had to miss out on the fun and go to work -- Papi treated us to a Chuck E. Cheese extravaganza!  I'm pretty sure this was Alex's very first time going, and if Jane has been before, she certainly didn't remember.  Needless to say -- it was a hit!  Hahaha.  For ALL of the kids.  While the little ones were pretty happy just playing games and eating pizza, the older ones took it to a new level with scavenging for loose coins and tickets under, over, and around each nook and cranny as they searched the gaming premises.  You would have thought they had literally hit the jackpot with all the loot they found. Hahaha.

After staying for a couple of hours, I finally managed to round everyone up to cash in their tickets for some "prizes," and then we were on our way.  Scott got home a little early from work, and after scrounging up some leftovers and canned chili for dinner, we held FHE and the kids were thrilled to have Papi join us for a game of Family Charades.  We played boys against girls, but I still can't decide who was at the bigger disadvantage -- the boys, with Alex playing superheros and climbing all over my dad; or the girls, with Jane continually wreaking havoc on the guessing by yelling out the answers, and needing constant time-out breaks in her room.  Hahaha.  Oh well!  That's just the way Family Home Evening rolls these days.  :)

Sadly, my dad had to leave early this morning and was gone before the kids even woke up.  With only a few days left to our Christmas vacation, things are really starting to wind down.  In some ways that's a good thing -- I think we ALL do much better when we have a set routine and structure in place -- but in most ways, it's sad to see it end.  We've had lots of fun the last week and a half as we've played games, put together puzzles, and hung out with family and friends, and it will certainly be hard to go back to the grind next week.  Thankfully, we still have a few more days THIS week to play and have fun.  :)

 Ethan took divvying up the tokens VERY seriously.  Hahaha.

 The photo booth attractions are always a big hit amongst my crew.  :)

 This kid was a natural!  Hahaha.

 (Do you like Alex's insistence on wearing pajama pants for our outing?)

 "Prizes"

 Alex putting Papi in a chokehold.

Scott is a REALLY good charader.  Just in case anyone was wondering. Hahaha.  Seriously, though, he is.  It's like he's had this hidden talent all this time that we never knew about until this Christmas break.  :)

 Jane may or may not be on a forced time-out over there by the fireplace...