How I Ended Up with this Creepy Photo

Evan got his hair cut today (only his second one... ever).  And he actually did really well (after waiting for 30 minutes because we decided to get it done this morning only because Brian decided to get it done this morning so it was all walk-in).  Chloe and I came along for moral support.  And we walked (because that is all Chloe wants to do right now).  We walked all around the inside of the Super Cuts and then 10 minutes later we needed to find more space so we went outside. 

We walked up and down the sidewalk.  At one point Evan joined us and he walked all around.  And then Brian came out too (30 minutes can be a long wait) and Chloe decided to go back in (stick with me - the story seems long but there is a point).  Then Brian and Evan came back in and Brian said the words to me that would change my morning and cement my standing in motherhood... "I tried to tell him it was closed but then 3 people walked in and he said 'It's not closed Daddy,' so I promised him that after his haircut we would go to Chuck E. Cheese.

And that is how I ended up with this photo:

This creepy creepy photo.  We went to Chuck E. Cheese and Evan got on a ride next to Mr. Cheese (who he keeps calling "Chunky" and I just can't correct him because that is too funny).  Almost as soon as he got on he started saying he didn't want to do it anymore (I think it was just too slow for him) and at some point the machine got this image.  I'm not sure why the Chuck E. Cheese people felt that making pictures look like they are from the 1900's with a giant smiling mouse in them was a good idea.  The reflection of my flash (I had to take a picture of it in order to get it on this blog) totally adds to the creepiness.  All I can think about when I look at this picture is, "I see dead people." 

Chloe spent most of her time walking all over the place and bumping into children and adults alike - she doesn't discriminate.

And, of course, at some point an odd foreigner who didn't speak English picked up my child off the floor and nuzzled her (I have nothing against foreigners,  my ancestors were foreigners, I've dated foreigners, my sister and my brother married foreigners - it's just that my children seem to attract weird ones that don't speak English... happens all the time, here, Atlanta, and in Austin).  Thankfully she handed Chloe over to me once we reached the point where she had been holding Chloe just a little too long but right before we reached the point where I grabbed Chloe out of her arms.

I'd like to say I'm never going back to that place but two things happened: 1) A birthday party started while we were there and I realized that there would probably be at least 1 birthday in my life that would be at Chuck E. Cheese and, 2) as we left, Evan said, "Come back," so I'm thinking that at some point I'll probably be there again.