Turning 9 Years Old Really ROCKS!

Rachel wanted to have fancy tea party at home for her birthday party this year.  She had great plans for activities, games, crafts, etc.  I got exhausted just thinking about it.  Sometimes Mom just needs to hit the "Easy Button" and pay to have a party somewhere else so there is no planning and no clean-up necessary.  So Rachel had her party at Summit Climbing Gym in Grapevine.  It is a fun place covered with walls just beckoning to be climbed.


At Summit, there are several walls that can be climbed with auto-belay.  Auto-belay meaning that there is no need for another person to belay the line for the climber so the kids could climb all by themselves after a brief training course.  The auto-belay takes up the slack in the line as the climber ascends the wall and the counter weight gives them a slow and controlled descent.  


It was really fun watching the kids climb the walls.  They were helping each other and speaking encouragement when needed.  It was sweet to watch.

The more challenging walls require a human belayer.  Stuart belayed for kids who wanted to try some harder climbs.  Of course Rachel wanted to challenge herself and she did great!


Nicholas is a great climber too.  He likes the auto-belay walls but he likes the more challenging climbs the best.


There are a few other things you can climb on besides walls.  There is a big net and also this tall rope ladder.  The ladder is challenging because it twists and turns as you climb it.  It does require a person to belay for the climber.  Rachel made it up to the top!


There is also a line that they let the kids just swing on for fun.  Wheee!!!


It was time to take a break so we stopped for cake and presents.  Rachel wanted an ice cream cake with a Dallas Stars hockey theme.  The cake turned out really cute.  However, I had not had an ice cream cake before.  I was so worried about it melting before it was time to eat but I shouldn't have.  We got the cake out of the freezer a few minutes early and it was still a hard frozen block when it came time to cut it.

So we told Rachel to open presents first to give the cake a little time to defrost!  She didn't mind at all.  She was giddy to open her presents!


Although I felt bad for not having the birthday party at our house like Rachel had wanted, it turned out to be a really fun party and Rachel had a great time!  Sometimes you just have to let the Mommy Guilt go and find another solution.  An just maybe it will turn out even better than what you had to say no to.

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