Missing the House of Bounce!

Last week, the kids were getting a bit stir crazy in the house...well, "a bit" might be an understatement.  They were literally running in circles in the kitchen and bursting with so much energy that they were hurting themselves and each other by being totally out of control.  Since I had recently gotten a Groupon for a local bouncy house, we decided to pop out for a morning open play session at the "Pump It Up Inflatable Party Zone" in Eden Prairie.  I was definitely disappointed.  The place totally paled in comparison to the "House of Bounce" in Rochester.  There were only a few bouncers to play on, and though they clearly catered to a young crowd for the morning open play times (most of the kids were 2-5 years old) they had no equipment that was particularly toddler friendly (unlike the whole toddler area at House of Bounce).  Austin had a blast, but Sarah was absolutely terrified of the whole place and wouldn't go near any of the bouncers. I brought her into the plain square bouncer with me when it was totally empty and she still totally freaked out and clung to me screaming that she wanted to get out.  I took her up on one of the slides too, and she agreed after we slid down that it was fun, but when I asked her if we should do it again, she adamantly replied "NO!"  Anytime we even approached a bouncer or I suggested we try it, she would sob, cling to me, and claw her way up my leg if I put her down to walk around on her own.

Austin was a little maniac...

Sarah managed to find 2 toys there (the only things there aside from the bouncers).

But in the end, I had to pull out my iPhone and let her hang out and watch PBS kids shows on my phone while waiting for Austin to finish up with free play time.

It was not exactly a successful trip, but it did wear them out a bit.  Too bad we don't have the "House of Bounce" around here.  That place was great! (and maybe Sarah would have enjoyed it if there were some toddler size bouncers like there are at House of Bounce).  Oh well!   I hear there is a fun indoor playground in Edina (Edinborough? I think). We'll have to try that out sometime.

I've been pitifully bad about taking photos lately.  We've been really really busy with work (busy season for Steve, so double the work days and work hours for him, and RSV/flu/strep/colds/stomach flu season at work for me).  We're also working hard on getting the basement finished, and we've been nearing the end, when we need to have a lot more involvement in picking out finishes, fixtures, paint, tile, carpet, counter tops, wood stain, etc.  It's exhausting and I really hate shopping, so having to pick everything out has been stressful for me.

The kids have been sick with colds and coughs lately, but are doing better.  I'm starting to feel better, but am still pretty tired a lot of the time and have been getting a lot of headaches.  Starting to feel less sick though, so we're headed in the right direction there.

Though it feels like we never really got a true Minnesota winter, we are eager for spring to really arrive and for life to calm down a bit. In the mean time, I'll try to be better about taking pictures.  Hopefully, I'll soon have photos of a beautifully finished basement to post soon.  : )