Sunday was our annual trip to Chuck E Cheese in LaCrosse. That morning, the kids could hear me singing while
I was getting ready and my husband caught me "woo hooo"-ing with
excitement when he walked in the door. I was anticipating a perfect
"fairy tale" kind of family day ... but I often forget that life is never
really quite as rosy as it appears in the storybooks... In reality, the kids took some
coaxing to make them believe that morning had actually dawned and neither one
of them were quite ready when their father came home from milking that morning. I assisted my daughter to find the
right clothes to wear and tried to convince my son to wear a hat since he
didn't feel that combing the mop on the top of his head was a high
priority. When we left home, we dropped
off Christian's van in Ossian since baseball practice did not care that it was Sunday and
we were having a family day. (We would
have to forego having "exploratory surgery" at The Pizza Doctors in
order to be back in time for 6 pm baseball practice that evening.) Once we were situated in the van and driving down the road, I proceeded to eagerly suggest we play a game
of "Would You Rather" or "Truth or Dare" or at least the
"alphabet game" as we have sometimes done in the past. However, my fairy tale once again met with
reality as my son opted to listen to his I-pod and my daughter read a couple
chapters in her "Hunger Games" book.
Oh well ... I went ahead and visited with my husband in the front seat
and I crooned along to the nostalgic 1980's music on the radio.
Our first destination of the day was brunch in Marquette at
the Riverboat Casino. The food was good
and we enjoyed our conversations between trips to the buffet. We were met with many options as we chose between an array of breakfast items including french toast, waffles and omelets as well as lunch items such as a salad bar, chicken, shrimp and potatoes to name a few. Once our stomachs were full we headed out... the guys stopped in
the bathroom and we waited a while ... (they
apparently got distracted by the bathroom TV.) We chatted and joked on our way out to the van. I kiddingly considered trying my hand at
gambling since we were at the casino anyway ... who couldn't use a big jackpot
of winnings afterall!
As we continued on our drive with the windows briefly opened, the air
felt more like mid-June than March and the morning sun shone bright on the
grass that was already greening. My mind
wandered back to our family trips in earlier years and I wondered where the time
had gone. When we began going to Chuck E
Cheese about 10 years ago, my daughter was about two and at that time my husband only had a handful of days off milking
to spend with the family. Back then,
my husband and I would chase after separate kids who were far enough apart in
age to want to try different games and we often had our arms full of tickets, tokens and tennis shoes as we watched their young bodies scramble in their stocking feet through
the towering tunnels with joy. Years ago
we would try to convince the kids to sit still long enough to eat the pizza
before we could play the games; however, we eventually learned that no one really goes there for the pizza ... and we have
opted for eating elsewhere most years instead.
Through the years we have taken a family picture at the entrance at
every occasion ... it is interesting to see how everyone has grown (and I do
mean everyone!) :) As my thoughts
scanned each year, my memories took me to March of 2010 when we moved our
trip to Cedar Rapids in order to include my brother, Adam in our trip ... it
was a nice bonus to our entourage of Chuck E Cheese memories.
Now days my children have progressed to be masters at skeeball and basketball and this year Karissa was a pro at jumping the
electronic jump rope. The kids jokingly
decided to each take a turn on the race horse that looked like a
merry-go-round ride ... My husband and I chuckled as we watched and I took
pictures of the kids from each angle. Shawn also thought it was amusing to take pictures of me when I attempted
to showcase my talents at Guitar Hero ... that was enough to make me finally
put away the camera!! The family also
finally gave in and agreed to once again take our annual "sketch" photo in
the booth for a token. Years ago we
could all easily fit our faces into the picture ... this year, the sketch only included
about half of my face – at least it was my good side (I hope).
Eventually, the crowds and games wore us out and we decided
to do a bit of shopping as long as we were near the mall. We browsed in MC Sports awhile and stopped at Kohl's for some new curtains for our bedroom. Eventually we decided to take a break and have some
ice cream at the little shop near the mall entrance. We chatted over our desserts and chuckled
as we made up stories about the people who passed by. Once we had devoured our ice cream, we made our way to the middle of the mall where we found a
bench just the right size for four bodies to rest. As people continued to rush past us, for a while I felt as if we were on a secluded island of our own ... just our family
... watching the world go by... until all too soon the clock
brought me back to reality and we realized it was time to get on the road in
order to make it back in time for baseball practice. Reluctantly, we stepped back into pace with the rest of the world.
As we drove home that evening, the sun shown through the
trees and glistened brightly on the river.
I glanced around the van at my husband and kids and counted my blessings
as I soaked up the time we were spending together. I smiled to myself as I remembered the
fleeting thought I had earlier that morning about winning millions at the
casino. Who needed millions? In my
heart I knew I was already the richest woman in the world!
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