Yes, I'm Just a Big Kid

Saturday before last was Gunslinger’s second birthday; The VP was originally going to rent a ‘Bounce House,’ set it up in their backyard, everyone shows up at 2, we grill some burgers/hot dogs, and call it a party.

I was ecstatic; here was an opportunity to run around with two year olds, drink a couple of adult beverages, eat a rare burger right off the grill, jump in a gargantuan inflatable castle, and potentially puke my guts out.

Man, I was excited.

Unfortunately the weather prognosticators were calling for chilly weather. So The VP booked a last minute thing at a place called Pump it Up Party.

For 10:30 in the morning. (It was the only time they had open.)

So now I’ve got to go to some corporate “party palace” kinda place, eat pizza instead of grilled burgers, probably not get to jump in a gargantuan inflatable castle, and I wouldn’t be having any adult beverages.

Normally, I’m not opposed to drinking at 10:30 in the A.M. (after all, it is noon somewhere in the world), but with a bunch of two year olds – not to mention their parents that I don’t know - I might feel a tad self-conscious*. Plus, as it turns out the party place doesn’t allow alcohol.

And to add insult to injury, when Saturday came, the weather was great.

The party place was in an upscale industrial warehouse. You know what I mean; it's one of those kind of places that are all steel and haydite block, painted very nuevo. When P.Pie and I got there at 10:40 (fashionably late; we wanted to make an entrance), they were showing a video of what you could do (run! jump! have a good time!) and things you couldn’t do (push, pull, go backwards up the slides). I caught the tail end of it, but I got the gist.

As we entered the playroom, I asked the 16 y.o. “Room Attendant” if adults could play on the equipment. “Of course!” he says. “We’re fun for all ages!” He was a regular Walt Disney.

Well, maybe it wouldn’t be a complete loss – I still might throw up.

So we took off our shoes and entered the ‘great room’ en masse.

The term ‘great room’ is not a misnomer. The room was truly cavernous. At least two and a half stories tall and half a football field long and wide.

And inside of it was not one bouncy house, but four bouncy places, two with two-story high slides and one of those with a really cool bouncy obstacle course.

Running, giggling, climbing, sliding, jumping, bouncing… and that was just me.

I was afraid it wouldn’t be any fun if you were over 10. I was wrong. This is a great place for a birthday party!

In fact, don’t wait for a birthday, go now. Hang on – finish reading this entry, then go.

I asked the room attendant what the story was, too which I was told, “Uhm, it’s a place to bounce…” Well, Walt had to start somewhere.

I talked to the “Supervisor” – an 18-ish looking Goth girl in a colorful polka dot smock – who told me that besides doing birthday parties, they also have Pop-In days.

On Pop-In days, for a fee (varies by location) you can go and jump to your heart’s content.

They also have fundraising things for schools, churches, charities, etc. I know that I sound something like a shill for the company, but I’m not. I just really, really, really had a good time.

Oh yeah, Gunslinger and his friends had a great time too.

*I’m kidding, of course. I have no compunction about drinking in front of strangers :-)