So it was A's fourth birthday (hard to believe) and he kept going on and on about a "bounce house" he wanted to go to. He had heard about it from one of C1's friends and that was it. That was his birthday destination.

So we decided to go. The place is called Monkey Joes and is a really, really smart idea. Basically, someone took a big open space (like a big box store kind of space) in a store and created a huge indoor playground. The place had these huge slides and play areas (all inflated) along with an area for the parents to hang out.

Security was fairly tight. When you enter with your child you get an arm band with a code on it and your child gets one with the same code. When you try to leave with said child the codes have to match or they do not let you out the door. So you can feel fairly safe letting your kids out of your sight since there is only one way in and out.

A and RP had a blast. I guilted C1 into coming also for the birthday party. It was A's first party in South Florida so he had no one to invite. He really wanted his big brother there. So I laid the guilt on thick for C1 and he finally agreed to show up. It worked out for him in the end. Turns out the place was staffed heavily by girls in the 14-16 year old range so he ended up staying for almost 2 hours when all we had agreed was 30 minutes!

My kids would scale these huge inflatable play sets and slide down the other side. They did it for 3 hours. I was hurting by the end though. Since RP is only 2 I had to accompany her on all the slides! That was a trial for a heavy old man like me!

No seems like a great time to start one of these things. There are a ton of open box stores now that Circuit City and Linens and Things are gone. I think it is a franchise. If I was not hapilly employeed doing something I love to do I would think about setting one up.

After the slides we went to the fish store. A loves animals (any animals) and he wanted a fish tank. I ended up buying a salt water tank for him (cool thing called a Bio Cube (Google it if you ever want a fish tank) and we needed to start getting the tank ready. In two weeks it will be ready for real fish and he is getting a "Nemo Fish" as promised.