Shaha Shenanigans: Wintertraum (Winter Dream)

One of my favorite things we did over this holiday season was ice skate.

Ever since the girls have seen Inside Out, in which the main character, Riley, is an avid skater, they've shown a greater interest in learning.

These pictures were taken on December 30 in downtown Stuttgart at the Wintertraum (Winter Dream), where some of the remnants of the Christmas market were still standing… the rink and a few food stands. They had classic Christmas music blasting through the speakers and it's quite festive. Ben went a little paparazzi-ish on us and took a million pics from the sidelines.

The first time I took the girls skating was a week earlier in Colmar, France, and we didn't get any pictures. But, I hadn't laughed that hard in a LONG time. Em (who had been a few times already this season) was happy to just hang onto the side and safely scoot along, but Caroline (whose first time it was) was bound and determined to take off into the rink as soon as possible. Her little legs were so floppy and as she clung to me or the side of the rink, they would go a million miles and then inevitably go out from under her and down she would go! She did her best to stay up... she was like a starfish clinging to the wall… it's hard to describe but she was sooo funny…others were laughing at her too. She was just a hot mess and all over the place… but as soon as she caught her balance for a split second she would let go of me and yell out, "Look Emily! I'm doing it!" after which she'd take a hard fall. She was bound and determined to learn and she did not let the slippery ice and continuous falls deter her. I had to help her up each time, but she never cried or got mad even though it had to hurt on her boney little behind.

The second time out Caroline was much improved, believe it or not. She fell probably about SIXTY times… but by the end of the two hour session, she was out on her own… she did NOT want me to hold her and she would skate several meters before taking a fall! And Emily, again, was safely scooting along on the side. Her main goal wasn't so much to independently skate, like Caroline's was, but rather to not fall… she just did what ever it took to NOT FALL. And I can't say I blame her. So, she hung onto the side. To each their own.