We're on a roll!

I drove by the local skating rink Tuesday and was reminded of how much I loved to skate in elementary school. We had Skate Nights to raise money for PTA at least once a month and I always went. I was so bummed when our local skating rink closed.

When I saw that Pensacola had a skating rink, I thought it would be a fun thing for all four of us to do. I called and it turned out that they have open skate nights on Wednesdays, as well as throughout the weekend. With Xan just starting to skate, I thought a Wednesday night might be quieter for him to get used to the idea. It cost us each $3.50 to skate for up to four hours, way cheaper than the movies! What a deal! We got there and noticed there weren't any cars in the parking lot, but the sign said OPEN, so in we went. Not only did we get to skate, we had the WHOLE rink to ourselves! Apparently this is their slow season, since the weather is so beautiful right now and school is in session.

We had a great time, even Xan, who, as usual with new experiences, cried for the first 15 minutes. He got little skates where only the front wheels rolled, so he stepped more than skated. By the end of the session, he was having fun and requested "roll 'kates." So, we'll work on getting some rolling skates next time. Despite the earlier crying, Xan had fun playing "tag" with us and "yiked" skating.



After getting his skating legs, Will took off and was tough to catch for a photo. He did fall a couple of times, once bad enough he said he "sprained his body." But, he skated it off and did just fine. Actually, we both fell at the same exact time (my wheel locked up, see below for details), so we both rubbed our knees and skated it off. He LOVED the disco ball in the center of the rink and thinks he prefers in-line skates to the traditional ones.




Will took this photo of us. Rodney and I are old enough to appreciate decent skates. We're thinking that he and I might invest in some of our own skates if we end up skating a lot. My wheels wouldn't turn smoothly and kept slipping because the rubber was worn down to much. Rodney's racing skates had a part of them that bowed for sharp turns and they bowed a little too much due to loose washers. The kids' skates seemed just fine, though. Rodney said he had fun, so I might actually get to revisit my youth a couple times a month, family in tow!

Oh, and Will said he wants to do this "when the Grandmas are in town." That should be fun...