Tag: Indianapolis

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Bounce U is Open in Fishers {with Giveaway}

Edited: This giveaway is now closed and the winner has been notified! Thanks for playing!

Last week we had a giveaway for grown ups to kick off summer- this week, there’s one that ‘s more for the kids!

Bounce U has reopened in Fishers, and their open bounce sessions are out of this world!

The kids and I stopped in afterschool for an open bounce session, and bounce we did. Yes- I said we! They hooked me up with some happy socks (available for purchase if you forget yours at home), and all three of us had a blast. Kids need to be 34″ to bounce, but there’s no upper limit, meaning the whole family can bounce together. If you have small-fry with you, there are soft-mat areas for mobile babies and toddlers in both stadiums.

bounce U

Bounce U’s open bounce sessions run for two hours each, and the kids did not stop moving the entire time. Their energetic staff not only supervises the open bounce, they also interact with the kids. By rotating through the two stadiums, the kids were happy and on the move  for 120 minutes straight. I bounced along with them for awhile, and then had a seat in their parent’s area.

This summer, Bounce U not only offers multiple open bounce sessions each week, they are also offering a summer camp called “Create and Bounce”, that will appeal to the active and artistic. They also offer the occasional Parents Night Out, which lets the kids bounce for four hours on a Saturday night (how brilliant is that? seriously!).

They are also offering a Summer Bounce Passport, which grants admission to one child for unlimited open bounce sessions now through Labor Day. The pass is $79, and will ensure a summer full of active fun.

Have a birthday party coming up? Bounce U offers private parties (your party doesn’t share the inflatables with any other group during your bounce time) and takes care of all of the details, down to keeping track of the birthday child’s presents.

 

THE GIVEAWAY

Want to win a Summer Bounce Passport, good for one admission to open bounce sessions all summer long? Leave a comment below, telling me something about your summer plans. I will pick a winner on Friday, May 24th, around 9pm. The winner will have 24 hours to get back to me, after which I will pick a new winner if there’s no response.

There are 3 additional ways to enter:

1) Follow me (@gotchababy) on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did.

2) Follow Bounce U (@bounceufishers) on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did

3) Like the Bounce U of Fishers facebook page  and leave a comment telling me you did

Good luck, and keep bouncing!

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Spring Break Kahuna Style

We’ve been Spring Breaking here since 1:00pm on March 22nd. MARCH 22nd. Do you know how long ago that was? To be fair, only the boy has a 10 day spring break. The girl has the standard week, and I’m thankful that the duo does have five “at home” days together. Not that we’ve really been at home.

We’ve hunted for eggs at Grandma’s.

We’ve visited the Brookfield Zoo.

 

Leilan and I went on a double date and saw the musical American Idiot.

We saw the Pine Wood Derby track at the Indiana State Museum (the big race is April 6th).

The Indiana Artisan Marketplace is this weekend, we’ve got an 8th grade play to see and a special event at Church on Sunday. I’ll be ready to get back into the swing of things on Monday, but this break has been a very good way to welcome spring!

Oh. And I discovered Pic Monkey. Watch out!

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Trying New Things : Indy WordLab

Last week Two weeks ago, Heather, Julie and I tried something new. We trekked downtown (which isn’t seeming so far away for Heather these days, she’s there a lot) and we attended September’s Indy WordLab. It’s true. I spend my day looking at words, and for fun, in the evening, I went to an event about words.

It was so much more than that.

For starters, I finally got to see Indy Reads Books for myself. It’s a real used bookstore, located right on Mass Ave. It operates as part of Indy Reads, Indianapolis’ Adult Literacy education initiative.

So. WordLab.

There’s a speaker (usually a writer) who leads the group in some kind of writing exercise.

Our group was lead by Indy WordLab organizer and author of Nothing New: An Irreverant History of Storytelling and Social Media, Ryan Brock. He led us in an exercise that started with 30 minutes of writing, then a shorter amount of time (6 minutes?) and then finally, 90 seconds. The only requirement was that we include the phrase “autumn leaves”.

So what did I write?

I wrote about my kid, of course. Here is my 30 minute product. It kind of sums up what’s been going on around here the last few weeks. It was inspired by the fact that she learned to ride a two-wheeler on my birthday. It’s not a gift I’ll soon forget.

The end of summer is a new beginning. New shoes because her feet have grown. New backpack and lunchbox because her tastes have changed.

She’s asking for phone numbers and posting on My Big Campus. She guards passwords and tracks her allowance. The training wheels have come off as the neighborhood pool closed, and she’s taken off down the street.

Her birthstone earrings have been returend to her jewelery box, and she’s raided mine for a pair of hook earrings.

Autumn leaves turn as she leaves one place and surges head first into the next.

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After we wrote, we shared in small groups. It was like a college writing class, except it was free, it was for fun, and there was no grade.

And we’ll be going back in October. Are you interested in joining us?