The Pool

When my in-laws told us what they wanted to get C for his birthday, I immediately thought of Angela.

Why? Because they wanted to get him this:It seems that Angela had a bad experience with basically the exact same product, albeit a giraffe instead of zebra. But when you’re discussing blow-up African animals, does it really matter?

Anyway, we agreed that it would be a fine gift for C because he loves water, no matter its delivery system. I cautioned everyone that the water park in a box might not be all it appears.

But first, we had to make fun of a few things.

Apparently the best way to prevent drowning is to shoot laser beams from your eyes at your child who is in the process of drowning. And just in case you weren’t sure, you should go ahead and empty the pool at some point.I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t aware that zebras, sprinklers, or slides were considered “prehistoric.”And since we never remember to buy an air pump, the ol’ lungs had a good workout getting that thing blown up.Even though this pool wasn’t really all it was advertised to be, it was fine for C. Ya’ll know he loves water.

But one thing I don’t think the manufacturer really thought through was the slide.

The slide is inflatable. It has two grommets on the bottom of the slide that match up with two grommets on the bottom of the pool. Two teensy little ropes were provided to tie the slide down.

Ok, I can see how this works…when the pool is empty.

Um, hello. When you put something inflatable in a pool then fill the pool with water, even when it’s tied to the bottom, it will float. In fact, the force of the water on the inflated slide actually pulls the bottom of the pool off the ground.

Awkward. And unstable. But the boy still had fun, despite the evil look on his face.  And perhaps this is an indicator that he might have a future career in the CIA. I’m just sayin’.Too bad that with all the cool weather we’ve been having he hasn’t been able to get back in the pool. We’ll save it for next year. I’m sure we’ll figure out some fun ways to use that slide for things it was not intended.