Crazy Jumpin' Fun

Josh's dad gave us a belated gift card for Christmas and told us to get the kids what they wanted. I vetoed the whole 'pick what you guys want to spend your money on' idea and gave them an option. I told them that they could get one big gift for everyone to enjoy and they decided on a trampoline. At first, I was a little hesitant. I mean...I do have a tiny two-year old who could get smashed on it. But then again, I was thinking about how much fun they could potentially have. So a trampoline it was!

Josh and I put it together in an afternoon and by the evening's end, three very happy kids were bouncin' like crazy on it. What we forgot to get when we bought it were some tie-downs so that it wouldn't blow away in the crazy mid-west wind we have. Well, needless to say...it was a priority. Just a couple of days into having that thing, there was a forecast for some pretty nasty wind and storms. We got some tie-downs, courtesy of my mom who was in town at the time, and tied that bad boy to the ground. Guess what? It barely held. That night we had a storm like nothing else I've seen in my days in this house. It hit fast and hard and within seconds the storm hit. We had no time to prepare and, honestly, when I looked outside, I was 98% certain we were in a tornado. I couldn't even see the backyard anymore. I was scared beyond words, grabbed my kids out of bed and we hunkered down in the bathroom until it passed...children terrified and shaking. Ah heck! I was terrified too! The next morning, I went out to assess the damage and it was pretty bad. Mr. Trampoline had his legs bent underneath and had moved across the yard, barely tethered to the ground by one remaining line that had been stretched beyond it's capacity. They said it was straight line winds, but I doubt it. Two homes were destroyed in our town and we lost half a tree in the backyard (amongst other things). I believe we had a small gustnado (if not a small tornado). Scared the bejeezus outta me! As you can see...the trampoline took a beating. But I fixed it and it's all good now.

Poor Mr. Trampoline

Barely connected to the ground

What's left of the last anchor.

Since then, we've readjusted our tie-downs and I think we'll be okay in the future. And now? Well, now three kids are out there (and me as well...Whew! What a work out!) nearly every day. They love it and it's great fun! Thanks, Grandpa (Paul)! What an awesome present. And just so you know, miss Evie, small as she is, holds her own on that thing. She's a pistol and loves to jump, jump, jump! I'm super-happy we got it after all.

The Chop

Levitation

The Dancer

The Stomp

The dive

The invisible motorcycle