I’m so lame with my personal blog. This has been in my “saved” drafts since October 2009. This is not a spot for up to the date information!

Laser tag was not originally on my 40×40 list. However, I’m adding it in. It is something everyone should on their “list” of things they want to do.

It was my oldest son, Peyton, ninth birthday over the past weekend. I really don’t know what I was thinking but we let him invite 4 friends to go play laser tag in lieu of a “traditional” family party. Since my little brother’s birthday is just the next week, we combined groups and he invited 3 friends too.

For those of you just joining in, my little brother is 21 years younger than me. I have a daughter that is older than her “uncle.” Peyton and Braden are exactly 51 weeks apart and routinely share a birthday party for convenience. They are more like brothers or cousins than uncle/nephew.

Our vehicle consisted of Bryan, Peyton + 4 friends, Sofia, and me. Uh, yeah, I heard my lifetime quota of  balls and stinky farts in that 45 minute drive. Apparently, my son is very normal because all of his peers talk about the same two topics.

Because I had Buy 1 Get 1 Free Coupons, (imagine that, right?)  and only nine eligible kids to play Laser Tag, we had a spot each game for an adult to play. Bryan reluctantly took the duty first round. I knew he would love it, though. He was the sniper and you could see him hopping around as much as the kids.

Same with dad/grandpa.  He was overheard from the observation deck hollering, “So this is where all the weenies are!” They pretended like they didn’t really want to play but the little kid came out in all of us.

Finally, it was my turn. Somehow I ended up on a team with all adults and the NINE boys in our group were on the opposite team. Needless to say, once one of them hit me, they surrounded me and wouldn’t go away!

I will say it was one of the best nights in a long time. I should have played more than one game but it was hot, I’m aging, and hopelessly out of shape. It is a fun way to get your adrendaline up and spend quality time with the kids. Somehow Laser Tag did not end up on my 40×40 list but it should have been.

Oh, and the little boys had fun too! (wink)

Eli was almost old enough to play but it was probably better he didn’t. I don’t think it would have been a safety issue for him but here’s the scene that played out in my head. Eli gets shot in laser tag. He can’t shoot anyone else for those 10 seconds so he gets upset. Ridiculously upset, which is the only way he works upset. Threatens to throw his gun out at the kid who got him and then gets us all kicked out.

Or maybe he would have been perfectly fine and oblivious to the fact that he got shot.  He will have to wait until he is six to find out!

Sofia played some arcade games and kept turning in her points for candy. Candy is her number one priority in life so she had a great night.

Of course, any kind of event involving my little brother, Braden,  is not complete until he throws up, which he did right before we were headed into eat pizza!