Torvill and Dean .... Not!

I took the girls ice skating today. It was Caitlin's third time - once when she was about 3 (remember that Carla!), once when I was pregnant with Mim ... and today. She got straight out onto the ice and then circled around holding onto the barrier with both hands.

It was Mim's first time - she's never seen snow/ice before, and she was soooooo excited. She'd been practising her iceskating glides across the hairdresser's floor (we all had trims) and was raring to go. So she was booted up and then I put her on the ice. "ooohhh, slippery!" was the first comment, followed closely by "uppah, mummy, uppah". Like I'm going to be able to pick her up and skate around the rink!! We managed to negotiate one third of the rink in about 20 mins, me holding onto her with both arms as well as balancing myself against the barrier, with frequent stops to stretch out my back. Caitlin managed to catch up to us, so she and Mim had a rest on the side while I did a lap to get back into the swing of things.

Mim quickly gained confidence, by the end of the first hour, she was only holding onto one of my hands and we were skating well away from the barrier (unlike her oh-so-cautious sister). We spent a few hours in the cold, doing circuits of the rink before leaving. Mim wants to go there again, and again, and again. Hmmm, wonder if I should get her a few lessons?