The Ice Ridge

A few weeks ago a few of my friends posted some photos of their family's ice skating in Des Moines at The Ice Ridge.  It looked like they were having a blast and then I noticed they didn't have coats or mittens on!  Whatever they were skating on, wasn't ice, but they were wearing real ice skates and skating around this rink.  I had to find out what this was all about!

So, I took a trip over to the Southridge Mall today to check it out.  What a cool place!  I was greeted by Owner/Operator Burton who so nice and was excited to show me the "ice" which is really a synthetic material much like a cutting board that you skate on.  There are chairs all around the rink for spectators and lots of high chairs to hold on to for learners.  

The Ice Ridge offers classes and well as public open skating times and even birthday parties and special events!  Check out of the offerings and times at their website here.

Admission for public skating will run you $5 and skate rental is $3.50.  You can also purchase punch cards for discounted admission.

Very exciting to have something like this in Des Moines where you can skate year-round!  Take your kiddos out (or your adult friends) and support this cool place!

To the right is the weekly schedule and prices, but you can see this info better on the website as well.  They also have a Facebook page you can follow for special events and announcements.

Sky Zone-Jumping Fun For Everyone!

Today's guest post is by my super fun friend Sonja.  Sonja is a stay at home mom of two, runner, scrapbooker and always in search of cheap entertainment for her boys.  She visited Sky Zone recently and was kind enough to share! Thanks Sonja!

Sky Zone is a great way to beat the heat (or cold)!

Since Tuesday was the last day that our favorite splash park had water turned on, we had to find a new way to beat the heat on Wednesday.  I had heard that Sky Zone in Grimes, just off of Highway 141, had a special toddler time, so we decided to check it out.

Toddler time is for ages five and under from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.  It costs $6 per toddler, and one parent can jump for free. 

My little guy is only ten months and not walking yet, so he was free and I carried him most of the morning.  My big guy is 2 ½ and had a blast. 

When we first arrived I had to sign a waiver for myself and my two boys, got shoes for myself, and we got ready to bounce.  My big guy’s feet are not big enough for any of their shoes so he went barefoot (the smallest size shoe available  is a toddler size 10).  I had to wear shoes if I wanted to go on the trampolines with him, so bring socks if you want to go out there with your kids.

First we spent time in the main trampoline court area.  It was filled with wall to wall trampolines, including the walls (which were fun to bounce balls on too.)  One area was netted off to play with the balls, and this was my son’s favorite since he was allowed to throw the balls inside.

There was one other part of the building open to the toddlers which included a big foam pit to jump into.  The trampolines were set up to run down and jump into the foam pit, then climb out and do it again.  Of course the foam blocks were as much fun to climb around in as the trampolines were for bouncing.

They have special pricing for large groups and host birthday parties as well.  Check out the pricing here.

We burned off a lot of energy in our one hour and had a lot of fun.  So whether you need to get out of the heat or just burn off some toddler energy check out Sky Zone for Toddler Time, or any other time.