Winter

It's cold. Autumn has gone and the hawk has arrived. Maashaa Allah.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a long walk to the park with no coats and bright sunshine. This morning, the same sun rose, cleverly warmly beckoning us to a sharp, frigid slap in the face. Actually, it wasn't all that bad, but after living through temps as high as 70 in November, you start to get used to perpetual summer.

Alhamdulillah, Iowans have lived through numerous winters and have devised a number of strategies for making sure that they continue to live up to their family friendly image all year round. As there seem to be a number of days coming that may put temperatures below my personal park-walk-threshold of 45 degrees, I've been developing a running tally of indoor fun activities for the kids and it seems that some introduces me to a new one on a weekly basis.

After the malls, which boast free spacious play areas and the community centers, which boast $2 play in gyms filled with random toys, our favorite cold weather option are the indoor playground equipment showrooms. These showrooms are an ingenious marketing tactic because you are bound to take a look at the pricing and descriptions while watching your child run wild and free. I'm sure somewhere in my subconsciousness, there's already been a link made between joyous play and $2000 home playground systems.