Bumper Bowling

One of the things I really wanted to do while Josh was here was to take Dylan bowling for the first time. We went to Sam’s on an afternoon. The place was deserted, which was pretty nice for us. As soon as we got there and Dylan saw all the open space, he wanted to run around. He was not happy with me not putting him down while we got our shoes and tried to get organized. I’m sure the guy working the counter was thinking, “oh great, these people brought a crier in here and it’s going to be awful!”

But everything calmed down once our shoes were on and the search was on for the perfect ball. We got Dylan the lightest one we could find (the 8 pounder) and headed back to our two lanes. The guy gave us two side-by-side. One with bumpers (for Dylan) and a regular one (for us).

Dylan helped Daddy put our names on the board while I tried to get the camera out, because we all know how photo obsessed I am! Dylan had no idea what was about to happen, but he knew it looked exciting.

Josh stood with Dylan and had me bowl once to show him what he was supposed to do. Then it was his turn. Josh carried the ball up to the line for him and Dylan followed. Only, I think he was trying to walk up all fancy like I did. What a ham! I can't tell you how happy I am that I got this little movie of his very first attempt at bowling!

We took turns bowling and helping Dylan. He had such a great time. We got him two 8lb balls so that we never had to wait for his ball to travel back up. I think it's a little much for a 1.5 year old to understand why he has to wait for his one ball.

His were the two on the left in the photo. I think he also liked how brightly colored they were.

But he also shared the spotlight. He wanted us to take our turns. When Dylan wanted one of us to take a turn he pointed to our bowling ball - yes, he figured out which one was Mommy's and which one was Daddy's. Then he'd either sit down on the floor or stand there patiently and watch. And he really liked cheering us on.

My parents showed up about halfway through to see Dylan's first time bowling. Dylan really started to show off once they were there (He gets like that when Grandma & Grandpa show up). We got through one whole game for Dylan and were almost done with our game when he hit his limit.

"Go, ball, go!"

In true toddler form, he started to throw a bit of a fit once he decided that he was finished bowling. Grandpa Bob saved the day and took him for a walk. Josh and I finished up our game and turned in our shoes. When the three of us went to find Grandpa & Dylan, we ended up finding them playing the race car game. Dylan was in charge of shifting and Grandpa was steering. I think they make a good team - even if they didn't come anywhere close to winning the race.

My parents took off for home, and Josh, Dylan and I finished our bowling experience with a stop at Clints for pizza. It was an AWESOME afternoon.