Emma's party makes me do something I haven't done in 20 years

It's been 20 years since I laced up rollerskates... I think (if someone recalls a college trip to the skating rink, do tell!).

The occasion was Emma Wilson's sixth birthday, and she decided to celebrate again this year at the roller rink.

With David in the woods on the hunt for Bambi, Noah and I braved it alone. I had serious reservations about whether or not either one of us would be able to leave behind the safety of the rink's wall. I needn't have worried; Noah wouldn't even leave my lap for the first 40 minutes we were there.

So we greeted the birthday hosts and sat by ourselves near the skate racks while I lamely tried to convince Noah that skating was fun! No go.

Instead, I finally convinced Noah that we should cash in a few bucks in exchange for tokens to play the arcade games lining the rink. The driving game:


This was followed by skiball, wack-a-mole (or something like it) and a bunch of "hit the button to earn more tickets" games. In the meanwhile, it was time for the birthday girl to eat a pizza lunch and then open her presents (look at that new buckeye necklace we gave her!).


An hour or more into the party, Noah FINALLY warmed up enough to get into the action. Look, we have rollerskates!

Big Dude did very well on them, in fact. He generally remained upright, until he learned that it was fun to fall down and watch Mommy struggle to pull him up while on wheels herself!


And just as we were getting rolling, it was time to eat cake. Talk about putting on the brakes—Noah never passes up cake!

The Wilson Family, looking very charming indeed! Thanks, Emma, for a great party and for the opportunity to test out my skating chops (or lack there of) again!