We had such a busy weekend, but it was filled with so much fun. We were all worn out from the circus on Saturday morning, but that didn’t keep the girls from spending the night with Nana and staying up way too late. In the event of Saturday evening slumber parties, we usually pick the girls up bright and early to get ready for church, but Josh and I were equally exhausted. We ate leftover breakfast casserole, watched way too much football, and I worked on prepping the blog for our trip next month. The girls came home mid-afternoon and we furiously tried to get ready for a birthday party later in the day. This is the part when I tell you it was raining cats and dogs, the wind was blowing crazy hard, and I had no desire to brave that weather (and a 40 minute drive) for a birthday party. Boy am I glad I got over myself, because we had the best time celebrating with Ella’s best girl.
The party was at a local climbing facility that opened back before Christmas. We had been talking about taking the girls for weeks, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. We were so excited when the invitation arrived and I opted to pay for Sophie to climb to keep her from missing out. Fortunately, a few other siblings came to party, so she had plenty of friends of her own!
For birthday parties, participants have two different rooms available to them — a climbing room with HUGE walls and a great kid’s area, which is where we started. A staff member helped them select climbing shoes, got their harnesses ready, and unleashed us on the available rooms. Ella was old enough to clip herself in and out, so I barely saw her all day. Sophie didn’t make the age requirement, so I followed her around, clipping and unclipping too many carabiners to count!
They were cleared to try any climb outfitted with an auto-belay. Essentially, it cranked tighter as they climbed and was later released automatically when they jumped or rappelled down the walls. Ella took to it immediately and was reaching the top of two story climbs within minutes. Sophie was another story. My usually brave and spirited girl was so nervous and it took her many tries to climb higher than I could reach. She finally tried these city towers, which helped her to overcome her fear.
This rope web was another easier climb, where the spacing was close enough together that she could manage by herself. Part of her problem was negotiating which hand holds to reach for and how best to navigate each wall.
The photo below is the only time I caught them side by side all day (I shared that one on Instagram during the party). The kids walls butted up against each other all the way across the room and they could clip in and climb wherever there was an available yellow strap.
After mastering the shorter climbs, both girls wanted to try the rope room. The vast majority of climbing areas were for more experienced climbers using a spotter and ropes, but there were a handful of places for them to climb. Ella made quick work of this wall and was pleased to get higher than a few of her friends. Competitive much?
Back in the kids room, Sophie discovered this puzzle wall where the hand and foot holds were evenly spaced. She skipped out on the puzzle part, but was so thrilled to realize how well she could actually climb. The crowd was starting to thin out a bit, so there weren’t any kids waiting for this particular course. I bet she climbed it five times in a row!
Finally, Ella decided to try a rope climb with one of the instructors. I’m not sure that it felt any different to her, but she felt like a professional climbing without the auto-belay! Even though it wasn’t nearly as high as her climb in the rope room, I think this was easily her proudest moment.
Ella and Jana have been great friends since their preschool days and we are always happy to celebrate together. They spent most of the afternoon encouraging each other and racing to the top. It was so fun to watch.
Can you tell this was the after photo? The girls were a little exhausted and everyone had sore hands and feet when their climbing time was over!
We can’t wait to go back again as a family (or on a date night!!) and have already decided that this is how we’ll celebrate Sophie’s birthday this year. She has been begging for a “play place party” since the summer and this just perfectly fits the bill.
Have you tried indoor climbing? What did you think?
