Stomping Ground

Emily (and her daughter, Hazel, Micah's bff) recently moved to League City. So out of necessity, we discovered this place in Sugar Land (a half-way meeting spot) called Stomping Ground.

We met there yesterday morning and we are all sold on how great of a place this is. To give you an idea of it's awesomeness, I'll share their tag line: Play date, meet coffee break.

It's basically just one big room with a place to order coffee and snacks at the front. (Healthy snacks too! Cheese sticks, yogurt, fruit. Even PB&J sandwhiches that don't cost an arm and a leg!) There are a lot of tables and couches and comfy chairs spread the length of the room for the moms to gather at.

On one side there's a toddler play area. On the other side there's a "3 and up" play area. Hazel and Micah played for two hours and both emerged red-faced and hot at the end of their expedition.

Occassionally several minutes would go by and I wouldn't have seen Micah for a long while and I'd get a bit nervous. But it only took one trip through the giant play area for me to realize that there was nearly no way for any child to get hurt with all the safety nets, play mats, and cushioned areas.

Emily was a fan of their big loopy slide and I liked the areas that had the giant balls best. I traveled through the tunnels high in the sky with Micah and Hazel once. About halfway through, I got claustrophobic and I thought I'd keel over when Hazel just stopped in the middle of the tunnel and said she preferred to go back the other way!

Overall, it was a great place to play. I'm sorry I didn't take any photos. I was too busy eating my delicious chocolate muffin and chatting with Emily and occasionally the other friendly moms.

Conversations with Emily about our kids are always fun. Hazel and Micah are so very different. So it's fun to peek into the world of another child and learn from someone else's parenting techniques. Micah and Hazel really do act like siblings, too. They're always happy to see each other but they don't have to play together constantly and they don't always get along. They're a good match for each other. They're polar opposites when it comes to their strengths and weaknesses. And hopefully they'll rub off on each other.

Which means we need to keep meeting at Stomping Ground a lot! (Seriously, if you're any place close to Sugar Land, check it out!)