Four is for

the FOUR new experiences we had this week. Our town has been growing like crazy this past couple of years and there are a few new hot spots around that we haven't been home to try yet, until this week. Also, I got to experience some real live court room drama for the first time! Here's a run down of each event.

Jumpin' Jacks- A giant warehouse full of inflatable bounce houses and foam flooring where kids can run around and jump 'til their hearts' content while the parents chill on couches around the perimeter. We went on a Tuesday when they have the buy one get one free deal, which is a good thing seeings how I'd probably never go there if I had to pay full price. It was fun but a little hot and smelly and I figured my kids could have almost as much fun for free at McDonalds. Actually though, my kids got QUITE the workout at this place! They were running around like wild dogs and both had bright red faces dripping with sweat- a sure sign that fun is being had. They had some friends they were playing hide and seek with and honestly, they would have stayed even longer if I'd have let them. We stayed for about three hours and the kids slept like babies that night. Maybe it IS worth the full price? Overall, I'd give it about 3 stars (out of five) maybe higher if I didn't feel like I had to hose them down before they could set foot in my house after getting so sweaty and filthy!.

New Rec. Center- A giant building that boasts a huge aquatic center, gymnasiums, weight rooms, rock climbing wall etc. We had the free trial week pass but honestly, I don't think we will even go back to use our remaining days. After this experience I was reminded of all the reasons why I HATE PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS! I went for the sake of my kids. Actually though, THEY were the ones who asked to leave. I think it is just too big and LOUD and crowded, there wasn't even a chair left to put my stuff on. It wasn't relaxing. Lewis was bugged at how loooong he had to stand in line for the water slide and then he claimed it didn't go very fast. He wondered why they ripped down the old pool (that had the ultra cool high dive and looked JUST like the pool on the Sandlot). I wondered that too. They don't make pools like that anymore. It had such NOSTALGIA. This place, I don't know. Conner LOVED the lazy river (and actually, I liked it too) but there wasn't much else to love. It was hot and steamy in there and full of people. I honestly couldn't even find my kids the first twenty minutes we were there. I resorted to having to follow Conner around (even though he's a pretty good swimmer) but it was the only way I could relax. After only a couple of hours, my kids were done and I was done and as we walked out, I remembered why I hate public pools; the slimy bathroom floors with the showers and the naked people (hello-it's still a PUBLIC place)! And the noise and the people staring at you and just all of the junk! I'd much rather swim in a nice, outdoor pool with fresh air, less people and a place to sit back and actually SEE my kids enjoy it. So, this new Rec. Center is only gonna get one lousy star from me.

Signature Suppers- A building set up like a professional kitchen with work stations where you can put together meals for your family. It gets rid of a LOT of middle men (like thinking about what to fix, making a grocery list, shopping and getting all the stuff out and measured etc.)! I made 12 meals in a little over one hour and I had a BLAST while doing it! This is definitely going to be a huge life saver for me this year. My goal is to get started with freezing the meals from Kim's store and then eventually, learn the ropes well enough that I can do it for myself at home once a month. This is for sure one of those experiences that you need to try out for yourself. I heard mixed reviews. Some people saying it's too pricey and others raving! I am more on the raving side. My schedule (once school starts again) makes it hard to even GET to the store, let alone get there with an actual list of ingredients to make real meals. Then, when did I seriously have time to actually prepare these meals? I'd say once a week, sometimes less! I honestly threw out more spoiled ingredients than I care to admit last year because I just couldn't do it! I don't want to rely on roasted chicken and pizza nights again this year. Having all of it pre bought and organized and ready to prepare at that cute little kitchen is JUST what I need! I am finally excited about cooking again. I give this place 4 stars!

Night Court- All I'm gonna say is I had to plead guilty with an explanation (and a dang good one I might add) and the judge dismissed the case. I had the unfortunate bad luck of being pulled over in our new car before we had the plates switched to our own. We had a hard time getting the title to the car and the DMV would not let us have temporary plates until the old owner sent the stuff. It was a long, sorted ordeal that had nothing to do with us and everything to do with the banks and the Honda people. Anyway, my luck would have it that I get pulled over on the DAY the stuff finally comes in the mail (not the next day after we finally got our own plates-murphy's law)! It turns out though, we are not the only people who did not know that it is BETTER to remove the plates altogether and drive around with NOTHING than to drive under someone's old plates. Seriously, if THAT is better, why didn't someone fill us in? We would have done it! Anyway, this is the lesson we learned from this experience. Plus, I got to have my first court room experience which, BTW, was JUST like the show Night Court that used to be on T.V. forever ago. The bailiff even looked just like that tall bald guy from the show (I think his name was Bull) and when he was rifling through my purse, he accidentally flung a bag of m&ms through the air. It was funny. I told him he could have all the ones that fell on the floor.