Sophie and Emma's bday: Galaxy

Our friends and neighbors, Sophie and Emma are turning 3 and 4.  They are the cutest little girls ever, and always come over with their pup (that Eric and Amara BOTH want to puppy-nap) Odie.  They ride the coaster, ride bicycles, they even took the pink Mustang around the block for a loop :)

They both have June birthdays, so we knew the party was coming up, but didn't know where.  Finally, we found out it was going to be at Galaxy. 

Now, Galaxy has been around for years.  We used to go there in high school, it's changed hands, grown, been expanded, remodeled, and now it's this giant combination birthday place, putt-putt, indoor climbing/ obstacle course, games/ tokes/ prizes place.  We went there about a year and a half ago for our friend Hayliee's first birthday party, but Amara was only about 6 months old--and didn't really get it.

Like Chuck E. Cheese, this isn't really the kind of place you just "go to" every week for no reason, but I was SO excited to see what Amara would think of all of this.  We headed over after her nap (she was zonked after our big morning out!) and got there just in time for cake and gift bags.  The (Sam's Club) cake was AMAZING--and we all had our fill and headed out to the play area. 

Amara was interested in some of the games, like the driving games she played with Eric, and the one particular space coaster ride she rode over and over :)  All the while, Eric was winning tickets at a feverish pace, because Amara had already spotted the prize counter and a mountain of stuffed animals --all calling her name.

We headed back to the obstacle course, there was this one with a tiny strip of nylon and ropes you had to navigate across.  The 2nd time, she mastered it--all the way up and back down.  She also went up the cargo net, LOVED the ball pit, went down a probably 2-3 story slide by herself, and just had a ball. 

By that time, it was thinning out a bit, so she actually got to run around with Sophie and watch her do a few things--you know, parents can try to talk toddlers through something, but having a pal show you is so much easier!

We were there in all a few hours.  In the end, she was insisting we let her jump in the awkwardly turquoise blue water at the putt-putt mountain, so we took that as our sign to go. 

At the prize counter, Eric's over 500 tickets paid off, and Amara happily took home her new green and yellow teddy bear and a sucker.  We really didn't need to pay for anything, other than a few tokens, so it was a great afternoon, and I'm hoping Grandma Jackie can take her back--or we can do it from time to time also.  It's close, and great for a hot or rainy day!

What an amazing party and fun time.  Happy birthday Sophie and Emma, have fun in Mexico!  We'll all go play when you get back!