Ice Skating!!!!!!!

Ok how cool is this? When the pond at our park freezes over everyone meets there and ice skates or plays hockey! I don't know why I find this so very very cool. The only word I can think of to describe it. So on Sunday my neighbor called and told me everyone was there and we headed over. Ella was all bundled up in the Baby Bjorn fast asleep.

From the minute Lilly stepped on the ice she took off running. She was in shoes and did not fear the ice at all. She ran, twirled, slid, spun, and so on. She even went up on the ground and jumped down onto the ice (I quickly put an end to that). She had a blast.

Andy did all the work on the ice with Lilly. I stood and chatted with friends with Ella strapped to me. I thought he looked so handsome out there on the ice and love this picture.
Eventually Andy threw out his back. I was unaware of this until we started walking home and he couldn't even carry Lilly. This was the culprit...
*I was telling him to "do it again" without knowing how hurt he was! Now, looking at the video I can see he's limping! Poor guy!

There was a fallen tree that froze in the middle of the pond. It made the perfect resting spot for weary skaters (and daddy's with aching backs).

Our family on the ice.

Lilly had such a blast shoe skating that I ran out last night and bought her her very own skates! They have a double blade but the blades are very close together and they are hard to stand on. Lilly went with me to buy them and was very excited. She walked around the house all night in them (on the carpet) and occasionally would turn her ankle. This made me very nervous. I worried that she would get on the ice and break her ankle. I don't know why I doubted our very coordinated child.

When she woke up from her nap today we went back to the pond with the ice skates. She stepped foot on the ice and never turned back. She only fell once or twice in the hour that she skated. Here are her first steps on the ice. I was more worried than she was!

She held our hands for a few minutes then took off on her own. She did a lot of walking on the skates but it was so adorable. I couldn't believe it! Her little friend Lindsay tried the same skates and had difficulty. Neither Andy nor I are good ice skaters but my mom was good.

Here is Lilly skating on her own for the first time.

By the end of the hour she had it down pat and was even doing twirls (I kid you not; I only wish I caught it on video - we were all too surprised).

Skating with a friend...

Lilly and Lindsay in their new skates!

We really had a great time this weekend! I am not really a cold weather girl but this was worth the cold temperatures! Nothing a little hot chocolate wouldn't cure.

*I had to add this... found it when looking through my pictures one more time. This is Lilly once she was getting comfortable on the skates.