Kid Activity Hiatus
The month of January (with 2 full weekends still ahead of us) has been filled with family activities. We’ve had some new experiences and some of our old favorite experiences. So far we've been ice skating a couple of times, swimming, and roller skating. It has been really nice to have this hiatus from typical kid activities and schedules to do fun family things... active things. Never fear though, the kid activities kick into high gear come mid March!
Ice skating has been our new experience this season. The kids were really excited to give this a try and it has been great fun. We go to an activity center that offers great opportunity to run, jump, climb, slide, and everything you can imagine to burn up their energy. Then in the winter they also offer ice skating. We can easily spend 4-5 hours there at a time!
Carie was reluctant to go skating and I thought she was brilliant in holding back. I wanted her to skate if she wanted to. But she was a bit nervous and worried as it seems that the Walles women can jack up their backs without effort. I offered to take the kids skating under one condition, they had to take turns. I'm very much a novice on skates myself and I couldn't imagine all 3 of them hanging on me all at once. We compromised and I started out with Abby & Ellie. They rocked! They didn't really even need my help. I gave them a few tips that I was figuring out as I attempted to stay standing on my own skates. They took those tips and they were off. Their independence shines through again!
I went around the rink a time or two to help out with my own comfort level before getting the boy out on the ice. It was all his idea to go skating and he was adamant about giving it a try. Once out on the ice he insisted that I "hold my hips momma!" Now, he's a very tall boy but I'm also on the tall side and (my back) could have benefited from being a bit shorter. But hold on to his "hips" I did and he had a blast. I think his favorite parts were wearing the skates, stomping on the ice (in his skates), sitting on the ice, and groovin' in his skates off the ice.
Our 2nd attempt at skating went even better. Carie opted to join us this time and she did fantastic. The girls stepped out on the ice and took off where they left off the prior week. It was truly amazing to see them do so well. Spencer did fantastic and I didn't even have to hold his hips! My back praised him! He often requested to go faster and then we'd hear him yell "I'm a big kid now".
I'm sure the girls' had their fair share of falling but it didn't seem to faze them. Carie didn't fall at all. I managed to fall once on each of our trips and man, those are hard falls. The first weekend I fell just as Spencer and I were about to get off the ice. We were near the exit and suddenly I was on the ground. It happened so fast I have no idea what happened. The second weekend I again was doing just fine until the end. I had decided that I'd skate until the break (10ish minutes) when they were getting the Zamboni out. Ellie and I were skating along together when she made a sudden move and cut right in front of me. Next thing I know I'm on the ice and I feel the back of my head hit the ice. My sunglasses flew off and landed about 3' behind me. Man that hurt! I helped Ellie get up and then I made my way to the exit. I was done for the day. Both Abby & Ellie though, they skated their hearts out. We had to practically peel them off the ice when it was time for the place to close. While both of the girls have really enjoyed skating it seems to really hit home for Abby. It is so fun to watch them enjoy and excel at something so new.
A lot of pictures for your enjoyment... all taken the first weekend. Ellie is in the pink hat and Abby is in the green hat.
Ice skating has been our new experience this season. The kids were really excited to give this a try and it has been great fun. We go to an activity center that offers great opportunity to run, jump, climb, slide, and everything you can imagine to burn up their energy. Then in the winter they also offer ice skating. We can easily spend 4-5 hours there at a time!
Carie was reluctant to go skating and I thought she was brilliant in holding back. I wanted her to skate if she wanted to. But she was a bit nervous and worried as it seems that the Walles women can jack up their backs without effort. I offered to take the kids skating under one condition, they had to take turns. I'm very much a novice on skates myself and I couldn't imagine all 3 of them hanging on me all at once. We compromised and I started out with Abby & Ellie. They rocked! They didn't really even need my help. I gave them a few tips that I was figuring out as I attempted to stay standing on my own skates. They took those tips and they were off. Their independence shines through again!
I went around the rink a time or two to help out with my own comfort level before getting the boy out on the ice. It was all his idea to go skating and he was adamant about giving it a try. Once out on the ice he insisted that I "hold my hips momma!" Now, he's a very tall boy but I'm also on the tall side and (my back) could have benefited from being a bit shorter. But hold on to his "hips" I did and he had a blast. I think his favorite parts were wearing the skates, stomping on the ice (in his skates), sitting on the ice, and groovin' in his skates off the ice.
Our 2nd attempt at skating went even better. Carie opted to join us this time and she did fantastic. The girls stepped out on the ice and took off where they left off the prior week. It was truly amazing to see them do so well. Spencer did fantastic and I didn't even have to hold his hips! My back praised him! He often requested to go faster and then we'd hear him yell "I'm a big kid now".
I'm sure the girls' had their fair share of falling but it didn't seem to faze them. Carie didn't fall at all. I managed to fall once on each of our trips and man, those are hard falls. The first weekend I fell just as Spencer and I were about to get off the ice. We were near the exit and suddenly I was on the ground. It happened so fast I have no idea what happened. The second weekend I again was doing just fine until the end. I had decided that I'd skate until the break (10ish minutes) when they were getting the Zamboni out. Ellie and I were skating along together when she made a sudden move and cut right in front of me. Next thing I know I'm on the ice and I feel the back of my head hit the ice. My sunglasses flew off and landed about 3' behind me. Man that hurt! I helped Ellie get up and then I made my way to the exit. I was done for the day. Both Abby & Ellie though, they skated their hearts out. We had to practically peel them off the ice when it was time for the place to close. While both of the girls have really enjoyed skating it seems to really hit home for Abby. It is so fun to watch them enjoy and excel at something so new.
A lot of pictures for your enjoyment... all taken the first weekend. Ellie is in the pink hat and Abby is in the green hat.
Labels: Abigail, Eliana, Family, Kid Activities, The Boy, The Girls, Winter
posted by Sonya at 1:38 PM
1 Comments:
Looks like everyone had so much fun! Erik has been ice skating a few times this year, but not with me. :)
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