Ice Skating

Last Sunday the girls had their first ice skating lesson.  I can count on one hand how many times I've skated and yet it never occurred to me just how hard the beginning may be for them.  Thinking back, I remember my ankles wobbling and hurting beyond belief...and the falling. How could I forget the falling? But as we drove to the rink, their excitement was pretty infectious. Their instructor said that for months the beginner class consisted of two students but this session easily had 25 kids. So they were understaffed with one instructor, to say the least. The girls were on the younger side and I think she saw the fear in their eyes, so she was very attentive to them. Does this look like the face of an Olympic figure skater right before their triple Lutz jump?

or this face...

They had lots of spills. But before they went out on the ice, the instructor taught them to put their arms out straight in front of them and bend their knees while sticking out their behind, should they feel like they were going to fall. Natalie was a pro at this.

Because there were so many students and we were just about last on the ice, all of the milk crates were taken. The expression on my face must have looked a lot like theirs. Thankfully, they found some more crates and the girls did much better.  They were actually moving along the ice! 

I thought for sure they would be crying when they came off (because of the falls/being cold) and never want to return. But to my surprise they all came off with a big smile saying, "I was good out there, huh?" Thank you God! And they want to go back! They ask every day if it's Sunday.

The lesson is conveniently right after church, so we decided to head there first as a family.  Jay goes to church every Sunday, without fail. But me, I've always luckily unfortunately had a baby keeping me home. Jay would often take one or two kids and they would spend the entire mass asking to use the bathroom (in fact, Mallory spent a long time on Jay's "banned from church list" because she could not behave). But gratefully, all four were perfect little angels. So much so, that while they were wrapping their arms around each other and kissing (all while making sure the little old ladies behind us were watching), I questioned if we should be heading to acting class after instead. But they must have just felt God's loving presence. ;)