True Story Tuesday-That Darn Elf again

So. The elf was supposed to go back to Santaland on Christmas Eve. Except that, when the Bug Hunter went to tell him goodbye til next year, there might have been a quivering lip and a tear or two. And then a bedtime prayer that included the request for Santa to miss our house entirely; Bug Hunter was willing to give up his Santa gift in order to keep Cheewee around for a while longer.
Santa, being the jolly and compassionate fellow that he is, made it by with the LEGO Mindstorm set, but he also left a note advising that the elf could stay for the rest of Christmas break and take his elf vacation with Bug Hunter. Oh, the dancing and smiling and joy that ensued when Bug Hunter spied Cheewee peeking out of his stocking! It was magically delicious.
Of course, elf in house means extra work for mom (cleaning up his elfly messes, etc), but still, we're nearing the end of the magical time and will certainly play it for all it's worth Cheewee made one final BIG mess that was found Sunday morning (he was scheduled to leave Sunday night); here's a little collage of his creative destruction:



Sunday night was far less dramatic than Christmas Eve; Bug Hunter was reconciled to the fact that Cheewee was leaving. All was well, and the little red-clothed friend left behind some special goodies, both to say "goodbye" and to reward Bug Hunter for making good grades last quarter. A little stuffed reindeer wearing a Cheewee hat was easily spotted, but the baggie with the special "Star Wars LEGO droids" wasn't spotted til later that afternoon. Oh, the excitement; these were some COOL figures. There was even a replica of the Emperor Palpatine holographic brick; not the actual brick, but one that looked like it (picture is of the actual holographic brick, not the one that Cheewee brought):



Cheewee totally rocked the house, and this morning, Bug Hunter jumped out of bed with alacrity, eager to play with the new figures in his bath. He settled into a tub full of hot water, with the space heater going full-blast (it was TEN degrees outside, people.. TEN degrees!), and I went to the kitchen to make breakfast. I was contentedly sipping my HOT coffee with my fingers wrapped tightly around the WARM mug, when I heard a noise. "Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!!!!!" Fearing that Bug Hunter had slipped and fallen, or was in some other dire straits, I raced back to the bathroom, only to discover that Cheewee had brought a bum holograph. Emperor Palpatine was gone, and in his place was a runny blob of ink. Nice. Real nice. So, my day has been spent contacting Santa to see if I could get a REAL holographic Palpatine to replace what was actually a bonus block in the ebay order. Oh yes, people, it can be done, but for a price. Thanks, Cheewee... I'd say that you were the gift that keeps on giving, but really? It's more like taking, my friend...
For more true stories, head over to Rachel's and Mr. Daddy's (oh, there is some seriously funny plumber bahookey over there today!). I'm late to the party, but the linky is still up, so you can visit all of the "true" friends who showed up, too! And in the meantime, beware of elves bearing gifts. It might just backfire.