Alright, now for some real fun! It's been unseasonably warm for over a week now: temps between 10 and 45 F. We had to bump up our outdoor activities a notch. My husband upgraded his skis and took a couple of trips down the river. And I dusted off my skates and hit the rinks.
Until last week, I'd only walked around the track at the Big Dipper Ice Arena with other moms and kids. It's boring; even my son threw a fit when I'd drag him along on these "play dates." Being on the ice is a whole 'nother ball game. Cold air in your face, loud music, kids playing around you. You can look up at the ceiling and see yourself skating in the mirrors. It was tough to skate backward with all of the kids in my way, and after a while I became so dizzy from going in circles that I had to quit and go eat a burger. But, baby came along for a nap in the stands to cheer me on.
Not old enough to skate (or rather feet too thick to fit into conventional skates), he preferred to pull rather than ride in his sled on the ice track. But, he sucked it up and rode in the sled while our friend Sadie pulled him.
This time we became even more hungry and had to hit Quiznos. This is where we learned our son is old enough finally to be bribed. He ate his sandwich like a champion after being promised he could play with a gadget if he did so. Thanks, Sadie!
We spent a considerable amount of time recently playing with our neighbors. They live about 10 minutes away, so it's easy to do things spur of the moment. During one of our playdates, we spent 2 hours playing on the river. Again, we were overdressed for the awesome temps! Anyway, the kids insisted on walking or pulling the sleds instead of being pulled. We made snow angels, threw snow balls, pointed out dogs and airplanes and had a few laughs. It was a great day!
