Bowling

We had a great adventure on Monday. We took our kids to Jack and Jill Bowling Lanes in Lehi. Our under two year old loved the experience. He would roll his ball down the lane, watch as it hit the pins, then immediately run back to the ball return to watch for his ball. He was very good at keeping his hands out of the machinery.

Of course, we had to use an eight pound ball for both him and for our 4 year old as well. Both also used the "ball-assist," a ramp you set up at the top of the lane to roll the ball down. Little ones simply push the pull down the ramp after you have set the angle and trajectory. The lanes also have pop-up gutter rails that can be set for each individual bowler.

This activity was great, though a bit expensive. We managed the cost by cutting out coupons, (buy 1 game get 1 free) from a local mailer. Still, we paid $7 per participant, but we got to play 2 games. Our 4 year-old did great with 2 games (he even got a strike halfway through the 2nd game), but the under 2 was worn out and working on snacks after about 15 frames. (Ironically, that's about the time mom and dad's tosses started fading right as their arms wore out!)

Another fun part of this adventure was the wait. We were told that there was a 25 minute wait, (not surprising on a Monday night in Utah) so we went to the arcade. The games in the arcade require a card, but it was easy to purchase using a credit card at the kiosk, and kept track of your money as you swiped it through the machine. Both boys enjoyed Whack-a-Mole and the kiddie version of skee-ball. And Mom showed us how to win 23 tickets at Deal or No Deal (Dad showed us how to win 4). Each game that you played spit out a few tickets, which you can put on your card to purchase cheap trinkets at the rewards buffet. This was just right for our little ones. Additionally, the card holds the extra tickets, so now we have a card with around $4 and the 13 tickets we couldn't spend that we can use another time.

If you're on a tight budget, this may not be the adventure for you (we spent $35-$40 for 2 adults and 2 small kids). But this was a fun activity that all of us enjoyed.