my sister had her son's (my nephew. duh.) birthday party today at my mother's house. my sister rented a Jupiter Jump for the afternoon. within an hour, me and my sisters had taken over the thing and had the kids at our whim. a one hundred seventy pound guy who lands near a thirty-five pound child will either bounce that child up really high, or cause the child to hit at the wrong time. either way, he or she falls, and if that guy keeps bouncing, the child will not be able to stand again. my sisters and i spent more time on the thing than the kids did, but it was fun to watch a half dozen 3 to 6 year olds jumping around, all saying "boing!" with every bounce. now though, after 5 hours on and off the thing, and an hour long water fight with the nephews and a cousin, i'm exhausted and ready for bed, at 7:30.

my other sister has decided to rent one for my other nephew's birthday next month (it's a great price, $65, for all that boinginess). i also made my mom promise to rent one for my birthday. seriously. if it's been years since you been on the Bouncy Castle at the fair or an amusement park, you gotta do it. in fact, i'm inviting all of you over to my mom's for my birthday in November for an afternoon of inflatable rubber fun.