Only three people in the world can call me... UNCLE!

Hey all you "uncles-in-training" out there!  Here is a little hint, there is absolutely no better way to spend an evening with your four year old nephew that at McDonald's.  I had that pleasure not to long ago, let me tell you about it.

We walked into the Golden Arch's and ordered the McDonald's classics, a chicken nuggets Happy Meal with chocolate milk for Jackson and a Big Mac combo with sweet tea (I was in South Carolina, remember=)) for me. We happily wandered into the Play Place to find a seat.  I sat down to eat my meal and Jack sat down to eat a couple fries before heading off into the Play Place to make some friends and explore the exciting maze of plastic tunnels and swinging bridges.

The next hour or so for me consisted of eating my supper (and some of Jack's) as well as taking advantage of the McD's wifi (Ronald McDonald knows what he is doing! All fast food restaurants should be like that!) and watching, and listening, to Jack and the other kids play.  For Jack, this hour consisted of playing very hard, making new friends and stopping every now and then for bite of chicken nugget or french fry, or maybe a swig of orange juice.

Once Jack tired of this, we prepared for the next step.... Dessert!!! And since we were going with the traditional meals what better thing to get than two vanilla ice cream cones!  Then we headed back into the Play Place and sat down to eat our ice cream.  Jack was counting how many licks he took and once he reached a dozen or so then he was through with ice cream, it was time for a little more fun.  So back up the steps he went, hollering and running around with his new friend.  And across the table from me sat a dilapidated remains of an ice cream cone.

I let Jack decide how long we should stay and before long he was ready to leave, except -- Oh, he forgot to say good bye to his new friend!  Sometimes I wish adults could do that, just meet some random stranger and within an hour and a half have a new friend without even so much as an awkward moment moment!

Twas the end  of our experience at McDonald's.  It was an awesome experience with my oldest nephew, and even if he has forgotten it already, I haven't.  I don't know who had more fun that night, Jack or me, but I do know this.... there isn't much that beats a Big Mac with Fries and a nephew named Jack!