Icecapades!

Last week when Crisy and I were together, we were talking about places we could take the girls (aka Ruth and Dari) and the topic of the ice-skating rink came up.
 

I've always wanted to go to this skating rink; it's not too far away, and while a little on the pricey side ($10 for entrance and skate rental) it made a cheapish date. And really, I love to skate. I spent half my childhood zipping up and down my road and around my neighborhood on rollerblades, and some of the memories I share with my BFF are of the local rec center, where their indoor soccer/basketball court was transformed into a roller skating rink every Saturday night.

A couple of years ago, for Ruth's birthday, I took her up to Washington D.C., to the Sculpture Garden Ice Rink, and I was pleased to discover that I was still reasonable capable of ice-skating. I wasn't pushing my luck, though, in front of the thousands of tourists who were milling about around us, so I contented myself with gentle glides around the edge of the rink (at a very reasonable speed).
 

But this rink was filled with lots of people, some who were very good (Maggie saw someone nail a jump of some kind) and lots who were falling down, laughing, and picking themselves up. So I let loose. And I fell (once) and it wasn't a big deal, so I did some spinning, which was gloriously fun. And everyone had a great time. :)
 

Us, outside the rink, all smushed together. :)



Ruth and I; I had a terrible time getting the right skates so they required a couple of stops to "tinker" with the laces before I got a good fit.

 

Anna!

 

Dari and Ruth - so cute! (I tried to steal Dari's hat, but for some reason she wouldn't let me!

 

Maggie. This picture fails completely to capture how adorable Maggie looked; she looked like an ad in a cold-weather-gear magazine, all dolled up in her scarf and hat and gloves and darling leggings and little skirt and coat, and her hair in a braid. I wanted to kill her. ;)

 

Cris and Dari - gorgeous girls!

As soon as the five-minute warning bell sounded, Dari turned to me and said, "I'm hungry." I was too! So we headed over to Red Robin for a round of lettuce-wrapped burgers (one dieter, two gluten-freers and one just-because-I-like-it-that-way, lol).

 

At dinner, somehow the subject of shopping came up, and it turns out Crisy (whose mom has been gluten, dairy, egg, and sugar-free for a couple of months now, as well as being starch and soy avoidant) (and who's going dairy-free herself) had never heard of MOM's, so after dinner she and I piled into her car and headed there, while everyone else piled into Anna's car and headed to the new Christmas Tree Shop.

 

After buying way too much stuff at MOM's, Cris and I rejoined the others, and I was in awe of the Christmas Tree Shop. (If you're my friend, and you knew about this store and didn't tell me, you'd better not let it slip, because I might disown you.)

 

I only had time for a quick lap around the store, but I found two things I've been hunting for: a no-fuss mountable K-cup rack ($7!!!) and a (n ORANGE!) spoon rest ($2). :)

 

 

 Having had such a lovely day, we said goodbye and headed home to snuggle up out of the cold. :)