Ice Capades

 Sunday, after preparing Super-bowl snacks containing way too much Velveeta, cream cheese and mayo, while the littlest was sleeping and before we headed over to Grandma's to watch the game, I took the Bigs on a new adventure- ice skating!  There are several rinks in our town that rent skates for super cheap.  It has been on my "must do" list this winter.

When I walked out the door, keys in hand, ready to drive the 8 blocks to the rink, the kids said "NO! We want to walk!"  "It's too far," I said.  You'll decide you don't want to walk home."  "NOOOO!  We want to walk!" said the Bigs.  Then I thought to myself:  "What's the MATTER with you?  Isn't this EXACTLY the kind of afternoon you were hoping for?? A winter's walk in the sunshine followed by bonding on the ice??"  "Ok!" I said.  "Let's go!  What a good idea!"

And we were off.  The walk went great.  No complaints, but Fisher decided to roll around in snow and slush on the way there... typical behavior from him :)  The walk home was, predictably, met with more resistance, but I bribed them every 2 blocks with a bottle of Sprite I had purchased at the warming house.  Sometimes a little high-fructose corn syrup is just the thing you need.

On the ice- it was hard to catch him standing for the first 1/2 hour or so.  I was AMAZED at the strength of his will to keep trying, and trying and trying to get this down.  He improved greatly over the hour, though still frequently fell.  Coordination is not his strong suit, and I was very proud of him for keeping his chin up.

The trainer was a great help- if even to give them a break from trying so hard to stay upright and actually GET somewhere!

We are so lucky to live such a short distance from the crown jewel park of our community.

Claire especially took to ice skating and I think it may be a really fun Mother-Daughter activity.  Something I am constantly trying to be aware of these days as she is growing up and also feeling the "middle child crunch."