Ice Skating

We tossed around a few ideas on what we wanted to do on Saturday.  We had the whole day free!  Ice skating won with the most votes.  Believe it or not, it was Jeff's idea to do this activity.

Jeff doesn't ice skate!   Sam's never been ice skating!  And Ian didn't want to ice skate!  Sounds like a winner to me, right?   I was in shock when Jeff suggested we go ice skating OUTDOORS at the Reston Town Center.  Um, hello!  It's in the 40's and very, very windy.  What about being outside was going to be a good idea for us to be ice skating?  I quickly rerouted us to the Fairfax Ice Arena, off of Pickett Street, which is fortunately indoors.

We all got ice skates on and made our way to the ice.  I was going to be the most steady on my feet, so I took on helping Sam.  Ian was in charge of helping Jeff.  Ian's big advice for Jeff was "Stay close to the wall and hang on."  Good advice if you ask me, considering that Ian was not going to be able to hold Jeff up on his own. 

Sam and I get on the ice first.  Right away, she starts slipping and freaks out. All I can make out in her high-pitched voice is "I don't like this at all".  Ian is quick to suggest that she gets off the ice and calls it a day.  I bend down to Sam's height and tell her I will not ever let go of her hand.  I also tell her she can put her other hand on the wall and hold on.  That seems to make her happy (well, as much as Sam can be when doing something terrifying and exciting all at the same time) and we are off to go around the rink.  When I take a look behind us, I see that Jeff and Ian have barely moved from the open entrance to the rink.  They are technically on the ice, but they are not skating.  I am not sure exactly what is going on there, but I know that Ian doesn't want to be there to begin with and Jeff is not a fan of ice skating.  They make a lovely, motivated couple. 

By the time we make it all the way around, Sam is loving ice skating and is starting to build up some confidence.  She still refuses to let go of my hand and the wall, but she has a smile on her face and is very happy to be doing this.  Meanwhile, Jeff and Ian have had enough and can't wait to tell us that they are done.  They are taking off their skates and turning them in. I'd say score one for Fairfax Ice Arena on this cost-to-skate return on their investment.

Sam and I continue to make our way around the rink, again and again.  She is doing really well, but every time she slips or falls, she is quick to scream at me, "LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!!!"   If I could've left her there on the ice, I would've.  I did nothing but offer her help and hold her hand.  The best was when she would get her balance back and start stomping her feet and screaming at me.  She was having a temper tantrum on ice. Actually, that would be a great musical "Temper Tantrum on Ice" coming soon to a theatre near you. Tonya Harding can play Sam.  :)

It was fabulous and there was no place I'd rather be  (said very sarcastically).  I kept offering Sam to take a little break to sit down for a minute or two.  She would then scream back, "NO, LET'S KEEP SKATING!!!!"

First moments on the ice.  Not entirely sure what to think.

She likes it!

Ohhh, she is so not happy!

We finally leave the side of the wall!

But then Sam slips and proceeds to yell at me and stomp her feet.

 

After skating continuously for a little more than an hour, we called it a day and turned in our skates.  I think I can wait more than a little while before trying this family outing again.

Ice, ice, baby!

This past Saturday found us making a return trip to go ice skating.  Ian and I had a date and met up with some good friends, Dana and her daughter, Mary-Edith.  We chose an indoor rink, Fairfax Ice Arena, and Ian's ability to ice skate went beyond any expectations I could have for this being his 2nd time.

I was a little concerned when I found out that the rink does not offer buckets for the little ones to push and use for balance or have skates that offer double blades.  However, these "crutches" were not needed in the least and Ian took off faster than I could say, "Use my hand to hold onto."  From the get go, Ian had this philosophy, 'It's all or nothing' and refused to accept any limitations.  It was quite impressive how Ian took off and was not the least bit scared on how fast he was going. 

This was Ian at the beginning of our skating session:

Ian thinking he can now skate backwards:

Ian at the end -- look at how fast he moves:

We skated for 2 hours!  And Ian still wants to go back for more.  Good thing he had his helmet on, because it saved his head from cracking more than once.  Oh my!  Some of the falls Ian had was insane. But yet, this didn't stop Ian from getting up and continuing on.   Kudos to the guys who work at the ice rink.  As soon as Ian fell, an employee was there lickety-split asking if he was ok and helping him up.  At one point, 3 guys came over and each picked up a limb of Ian's to get him back standing upright.

Scotty Hamilton in the making

Ian has been dying to try ice skating.  He wanted to go last Winter, but for one reason or another, we never made it to the rink.  As soon as the weather got cold this year, Ian started asking again if we could go.  Always up for a challenge, I put a date on the calendar for me to take Ian ice skating.

We ended up going earlier than planned.  We had plans last weekend to meet up with some friends for lunch at Pentagon Row. Of course there is a small outdoor rink and it was hard not to pass up this opportunity.  However, the other family we were with backed out of going ice skating due to the cold and windy weather.  We told Ian we couldn't go either and at the very last minute (on the way to car to go home), I changed my mind and went for it.

The bucket became Ian's best friend

It was fun, funny and silly all at the same time. Ian's skates had the double blades and he was pushing the big bucket to help with balance.  You would think this was his first time learning how to walk and banana peels were all over the floor with how much slipping and falling he did.  No matter how many times Ian hit the ground, he got right back up and kept trying to master skating.  It's a good thing Ian is flexible, because his legs went in every direction possible while going down on the ice.  I didn't realize how good Ian is at doing splits.

After 30 minutes, he had enough.  He got very brave more than few times and tried to leave the bucket behind and take-off solo making his way around.  Got to give the little guy credit, he showed no fear.

Funniest line was at the end of our skating session when Ian said, "I'm going to have dinner standing up tonight." 

Not to be deterred, Ian had a great time and wants to go back for more.  We are going to keep our original date on the calendar and build on our success, no broken bones.

Here is some video of Ian in action.