B&C Bouncetown, Beth Hensperger

It rained last night and seemed like it might rain this morning.  Spencer had energy to burn, so we went to B&C Bouncetown.  Spencer had a blast.  He has mastered jumping in a bounce house and is no longer even remotely cautious.  Today he experimented with falling on purpose.  He climbed and enjoyed the slides and bonded with the big kids.  It is $8 per child over 2.  Adults are free.  They have nice concession options, including brewed-to-order coffee, but allow you to bring your own food to enjoy in the Birthday Room.  Hours were 10-2 today, but they are open until 7 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  There are couches and an exersaucer for the smaller crowd.  The bathrooms could stand to be cleaner, but the ladies' room also includes a real changing table (not the kind that folds down from the wall).  There are coupons for buy one-get one half off in the coupon packets you get in the mail, and they have printable coupons here.  Don't forget your socks - even the adults have to wear them.  If you forget, they have clean socks behind the desk.  The staff are very friendly and helpful.

After jumping for 2 hours, Spence was ready for a good nap.  It was a rainy afternoon, so I made a crockpot of chili, using the Gringo Chili from Beth Hensperger's Recipes for Entertaining.  I love her cookbooks - I rarely make a bad meal when I use her recipes, and have discovered several favorites in her collections.  I think I have almost everything she's written, and I have notes all over the pages.  I don't know why she isn't better known - she is worth investigating.

A good friend joined us for dinner with her little boy.  Spencer was so excited to have his friend over.  He showed him around the house, brought him toys to play with, tried to play with him, and of course tried to steal toys a few times.  He has come a long way, though, and I was proud of him.