Pump It Up

Reagan blew through town and we had the Dickson clan for half a day. I knew just the place to get the kinks out between two long stretches of driving: Pump It Up! A few months ago, Ireland was invited to a birthday party there and she had a fantastic time. Last month on a day when I was just out of ideas to keep the girls from bickering with each other, we tried it out. 

Admittedly, the skirts were a colossally bad idea. Equally bad was my attempt at the huge slide. Mid-way down, I threw out my arms to slow my rate of acceleration, only to have my skin burned off by the rubber. The girls just ate it up, especially Brigitta who climbed and jumped until she was dripping with sweat. I still remember the 4 hour nap she took that day!

Now that the girls had some experience under their belt, they were able to eschew any trepidation and show their cousins how it's done. They tried a couple of new things too! Of course everyone started with the classic inflatables.

Brigitta and Rockwell played air hockey.

Well, they played their version of air hockey anyway. The goal is not to deflect the puck, but to aid it in getting into the little slot. 

Piper scrambled right up the rock climbing wall and triumphantly rang the cowbell hanging at the top. Paisley followed suit which made Liesel and Ireland eager for their turn.

This moment when Liesel got "stuck" and just froze was rather poignant. No matter how many times I repeated to let it go, her fear held her to that wall. When she finally did let go, she had a fun little ride down. Isn't that just like life? Sometimes we need to just let go of our problems and fears and enjoy the ride... even if it's not in the direction we want.

Liesel tried 3 times to reach that cowbell but got stuck in exactly the same place. When we left, she cried because she really wanted to make it. However, the Dicksons needed to get on the road.

Katrina told Reagan about Buffalo Wings & Rings so Reagan wanted to give it a try. We had a nice lunch before saying goodbye. I can't speak for Reagan's car, but there were definitely tears in mine.