My Little Tiny Ice Castles

There are only two snapshots I have in my mind when I think back to my 3 year old self watching the movie Ice Castles, one is of Lexie gracefully spinning around at night on a quiet and serene snow covered pond and then suddenly flailing her arms in the air as she pummeled through some branches and dove head-first into a tree. Which come to think of it was probably really effin' scary for a 3 year old! And also, was that really what happened? Because that's what I think happened in the movie, but again I was THREE! Mom, what the hell was a 3 year old doing watching Ice Castles anyway? The second image I have in my mind is her skating again! Yay! She's back! Sure, she's blind, but she's back! And she's skating to THAT SONG! You know the one, that totally cheesy yet super addicting song by Melissa Manchester.

Pleeeeeeease, don't let this feeeeeeeeling end.........

And while I only carry with me those 2 images, they were strong enough for me to fall in love with ice skating. Not that I could ever do it, mind you. No, watching me ice skate is probably the single FUNNIEST thing ever, but watching professional figure skaters is awesome. 

I'm a sucker for a fancy outfit, a great song and choreography that stands out. I will always laugh when a skater falls, it's a tragic habit of mine. And watching them watch their scores is almost better than the performance itself. 

So when Bella asked for ice skates for Christmas I was thrilled! Somewhere deep down in the files of my mother's intuition I always thought she'd be a great skater. Okay, maybe it had nothing to do with cosmic fate and everything to do with me wanting to pick the outfit, choose the song and plan the routine. Either way, she was intrested and I was game.

Santa also brought her a 2 person inflatable ice rink for our yard. And like true hillbillies, it sat out in our yard for weeks before it was cold enough to freeze! And then it melted 3 days later, and now the damn hose is frozen so I have no way of filling it up again. BUT FOR THOSE 3 DAYS IT WAS GREAT! SEE?!

There's Mia with NO jacket and NO gloves. It's like WWIII trying to get her bundled up!

He wanted so badly to skate. In a couple years, buddy.

Look at Chance pouting from the sidelines!

With the enthusiasm of a 10 year old, I signed the girls up for ice skating lessons at our local skating rink. Aside from their backyard romp, they had never been on ice before and oh my god did it show. Bella fell about 30 times within the first 30 minutes. Even though I prepped them on the ride over, "Girls, you will fall--a lot, but you get right back up again" I wasn't prepared to see my child fall so much. Those first 30 minutes were so hard for me to watch, I even teared up a bit (get a hold of yourself Gina) and then proceeded to mentally slap myself because my momentary parental weakness made me sick to my stomach. 

By the end of the first class they both were doing SO much better! Yesterday they attended their 4th class and Bella even learned a spin! Here it is:

And Mia learning to touch her toes and lift one leg up:

They've come a long way since that first class and I'm so proud of their confidence they gain every week. Soon enough we'll all be triple lutzing and sow cowing all over the place. But in the meantime, I've got the Ice Castles trailer to keep me going...

And in case grainy film and feathered hair isn't your thing, in 2010 they made a remake!