Roller Rink Rockstars

Last spring break, I took the kids roller skating for the first time. They loved it so much that we returned to the skate rink a few days later with the Marshalls. That has stuck in the kids' heads for the last year and they've been talking up our 'tradition' of skating with the Marshalls over spring break for the last few weeks.

On the last day of spring break, the older kids and I joined our friends for an afternoon of craziness. All five kids laced up their skates and fell around the rink.


All except Maddux: she soared around.

Eli, Drew, Davis and Emmaline used the PVC pipe 'walkers' for a little bit, and then they mostly-fell-sometimes-skated for a bit, then they mostly-skated-sometimes-fell for the rest of the time.

Eli was just as unstable on his feet as he was last year. He smiled the whole time, but he didn't spend more than a few steps on his feet each time between falls. In addition, he couldn't help but dance to each and every song that came through the speakers. That didn't exactly help his balance.

When it came time for a few games, Maddux joined in immediately. She lasted a decent amount of time in their balloon tag games. Then they announced that they would be doing races. She stayed on the floor and lined up with the 6-10 year old girls. When they lined up, Eli called out her name; when Maddux looked over, Eli gave her a thumbs up and said, "Win!". (Color me shocked...Eli doesn't typically encourage his sister!)

The staff skater counted them down and they took off, with Maddux in the lead. She held her lead for almost half of the race before she was overtaken by one girl. Smart girl that she is, Maddux didn't back off. This was a great strategy because said girl tripped a few paces after passing Maddux. She was rewarded for crossing the finish line first with a slushy from the snack bar.

Just before the races, Eli and Drew traded in their skates for roller blades. They seemed to be a much better fit for Eli; he suddenly had better balance. That doesn't mean he didn't fall any more, but he and Drew were able to make it around the rink between falls in the blades.