Our Polyester Kingdom

I'm not even sure how to begin on this one.  Except that on the day of a backyard BBQ with friends, I sent my husband to the store to get a new inflatable pool (ours was beyond repair) when he came home with what I can only describe as a polyester kingdom--an inflatable waterslide--12 feet long, 9 feet high and 8 feet wide.  It's massive.  There is no doubt about it.

Admittedly, part of my Squamish-eco-nature-loving-down-to-earth roots died a little, the part of me that grew up mucking about in streams behind the house, picking flowers and building tree forts.  Do our children really need a huge blow-up bouncy castle to entertain them?  Can't they be happy chasing frogs and blowing bubbles and playing pretend?  But in the city, you just don't have the ability to send your kids outside into the same safely-wild backyard.  So the other part of me was thrilled and hoping us adults might be able to take it for a spin!  (Apparently not... it does have a maximum weight restriction).

I should have captured the look on my water-birthing-vegan-back-to-nature good friend Sam's face as she turned the corner into the backyard to come nose to nose with our blow-up waterslide.  I think she was totally floored by the enormity and vibrancy of the polyester castle glowing in the sun like a neon blimp that filled about 1/3 of our backyard.  All she could say was, "wow."  Her children might have looked a little terrified.  ;P  But I think they warmed up to it all and we were so happy to be sitting on the sidelines for once watching them all enjoy themselves.

I am not sure if our neighbors were impressed and hope they get to send their kids over every afternoon this summer, or peeved that they might have to look at this bright orange and green and blue contraption blocking their view of the sun.

Anyway, as anticipated, it was a crowd-pleaser--the kids chased each other up and down the slide and splashed each other wildly.  Eventually the kiddies got cold and put clothes on, only to jump back in the pool and get drenched all over again!  At one point we had a few kids with no clothes on running around with icecream dripping down their chins onto their chests.  Somehow I think our fancy and elegant dinner parties are gone for a little while......