Friday, July 8, 2011

Day 29 - Slinky Action Zone (again)

I was thinking today about my very first 'boyfriend' - David Brickley.  He lived up the street from my parents and we were inseparable through nursery school and kindergarten.  Things cooled off when my parents divorced and Mom, Bob, and I moved in with my grandmother; the relationship ended completely when his family moved to New Jersey around the time we turned eight.  We reconnected the year we graduated from college and I am happy to say that we still keep in touch.

I was thinking about him today because we were supposed to go out to Bald Eagle State Park with Matt's friend Leslie and her mom and sister.  Matt and Leslie were the inseparable friends of early childhood and while she seemed to move on to other boys when the two went off to different elementary schools this year, now that we've had a few play dates this summer, I see glimpses of that spark again.  While we parents joke and refer to the kids as our in-laws, I don't really expect them to marry.  What I do expect though is that they'll have that special memory of each other for the rest of their lives and I think that is sweet.

Unfortunately, a rainy Central PA forecast ruined our beach date and so I was left scrambling to find an alternative activity for the kids today - what kind of aunt would I be if I let Kayleen just sit in the house all day???  That would surely shatter the ADHD illusion my brother Bob has of me...

Matt and Cathy both suggested Slinky Action Zone, previously of day 4 fame, so we were off to Altoona for the second time in three days.

Friday is a good day to head down to Slinky Action Zone... from 11am to 4pm (and for just $8 per kid), we got unlimited laser tag, bumper cars, bounce houses and soft play (the climbers and slides).  The downside of course is that it was a rainy day in Central PA and so it was more crowded than I have ever seen it.  Even so, the wait for things like the bumper cars or a game of laser tag was pretty reasonable - never more than five minutes or so.  And I can happily report that we had none of the drama of that last visit.  Maybe it's the good influence of that almost 10-year old I've got with me this week (Bob, if you are reading this, I am NOT bringing her back).

We're taking a break from the Jar of Fun next week.  But we'll be as busy as ever - Kutztown Folk Festival on Sunday, Lehigh Valley Zoo on Monday, Please Touch Museum on Tuesday, Franklin Institute on Wednesday, and Hands-on House Children's Museum in Lancaster on the way back home Thursday (we may as well make good use of the membership we bought when we visited the  Pittsburgh Children's Museum last month).  I promise to blog about our adventures but I do not promise to be very timely in getting them posted...

I'll get to it once we get back home from Erie, where I hope Rich runs the Presque Isle Half Marathon (he's fighting a lower-leg injury).  I wish I were running it, but I am still struggling a little with my Warrior Wound, aka my left knee, and haven't been out for more than six miles since the 10-mile Broad Street Run on May 1. And while I think I could cover the distance, it would be a struggle at best.  Instead, I may focus my attention on some shorter distances and then work toward the Nittany Valley Half Marathon late this year.  

Anyway, stay tuned and have a great week!

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