When in Norway

Did you know that ice skating was invented as a means of traveling in countries with long cold winters? Countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland and Holland. The first ice skates were merely bones with leather straps. You didn't so much skate as you glided along the ice. It was not a leisurely sport, but rather a practical way of life. The way that made the most sense if you lived in some place like Finland, that sports the highest concentration of ice in the world!

Why yes! I homeschool my children. How did you know? Doesn't everyone look up trivia on activities before they take their kids to do said activity? Huh?

Okay, I'm a dork.

Whatever!

I guess if we had lived in Norway, my kids would have done okay!

They took to the ice the first time as if they'd been doing it all their lives.


And, now Isabel wants to know why she can't be a figure skater.

Ummm, because we like to eat!

Figure skating lessons and competitions are way out of our budget.


And, hockey is way out of my comfort zone.

But, we can still have fun on the ice once in a while.

After all, it's the closest we are ever going to come to having snow in Charleston at Christmas, I think! So what if it's just pretend. Trust me, when you are in the Ice Palace, you think there are 10 feet of snow outside. It took me a few hours in front of my portable heater to thaw out once we got home!

Isabel is practicing for a future career in the Ice Capades trying to master turns and doing anything at all that might make me think she has a future on the ice.

So I'll remember to sign her up for lessons, if we ever win the lottery!

This is a good clip of the boys new skillz. Parker is in the brown Gap hoodie and Noah is in the black Old Navy jacket.

Still working on that twirling thing she has going on!

Why yes, she even mastered the backwards skate before we left.

After all, we were there for almost four hours, what did you expect?

She is obviously a prodigy, and we are just holding her back. Oh well.

I guess I'll have to live with that!