I managed to turn a 10-minute drive into a 30-minute saga this morning by missing my exit and then driving aimlessly for awhile. (Christmas hint!). Once I found my way, though, it turned into a very nice outing.

Poppy and I still had all sorts of fun at our first toddler bowling session, which I was disappointed to find involved neither rolling toddlers nor knocking them down. Our venue of choice featured about six little lanes, each equipped with bumpers, a scoreboard TV and toddler-sized bowling balls. Poppy approach was a little stiff (this was her first game; cut her some slack), and she didn’t “roll” the ball so much as “dropped it and giggled at the enormous thud.” After a little bit of coaching, though, she started to actually roll the ball. And oh, the joy in that little face when the pins started to fall! She danced and clapped and jumped each time they fell.

She finished her game with a score of 55, which isn’t all that much lower than my average game. I’m relatively certain she could beat Amy, who is the only person I’ve ever known to score in the teens. Pi still has a way to go, though, before she can challenge my brother’s girlfriend, who was a Bowling Spartan. (Did you know colleges had bowling teams? Before I met Carrie, I did not know that. I know she will appreciate that I’ve shared a 5-year-old photo of her. You’re welcome, Carrie.)

After the bowling, we went down to the “soft play” area — basically a big, enclosed playground with lots of padding. Poppy tends to be a little cautious in these situations, and for the first few minutes we were there she held true to form. She was on the smaller of the two play structures, gripping my hand and frozen in place on the second platform. Then suddenly, she took off for the big playground. She climbed and jumped and fell off of things and just kept going back for more. It was nice to see her full-out playing.

And when it was time to leave, there was no tantrum! She was worn out, happy and ready for lunch. It was a lovely morning, and we’ll definitely be doing it again.