Full Of Hot Air

Two weeks ago we took the kids to Wild Air. This is the second time we've been there and the first time the kids just LOVED it. Basically it is a room full of giant blown up slides and jumping houses. You pay in 1/2 hour increments and you can pay for as long as you like.

So we get there and the kids take off running over to one of the slides. Kadin and Bella appear to be having a blast just like the first time we went. As Brian and I were trying to keep on eye on both kids we realized that there seemed to be a lot less workers around than the last time we were there. What I remembered from last time was that there was at least one attendant at each activity . . . on this occasion we scarcely found one attendant on the floor at all.

As you can imagine, the rules that were put in place to keep the kids safe were now not being enforced because there was no one around to enforce them. One particular activity was this giant slide. The kids walked up 30 little steps to slide down this gigantic slide. Now the rule was that only one kid could be at the top at a time and you had to wait until the child in front of you was all the way down and off the slide before you could slide down. BUT since there was no one manning this giant death trap . . . kids were just running up those steps as fast as possible and practically all sliding down at the same time. The end of the slide looked like a bowling alley lane with kid balls flying down the lane to knock out the kid pins.

Of course Kadin and Bella are completely oblivious to this as they fight there way for a turn on the slide. I can feel my mother bear start to roar as I watch my kids getting squashed and run over. At one point an older boy - who was old enough to know better I might add - completely ran into Bella at the bottom of the slide. Let's just say that boy got a talkin' to from mama bear. Ahem . . .

At this point Brian and I are almost fed up and just want to leave. We let the kids play a little longer and Kadin goes into this netted sphere full of bouncy balls that you can throw at one another. (great idea for hyper active boys don't you think??) He's playing in there and Bella is playing in the activity right across from bouncy dodge ball. My attention was diverted between watching Kadin to make sure he didn't get pummeled with balls to watching Bella to make sure she didn't wander off somewhere.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small commotion coming from the bouncy dodge ball area. I looked over to see that bouncy dodge ball enclosed sphere is deflating . . . and the small door, which happens to be the only visible escape hatch, is being sucked closed by the walls that are caving in around it. One mother was frantically trying to pull the door open while another mother was pulling kids out like it was a fire and rescue mission. I was horrified - oh and I probably should mention that there was a limit of 6 children inside said bouncy dodge ball sphere, but because apparently no one was working that day there were probably 15 kids in there.

It was pretty much at that point when the dodge ball sphere lay on the floor in a heap of vinyl that we decided it was time to head out. We made our way to the lobby to collect the kids' jackets and shoes when we quickly realized that the kids' shoes were no where to be found. Oh yeah . . . as if this couldn't get any worse.

After scouring every place I could think of to look . . . I finally broke up a most certainly entertaining conversation that two employees were having as they chatted away and were totally oblivious that we had been searching for our children's shoes for almost 15 minutes . . .

I was asked to provide a thorough description of the shoes, just in case I was trying to switch my kids' lame shoes for a much more sophisticated pair . . . they were finally found in someone's party room. Hallelujah!!!

Shoes on feet - Check
Coats on bodies - Check
Keeping my cool - ummm . . . not so much