Eagles Ice Arena Rocks!
Well, we finally did it! Last Saturday we went to Spokane to hook up with our kids and their kids and celebrate Tom's upcoming (Feb 22) 56th birthday. We decided we would all go ice skating at the Eagles Ice Arena. Since Jonathan is now an expert ice skater after taking the ice skating PE class during Jan term, he has been bugging us to go ice skating. Things worked out perfectly for us to go last weekend.
Of our group, only Jonathan, Shana, and I have ever ice skated before. The last time Shana and I ice skated was probably 15 or 16 years ago, so I expected to be a bit wobbly. I didn't expect to be as wobbly as I really was, though! Shana surprised the heck out of all of us, skating around the rink like she's been doing it all winter. Maybe she's been secretly running off to local ponds and sharpening her skills, unbeknownst to us all. How else do you explain her ability to race around the rink with Jonathan with nary a bobble or fall? Jonathan was eager to show off his newly learned skills. We all had to admit, he is quite good for only having recently learned how to skate. He skated forward, backward, and did little spins as we all stood and watched approvingly.
Tom was hilarious. The natural tendency of someone who has never been on ice skates is to try to move the feet straight forward. You can't do that. You get nowhere fast, and you'll probably fall. For those of you who have never ice skated, imagine a clock with your body in the center from which the hands rotate. You have to put your weight on your right leg, bend your knee a bit, then push with your left foot pushing back toward about 7 o'clock and glide forward with the right foot going toward 2 o'clock. Then you shift your weight to your left foot, and push with the right foot going toward 5 o'clock and glide on the left foot going toward 10 o'clock. That's the movement. Well, Tom was having a heck of a time. He could barely stand, let alone attempt any sort of pushing and gliding. Jonathan was doing a heck of a job instructing him, barely keeping his mirth contained. While Jonathan was teaching Tom the basics, Ryan was trying to help Tyler stand on the ice and Shana was helping Olivia. Tyler was having a ball. He didn't care if he fell or not. He thought being on the slippery ice was the most fun ever. Olivia was getting a little frustrated. Jonathan, Shana and I all took turns with her, holding her hands and guiding her around while explaining what she needed to do with her feet. I kept going around the rink visiting each member of our party, trying to regain my skating skills. I was pretty pathetic. The skates didn't help. The left one was digging into my shin, no matter how loosely or tightly I tied it. The rental skates are made of hard plastic, not leather, and are pretty unforgiving. Tom promised to find my skates before we go again, which may be next weekend. We all had a really great time, despite our lack of ability. By the end of the hour we were there, the kids could move about without falling, Ryan was doing surprisingly well for his first time, and Tom could actually make it around the rink one full time without grabbing the side. We decided it was one of the best ways to spend a Saturday we'd run across in years.
After skating, we met up with Tommy and his family for dinner at Azteca, where the waiters and busboys put a silly sombrero on Tom and sang "Feliz Cumpleaños" to him after we finished our wonderfully delicious dinner. Tommy bought Tom a lightweight windbreaker for our trip. It was a great, great day!
So, here are the photos:
This is Tom with his skates on watching the grandkids get theirs on before we all head onto the ice:
And here's Tyler in the same area:
This is Shana helping Tyler skate:
And this shows Ryan and Jonathan with Olivia between them and Shana and Tyler in the background:
Finally, Tyler standing with no aid on the ice:
And one more of Ryan, Olivia, and Jonathan:
Sorry, no photos of Tom slipping and sliding around, and since I was the photographer, none of me. Maybe next time! It was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again! Maybe for MY birthday, which is in two weeks.
