Winter Fun!

Crown Center Ice Terrace - Us!
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I love skating!! When I was a kid, Dad gave me some metal, strap-on rollerskates and "told" me how to skate on the front porch of our Smithville house. I'd take them to Mom's apartment and skate in the basement while she did laundry. Loud, noisy metal wheeled circles and figure 8s around the poles! Then, in school, there were the Girl Scout skating parties and the school skating parties. Skating with my friends in endless circles, doing spins in the middle...sometimes a boy to skate with in couples. Limbo, Hokey-Pokey, Snowball, Girls' Choice, all those games.... Glorious fun! Get home exhausted, fall asleep immediately!

Dad is an Olympics fan, the Winter Games especially. He and Mom had gone to Winter Park and learned to ski one year and he loved it. He bought us all skis and boots and took us out in the pasture and let us slide down little hills and side-step back up. Taught us to fall down and get back up in the living room. Then he would buy a case of video tapes and have my sister and I tape the Winter Games so he could watch when he got home from work (Twilight shift). His favorite are the Skiing events, of course, but mine are the skaters! Dorothy Hamill, Kristy Yamaguchi, Brian Orser, Brian Boitano, the pairs, Torville and Dean...I got ice skates for Christmas!! So, off we went to Iceland South, the Ice Chateau and Crown Center's Ice Terrace! I even got to take lessons one year! Little Waltz jumps and better stroking and turns from it.

I took Rianna and Geordan to the Ice Terrace Tuesday after school...look at the Bear Cub's face...we had fun!! We'll do this some more!