power lines are broccoli

You'll understand what I mean in a minute.

Thursday was pretty rainy (so nice for a storm to move in, dumping the mountains with lovely fresh snow the day following our departure from there) yet we needed an activity to do, but more specifically a "get out of the house and do something fun but still stay indoors" activity. Those are tough to come up with.

There is a place called "The Jungle" nearby which seemed like a good possibility, and it's aptly named (this also seemed like a good idea to the majority of parents in the metropolitan area apparently, since this week most schools are out). It's a crazy indoor play place with hamster habitrail-type tunnels and climbing structures that are three levels high. Simply gigantic. This photo shows only a small section of the floor to ceiling structure.

On the ground level is a huge bounce house and other smaller things for babies and young toddlers to play on. The one thing that's decidedly lacking is a sound-proof room for the parents so they might attempt to keep their sanity in check while their kids are running all through that mayhem. Apparently running, climbing, bouncing, and SCREAMING and SCREAMING and SCREAMING are inextricably linked.

Well Erin and Kate headed for the habitrails immediately and were never to be seen again (just like a real rainforest!), at least not by me for the next half hour. Danielle managed to follow them through that hellish plastic contraption that's designed to inflict maximum pain and humiliation on any person taller than 48 inches yet stupid enough to enter it. I should know, we've been here before.

Meanwhile, I took Allison to the smaller play area where she stopped to say hello to her cousin painted on the wall.

Allison really loved the large ball pit there and when Kate finally emerged from the depths of the amazonian maze she joined us.




This afternoon the girls played in the backyard for a while. They started up a game of soccer then when the ball was kicked near one of the fences Erin noticed the daffodils growing there so she started picking them. Soon Kate joined in and the soccer game was all but forgotten in favor of forming bouquets of flowers. Whose kids are these anyway?

But soon enough the game was back on, just don't expect the little ladies to put their flowers down while they play!

Also this afternoon the kids were playing with their train set. Allison creatively described some of the pieces: