A Rare Sight

Yes indeed, snow and ice have been a rare sight this winter.  It has been a mild winter with little snow and lots of mud.  We got the occasional freeze and snowfall but nothing that amounted to much and the cold snaps never lasted that long either.  I think the longest one was about a week where the kids could go out and skate. 

The advantage of it being so wet is that the low spot in the field did not always have a chance to drain before a cold snap would come, allowing the kids to skate closer to the house.  Actually I should say it’s the only thing that allowed the kids to skate at home this year, it never remained cold long enough for the creek to freeze over.  It wasn’t a huge patch but it was plenty big to keep them busy … especially Matthew who loves to skate and is the incentive behind the girls going out, they would much rather stay in the warm house then go out in the cold, but once out there they usually enjoy themselves and play out there for a long time.

Skating outdoors often involves cleaning the ice first, something the kids are not so great at yet.  They worked at clearing the ice for a bit before Rob went out to help them along.  The ice was quite bumpy but they made the best of it and instead of clearing it completely they made a house on the ice, clearing the snow to make walls.  When I cam out to see them they were each in their own “bedroom”. 

 

At this point Matthew was still using a chair from time to time and so they had brought a couple chairs along.  Rebecca was sitting on this chair and kept begging (and I mean begging) me to sit on the other chair.  At first I said no, but she kept insisting and wouldn’t give up so I finally figured it was probably best if I just sat and the chair and made her day.  Well here is her reaction when I sat on the chair … she laughed so hard I think she pretty much fell off her chair.  The chair I sat on had a broken leg, so when I sat on it I ended up flat out on the ground … nothing like making your child’s day.

Matthew has been a natural when it comes to skating.  I took him with a few times last year when the school kids went and by the end of he first time he was zooming around pushing a chair or pylon.  This year we encouraged him to try without the chair.  At first he didn’t like this idea, he likes to go fast and going fast wasn’t happening without the chair.  But once he figured out how to get up without a chair he just need a bit more encouraging and he was ready to go.  Now he skates quite well without any assistance and loves to go with the school kids.

 

The three of them skating down “the hall”.  The ice stayed for a few days and the kids spent a fair amount at their “house” and I would get a bit confused when I would hear “Oh I forgot it in the bathroom” and such.