Bug got it in her head that she wanted to have a skating party for her ninth birthday this year. It’s probably based on fond memories as a four-year-old skating at her cousin’s  super-cool twelfth birthday party. Bug loves to dress like a tweenager (much to my chagrin) and she is totally into stripey knee socks and short shorts. In fact, she might be more into skater fashion than she is actually into skating itself.

Before I chunked out the money for a skating party, I thought we should check out the skating rink scene. You know, to make sure Bug doesn’t spend the whole time sitting on the floor while her friends skate the day away. That wouldn’t be very fun. And I didn’t even know what it would be like either since we’re not in the sticks anymore where they have the grooviest stuck-in-time roller rink.

We checked out a local rink. The thing is, this rink is a roller hockey rink primarily. From the outside it looks like a sports arena and it’s all decked out in hockey-themed gear. I’ve driven by it many times and it hasn’t even made a blip on my radar because it’s so obviously for BOYS who play hockey. I thought it was an ice rink for teams for the longest time.

However, it was close by. Proximity gets major points in my book. If I could park my car forever and walk everywhere, I’d be a happy mom. I checked out the rink online and, sure enough, they have a public skate session conveniently right after school. So off we headed.

We geared up and took to the surprisingly empty rink. We had the place all to ourselves!

And then we fell flat on our faces. Thankfully there was nobody watching but it was a bit painful.

Well, I didn’t fall. I used to rollerblade back in the day so I thought it was pretty fun but the girls did NOT. They could not keep upright on these newfangled inline skates at all. It was miserable. They kept hanging out in the pits on the side and sitting on the floor. I thought for sure this skating party idea was not going to happen and what did that mean? Should I plan a skate-wear fashion show party instead? As cool as that sounds it just felt like a fraud to me.

If Bug wants to dress like a skater girl, she should skate!!

So we went back a second day.

And a third.

By the third day they discovered “walkers” which are these really cool PVC pipe roller things that you can hold onto. Those things were the bomb. Before I knew it, they were cruising all over the rink and having the time of their lives. I’m truly surprised at how quickly the girls improved. By the end of the third day they were choreographing their own dance moves that even included (walker assisted) jumps and twirls.

And that means the Sk8ter Party is ON! Are they fierce or what?  I’m thinking some crazy socks are in my future and maybe even a rink membership. It’s only $40 for a year!! So cheap!