Our new find

I took the afternoon off today, hoping to put a bit of my vacation time to good use by doing something special with David, just the two of us.

But harsh Indiana winters can make planning outings pretty challenging. Playgrounds and backyard lounging are out of the question for obvious reasons, and I didn't want to embrace the challenge of a major outing like the Children's Museum or a shopping excursion.

Enter Monkey Joe's.

This little gem is a bouncy-house paradise in Castleton, and only allows children 12 and under to play. I heard about it from a co-worker some time ago but I was skeptical and hadn't ventured to check it out until today. I was worried that David would just end up getting run over by the bigger kids, and not have a very good time.

Boy, was I wrong.

He climbed and bounced and balanced. He slid and rolled and laughed. He giggled and squealed and tumbled. Watching him, I smiled and smiled and smiled.

From the moment we walked in the door, he was going and going like the Energizer Bunny, only stopping once after about an hour of playing to take a nearly forced drink of water.

He explored the two toddler houses pretty independently, and we tried a bigger obstacle course together until I got a bit seasick (left that one pretty quick). As the grand finale, we climbed to the top of a giant 20 foot slide. About halfway up the ladder, I wasn't sure that we would make it, to be honest, but I quickly realized that I was committed. I had to summon super-human strength to hoist him the rest of the way to the top, you know the kind that helps people lift cars off of other people if necessary, and which I'm sure I will be feeling in my muscles tomorrow. Finally at the top, we slid down together (wheeeee!), put on our shoes, and in a hail of tears left the building with promises to return some other day. This promise I will have no trouble keeping.

Too often, my days off are filled with dishes and laundry and cleaning, trying to catch up with the chores that I neglect on the average work day. David and I have time together, sure, but I'm not as focused on him as I want to and should be. I worked extra hard yesterday to make sure that I had everything done and in order, so that today we could just enjoy each other. And what an amazing time we had doing just that.

Thanks, Monkey Joe's! I'm sure we'll see you soon.