Ice skating field trip

Leo's class had a field trip to the ice rink today. Each kid needed a parent to accompany him/her. Tom has the perfect excuse of having a demanding job and all, so I was the parental partner in this adventure. I wasn't too excited about it since the one and only time I've ever been on ice skates was during a Girl Scouts field trip when I was eight.

 Leo, on the other hand, was very excited.

It helped that the teacher had been pumping them up in class with talk of the field trip and ice skating-related crafts.  The field trip form recommended the kids wear helmets.  I had him use his ski helmet and thought I might as well put his elbow and knee pads on.

I couldn't let my own fears of looking foolish or wiping out keep him from experiencing something he might really enjoy.  So I sucked it up, wore wrist guards and laced up some skates.

We clung to the wall for the first 10 minutes or so.  Mom wasn't feeling very brave and Leo really wanted me to hold his hand, which was a recipe for disaster.

Luckily, we discovered the bucket.  A couple moms brought them for their kids and we got to borrow one.

Here's what he was like when he was first starting out with the bucket.  

I realized that since he was being bold and trying his best, I needed to release my death-grip on the wall and give a go at skating too.

We had a blast.

He turned into a little bit of a speed demon.

I wasn't able to keep up with him some of the time, and I just hollered after him "watch out for other people" because he just barreled down the ice like a little hellion.  

All the Pre-K classes participated, so he got to see some of his friends from last year.  A lot of kids used the plastic chairs instead of buckets, but he preferred the bucket.  

The ice was pretty crowded with all the kids and parents. 

 A number of parents were proficient skaters and a few even owned their own skates.  I can only assume they are not native Californians, because, come on.  We don't ice skate.  Or at least that's what I thought before today.  Leo is in love with it and I promised we would go skating again very soon.  In fact, we are headed up to Tahoe this weekend for our first visit to our ski house and since there isn't a lick of snow, we might just end up at a rink.  I'm no longer adverse to it.  My body, specifically most of my major muscle groups, might object.  If I'm this sore today, I fear what tomorrow will bring.