Kids on Trampolines

Last weekend was the weekend of birthday parties. Mikie had three parties he was invited to: our friend, Owen (of Team Cox fame) turned two, and two of Mikie's classmates turned six. Having stupidly made the mistake of asking which party he wanted to go to (as if there was another answer), we ended up committed to going to all three. Plus hockey equals a very full weekend.

Owen's party was a typical, laid back party hosted by our good friends, Andy and Jenny. I should caveat that Andy is a professional chef, which means that, in addition to enjoyable company, you are guaranteed to leave with a satisfied palette. Plus, Mikie got to see his good friend, Matthew, whom we haven't hung out with since Christmas.

Party number two was for a girl in Mikie's class, Jayden. Yes, a girl party. I thought it was his first, but then I remembered that he went to Jillian's birthday in July (how could I forget. . . we learned Jillian loves strawberry and her mom went to the effort of making homemade strawberry cake, explaining why Mikie had hives since Jillian brought cupcakes to camp). Jayden's party was the social event of Ms. Wootton's kindergarten class, so, of course he had to go. Partied out, Mike and Mikie headed off to "Monster Golf" while Hannah and I spent girl time at home. Mikie got to hang out with his girlfriend, Olivia, and introduced Mike to his other classmates. Highlight of the evening was getting a pair of vampire teeth with his winning tickets (he was quick to share that Olivia and Morgan got them too!)

But, the most memorable party of the weekend was for Mikie's friend, Connor. You may remember Connor from my previous post, "The Playdate". For Connor's sixth birthday, his parents held his party at The Trampoline Place in Plainfield, Connecticut. Let's just say, we had a lot of expectations while driving to the party (mostly because I thought the place was called "Trampoline World" which sounds more over-the-top then "Trampoline Place"). Regardless, we were slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the kids had a blast. However, the roof was leaking in many places. Solution: hang buckets and gutters from rafters to divert water into strategically placed bins. Not fun if the water doesn't drip into said buckets and your shoeless husband steps in a puddle.

Most memorable was the "gentleman" who ran the facility. I use the term "gentleman" loosely, because I feel it implies that one is both a man and gentle. And, last time I checked, drill sergeant and gentle are not synonyms. I swear he was training our kids to be future navy seals. He HAD to be ex-military. The words "Trampoline Nazi" were used by more parents than just myself. While he could come in and straighten your kids out better than the Super Nanny, I don't think I was expecting fear of paralysis to be ingrained in my five year old during a 90 minute birthday party. He had eyes in the back of his head, knew everyone's name in minutes, and would call you out if you weren't jumping according to protocol. What is protocol? You must stay jumping on the x in the center of the trampoline, facing the short end. And, when falling, you must land on your butt. As he sweetly told my five year old, "Michael, don't land on your head. You land on your head once, you die." Conjures up fun, right? We captured some of the fun on video.

In spite of the death threats, Mikie managed to narrowly escape the party with his life. And, the constant yelling didn't seem to phase him in the least (although he did ask permission to take a break). He took Connor aside at the end of the party, held his face in his hands and said, "Connor, this was the best party of my entire life!"

Sorry, Owen and Jayden, looks like you may need to hire a task master for your next big party entertainment.

Love, The Trahans