Van's Christmas Present

Earlier this winter, my family went to a Spokane Chiefs hockey game. As we were watching, Van mentioned to my dad that she wanted to learn how to ice skate while she is in the United States. I figured that there is no time like the present, so I signed her up for ice skating lessons at Eagles Ice Arena in Spokane as her Christmas present! She will have five lessons on Saturdays throughout the month of January. Her first lesson was on the 3rd and here is a little snapshot of her first time on ice.

It looked like Van and maybe one other student had an instructor to themselves, while LOTS of other kids shared the various other instructors that were there. When she asked why all the little kids who have never skated were better than her, I tried to explain to Van that little kids are fearless, lower to the ground when they fall, and have a lower center of gravity. Plus, they've grown up around ice and snow in the Pacific Northwest, and not in the tropics of Vietnam. I'm not sure how much that helped, but it is the truth!

Van is in the center here.

Ouch! Just one of many falls that occurred during the lesson. I kept telling her afterward that it would get easier and she would fall less often. I'm not sure she believed me!Always a smart idea to follow the side of the rink and have something to hang on to if you need to! Plus, all those little speed demons that were zipping around the rink aren't as likely to plow into you.

Even though this was only her first lesson and she took quite a few tumbles on the ice, Van said it was really fun and that she was looking forward to her lesson next week. I forgot to mention that she would probably be sore from skating the following day, but did remember to give her some ibuprofen today when she said her butt and hip hurt! I think she will be amazed at how quickly she improves, though.

With her lessons, she also got a card for 4 free public skates at the ice arena and she got 4 tickets to skate at the Riverfront Park Ice Palace for Christmas. Its an outdoor rink in downtown Spokane at the site of the 1974 Expo center.She said that she wants to take Jenna because they would both have a great time! I'll be sure to post some pictures of her from her last lesson later on so you all can see how much better she gets. She's gonna have lots of great stories to tell when she goes home!