Icy Conditions

We had a great weekend! The children are FINALLY getting to an age where we can do things together, without worrying about strollers, naptime, baby food, etc.

On Sunday we went to the lake to skate. This is such a novelty for me, having grown up in Texas. I am always amazed that one can truly have the confidence of skating without worrying about falling through the ice. Of course, a few days of -20 will do it! And knowing that the plow has already driven on the ice to clear a track helps me feel more certain the ice will - maybe - support my weight.

Once at the lake, A was doubtful that she could actually skate with figure skates, so I took my figure skates as well to either prove that it could be done, or to commiserate that our toe picks made it too difficult. After a traumatic three minutes, she was off! B didn't care about ice conditions - he just ran in his skates... or rather ran ten steps, fell on his butt, hopped up and was off again for another ten steps. (Of course, this proves my theory that boys are fundamentally differnet from girls - A never would have bounced up again without floods of tears... but I digress...). C absolutely HAD to have his skates on, and as long as he was sitting in the sled, he was content. Otherwise, he was a dead weight on rubber legs. After a while, he consented to having snowboots on, and we all enjoyed the day. THIS is why we have kids and live in Sweden!