Ice Skating

Yesterday I took Tucker and Emily to the Valley Ice Arena.  All morning long they asked, "When are we going skating?" We had never gone skating and I'm still unsure where their enthusiasm came from. As you can imagine, the ice was slippery and there was a lot of butt time. But damn if they weren't protesting when the Zamboni came an hour later and closed down the rink so the Portland fire department could play a hockey game. 

I figured this would be it  and we would be on our way but they wanted to stay and watch the firemen play pick-up hockey. About half way through the game, Tucker wanted some water but didn't want to leave his seat because he might miss a minute of action. I wonder why he never feels this way about watching bike races, which I can tell you are on TV at our house much more than hockey games. Which is never. Except when Jordan Wand watched the Rangers in our basement. Which was once. For 5 minutes.

Tucker throws down some ice time. He went from Charlie Chaplin to skating on his own by the time we were done.

Emily refused to wear a coat. And was covered in ice by the end of the session. I think she could have skated all day. There may be 2 Ormans in the NHL after all.

There was a lot  of this but nobody complained.
There was a lot of this too. How do people learn to skate without a wall?

Feb and March 2009

Sally (Melissa's grandmother) turned 96 a few weeks ago. Here Emily is giving some help blowing out the candles. If you haven't met Sally, she is sharp as a tack and can play pretty much any song on the piano by ear. After the party, Tucker said, "I like how Grandma Sally opens presents. She takes her time and really pays attention and talks about it with whoever gave it to her." We'll see if that lesson holds up come December.

Tucker feeding the Lorkeets at the Oregon zoo. As I was taking this picture, 2 Lorkeets defacated on my sleeve with extreme prejudice.

Emily has a go. Last time we were in with these birds she freaked out but things seemed to go well this time.

A recent trip to Manzanita. Emily checking out the ocean.

Tucker digging for treasure.

Tucker and Emily with their pals Sophie and Lilly Wand, Alex Thompson.

If you look just down and to the left of the white house, you may be able to see the deer running on the beach. No telephoto on the iphone. Damn!