(The kids outside Monte Mare)
Ok, you better sit down. Check outside: do you see any pigs flying? Inquire down below: has he** frozen over? Because you are not going to believe this: I went to a public indoor swimming pool with the kids and had a great time! Me! Yes, me, the woman who can't stand going to public pools and wading around in other people's bodily fluids. The mere thought of walking barefoot on the warm, wet bathroom floor to get to the pool makes me shutter and think of how quickly I can get a tetunus shot or some sort of innoculation against all the germs I am coming in direct contact with. Sitting in those baby pools for me is the equivalent of sitting in a big toilet. There is a reason the water in those kiddie pools is always so warm, and it has nothing to do with how shallow the water is!! So, I met some friends today at the Monte Mare Pool in K-Town. The inside reminded me a lot of the pool at Duinrell. There was a little kiddie pool on the side with small statues that squirt out water if you pump the joy stick attached to them. There is a larger pool in the middle that shoots bubbles every once in a while and turns into a wave pool too. But the best part is the slides. There are two big, long slides that are totally fun. You can take an inter tube on them or just go down on your slippery rear. We chose the latter option. At first I had no idea what to expect, so I sat Mason on my lap with Ella behind me, said a quick prayer, and realized we have good medical insurance so down we went! It was fast but not too fast and there were two spots where the slide emptied out into little pools. Usually the slide dumps you into a deep pool and you go under, frantically trying to hold the kids heads above water so they don't freak out, but both these slides emptied into shallow pools that you could easily stay sitting down in, not get covered in water, and keep going down Part B of the slide. Genius! Whoever designed these slides, I would like to shake their hand and bake them some cookies. Sean is usually the 'Official Slide Parent' because I have contacts and hate to get water in my eyes. I can't see then for the rest of the day. So, it was perfect when we came out of the slides into shallow pools of water and the kids could instantly stand up. Did I mention how I love German ingenuity? They just do everything a little better, it seems. So, after going down the fast blue slides, a friend mentioned a taller, dark slide. Pitch dark with just a few lights in places. I didn't think Ella or Mason would want to do it, but they loved it!! They kept wanting to go down that one again and again. So, I racked up 'Cool Parent' points by going on the slides with the kids until the inevitable statement was made: "I'm hungry." So, then we found the cafe and what do you think we bought? Yup, pommes (french fries). The other cool thing about this place is you don't need to bring money into the pool area with you. You are issued a small chip that goes inside your wrist bracelet, locking your locker and identifying who you are. The chip is scanned at the cafeteria and keeps track of your bill. Then you pay as you leave the pool. So cool. We had one accident at the pool: Mason slipped as he was climbing out of the slide pool and hit his nose on the step. Blood started to gush. Good thing Bruce wasn't around from Nemo. He quickly recovered and was back in the mix in no time. On the way home, we stopped off at the Arts and Crafts Center on Ramstein. Colton is an artist at heart. He LOVES to do any sort of art project. The Center is supposed to have craft kits available for kids to do at anytime. The ones listed on their website sounded cool, so we went over to do a project. In reality, no one working there had any clue what to do, and finally one lady scrounged up a wooden paper airplane kit for Colton to assemble and paint, and jeweled bracelets for Ella and Mason to make. The bracelets weren't a huge hit, and they didn't even snap together, but Colton loved putting together and painting his plane.
By now we were all tired and getting hungry. So, off to Burger King for a late lunch/early dinner. Guess what toys BK has right now? Eclipse ones. Does anyone else think that's ridiculous? Who wants their young kids thinking about a vampire love story while they are downing nuggets and fries? Teenage angst and unrequited love aren't really the makings of a Kids Meal Toy in my opinion. Mason has graduated to Big Boy Meals. He doesn't like the chicken nuggets anymore, he only likes the Chicken Fries. Chicken Fries don't come in a kids meal, so he has to get the Big Boy Meal. Big Boy Meals don't come with toys. When he asked where his toy was after digging into his food, I reminded him that his meal didn't come with one. Ella piped in, "See Mason, I tried to warn ya!!" Ella graciously shared her Eclipse purse from her kids meal with Mason, who proceded to wear it as a hat, or yamaca.
After a quick bath, Mason asked for his jammies to be put on him. A day of swimming = tired kids = early bedtime = sweet!!!
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