Third Annual Ice Skating Adventure

I'm so behind....

I've got so much to catch up on, posts to put together for history sake, and some fun stuff that our family got to be a part of this week to share with you.

But first, we'll stick with the most recent adventure. Today was the third year in a row that we picked the first Friday in December to haul them up to Portland and take them ice skating. Traditionally, it's been a day off for many of the kids. Today, the only one who didn't have a no-school day was Mikayla - so, for the send time in two weeks, I called in to the office to excuse her absence for "family reasons". Don't judge me.

The pictures I'm posting right now were taken with my phone. While their quality is lightyears above my previous cell phone's, they won't compare at all to the oodles of pictures John took with his camera while we skated. (He realized quickly last year that skating + his ankles do not = fun). However, that camera is currently in John's possession while he is with Brayden at the first-ever Pac 12 Championship game at Autzen between the Ducks and UCLA Bruins. So, it will be a bit before I get my hands on those.

In the meantime - here you go....Mikayla and I. The first 30 minutes of her experience were a little rocky as before I even made it out of the locker room with my skates on, she'd already took a spill and bruised her chin pretty good. Fortunately, she rebounded and by the end of our time, didn't want to even leave and had improved her skills dramatically.

John and Brayden - glad I got a pic of him as he got so many of us. (Traig was also there, but I didn't get any good ones of him with my cell phone)

Michele and I - this trip is always a special time for us as it brings us back to our own childhood when our grandparents would take us to this very rink - or when it was an activity in our childhood "Countdown Calendar" that our parents set up for us. =)

One of the items we purchased on Black Friday were these cute little shirt/hat combos at Target for $6 each....worth the money when you see how cute they all look together in this picture. (And all the fun looks we got when going through the mall....love these girls!)

Mikayla and Ellie - holding hands as they skated together.

Towards the end of our second hour on the ice, we practically had the entire rink to ourselves, so despite the fact that yes, the strangers watching around the sidelines in the mall could see us, we lost a bit of our inhibitions, and tried a few tricks. I was joking around with Michele in this pose, and then dared her to give it a try. I hope I looked as good when I did it....though, I'll tell you a secret - she fell down just after this pic was taken! =)

There was a moment when "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was being played on the loudspeaker over the ice (their holiday music selections were so nostalgically perfect) - and I asked Michele if she was savoring that sentiment. Not that I needed her answer - it's clear we were both treasuring what truly is our family's most wonderful time of the year....