Ice Skating

We found a thing on Groupon that let us try ice skating. We left the littlest offspring with a fellow primary teacher and to the rink we went. We didn't know how M and K would do with it. We've never taken them and didn't know how they would react. Our kids aren't the,"I kind of liked it" kind of kids. They either really like something or they really don't. It turns out that they really like ice skating. I don't know how the ice skating rink, that is in the middle of a parking lot, stays frozen. It doesn't get very cold around here. When it gets down to 9 degrees, there's a two hour delay for school to start. Due to 9 degrees being too cold to wait at a bus stop. There are mass e-mails sent out by the weather people to tell us to stay inside because it's too cold to be outside. It's not like there was ice all over the roads. It was clear skies with the sun shining and a two hour delay for school. I'll take what I can get! Anyway, my point is that I don't know how the ice stays frozen. By some handy work by the ice skating miracle workers, the ice is in fact frozen. It's not even slushy. The rink is bite size especially when it's filled with humans. I had called before we went to see if they had those little walker, helper things for little kids to use. I knew the lady didn't know what I was talking about when she said," No, we don't have employees that can walk with your children, they need to be supervised by you." I just said thank you and hung up. What joy filled our little hearts when we got there and saw that they did indeed have little walker helper things for little kids to use. Too bad there were only six and all of them were in use. One was being used by a group of teenagers. I almost got enough courage to ask if we could use it, but as I skated closer towards them, I got all sweaty and filled with anxiety, so I skated on whilst holding on to K's hand. The mom's of the other little kids that were using the blue helper things were really great about taking turns. Not the mom's taking turns of course, but having their children letting other kids use them. Not that I needed to clarify, just sayin'.

Yay for the little helper walker things! M loved them and was super nervous when we had her give hers to another little kid. She didn't really trust me and my skating skills. She clung to B like she might die if she fell the four feet it would take her to land on the ice.

He loved it! He would try to go pretty fast when he got a turn with one of these. Pretty soon he was ready to venture out on his own. As he skated away on his own I thought, this is what animal mom's of the arctic must feel like; did I teach our young enough to stay safe?

When we had them surrender the blue things, the wall was the next ice skating method of choice. M knew to hold on with one hand and skate like normal. K on the other hand, well...

He held on with both hands and instead of moving his feet, just moved his hands as he pulled himself along. Whatever works right?!

I just love this picture. This is at the end right before we left to go get little B. Since we didn't know if they would like ice skating we had told her that we would only be gone for a couple hours. We were sad we had to leave. They really liked it and we hope that we can do it again next year.

This was taken right after he fell because he had insisted on letting go of my hand and not holding onto the wall. He had been able to stay up for about ten seconds and then got to know the ice up close and personal. He didn't mind really other than it was cold to touch. There are perks to being short and one of them is that when you fall ice skating, it doesn't hurt very bad.  

 B and I are happy to know that they like ice skating so much and we hope that we find another Groupon that will let us go back. We loved it but not enough to pay the full price of $12 a person. If the $12 included lessons on how to do a triple axel or a back flip or roses being thrown on the ice as the crowd cheers wildly as you skated by, then maybe. Until it does we will look for cheap ways to fulfill our need for ice skating.