Luke Goes Skating!

Yes, that's right....you remember those skates that my mom bought Luke for his birthday??? Well, Luke had the chance to try them out for the first time last Sunday.

After Luke's nap, Luke and I headed to Rol-A-Rink in High Point to meet my mom, Lexi, Kirsten, and Lauren. As you can see in this picture, Luke was very excited and had his skates all ready to go...

I know that sometimes people who read my blog may question why in the world I like to go, go, and go and why I am always looking for something fun and adventurous to do...well, this little outing to the skating rink reminded me of why I am that way....it's because that's how my mom was. Being in a skating rink brought back some great memories of my childhood. The skating rink was just one of the places that my mom used to take me and my brother (I'll get to more of that in a minute.) When we were younger, my mom made it her mission to find things fun for us to do (does that sound familiar?) I remember spending time at the pool, at skating rinks, at putt-putt, bowling, museums, amusement parks, the movies, national league baseball games, the library, and probably so many more that would come back to me if I sat here long enough. My mom instilled in us a belief that time together is all about quality not just quantity. When we were together as a family, we were doing something fun. Even at home, we played board games, cards, some video games, and outdoor games.) We weren't the sit down and watch TV type of family. :) Mom, I thank you for always keeping us hopping....I have some great memories....

Speaking of great memories....as soon as I walked into the skating rink, just the smell flooded my mind with memories of fun times. When my brother and I were young, we spent a ton of time at the Thomasville skating rink. My mom worked there part time so we hung out there while she worked. My brother and I were great skaters (taught by one of the best - my mom - more to come on that in a minute). My brother was much better than me. My brother would consistently win speed skate contests. He was such a dare devil, even back then. I remember me and my brother and friends from my neighborhood going to Friday Night All Night Skates once a month when we were in school. These nights were so much fun - good, old-fashioned clean fun!! We did exactly what the title implies - we skated all night on Friday nights - like from 7:00 pm to 7:00am. We would rest a little but, mostly, we skated and hung out with friends. I remember I always had to help my brother manage his money because we were only allowed to spend a certain amount. :) No matter how old my brother and I get, these skate nights will always bring fond memories for me. :)

I mentioned that my mom had a part time job at the skating rink....well, she didn't just randomly pick this job. My mom had a special connection to this 4 wheel hobby - when she was in high school, she was a competitive roller skater. You know the things that you see people on TV do on ice skates??? Well, she did many of those same things on roller skates. I have seen pictures of her spinning high up in the air on roller skates! She was beautiful and graceful! :) Matter of fact, my mom shared with me the story of her last competitive skating event. She and my dad were already married. At the event, she had to keep going to the bathroom to throw up and she didn't know why. She thought maybe she was just nervous....but, oh know, there was another reason - she found out later that she was pregnant with me! :) So, I guess, I was sort of born to love a skating rink.

And, because I love skating so much, I was thrilled when my mom called and asked if me and Luke wanted to join her and the girls for some Sunday afternoon skating. We didn't hesitate to say "yes" and quickly packed up the skates and took off. Luke was not only excited to skate but also excited to see memaw and Lexi. As soon as we arrived, he grinned from ear to ear.

Mom got his skates on (they are the kind where he keeps his shoes on and slips the skates over his shoes). We made sure the skates were in the safest position. After "lacing him up", Luke and memaw took off onto the floor. Here are some pictures of his first time on the floor in skates...









Luke enjoyed skating for about 30 minutes and then after that, he became very interested in the environment around him. Of course, he wanted to eat some of the yummy skating rink snacks....here he is with everyone chowing down...
And, he LOVED the music that they played. He had a great time just running around near the benches, watching everyone else go round and round, and dancing to the music. Here is one picture of him dancing (there is a cute video below)...
And, finally, Luke's favorite part were the lockers. He could actually fit in the lockers and he loved it when memaw would "shut" him in there (of course, the door wasn't locked). :) Here are some pictures of Luke and memaw playing hide and seek in the lockers...




And, some video....

#1 - Luke's 1st time on the skating floor.

#2 - Luke skating with the lights out.

#3 - Luke trying to dance like memaw. :)

Oh...I should say....I also skated for several hours while Luke and memaw played. I had a great time! It was awesome exercise and I got a chance to play the Lucky Dice game and watch the speed skaters - ohh....memories!!!! :) I can't wait to go back soon!

(On a little side note - if you haven't visited Rol-A-Rink in High Point, you should go. It's family friendly and very clean. The music they played was entertaining and appropriate and the staff was super friendly!)

One last thing - Luke has now run a fever two nights in a row....we are sleeping NONE around here!!! :) Luke doesn't seem to feel bad during the day but around lunch time for the last 2 days, he has felt very warm and when I take his temperature his fever is between 100 and 103. He has no other symptoms so far, not even a runny nose. My aunt Sonya said that it's probably just a virus. Oh my! In the meantime, I'm using Advil and Tylenol to keep Luke comfortable. Pray he sleeps tonight!!! :) And, pray he gets better soon - I am not working on Monday or Tuesday so I am excited about doing some fun things! :)

Please don't expect my next post until Tuesday or Wednesday (at least).

Thank you for reading! :) Have a great rest of your weekend!

Toddy