Skating

We went skating the other day (Thursday) and took Mikey with us. It was pretty sweet. Jaime and I took turns pushing Mikey around the skating rink in his stroller. That sounds a little weird. "The skating rink in his stroller"? Ah well, you know what I mean.

He had alot of fun with that. We decided not to rent skates for him since he's only 1. I'll probably try to teach him how to skate when he's 3 if he's still with us.

Besides pushing him around the skating rink, Jaime and I (mostly Jaime) took him walking around. We let him check out the arcade games. He got to turn the steering wheel on one. We also set him on the new motorcycle arcade game and rocked him a bit.

All in all, I think he had fun. Too bad I forgot my camera. Next time I'll probably take it. Mom says we can probably go this next Thursday too, since it's the last one before school starts.

HOPEFULLY, the Wassenburgs go, and Jaime can see Alexis.

-Courtney-

New Tech Deck Ramp and Rail

Will, being into skateboarding and all, got some Tech Decks for Christmas. He also got a ramp and rail for 'em, but, being creative as he is (at least when it comes to skateboarding and Tech Decks), he decided to make his own ramp. Here are some pictures below of the ramp he created. I think he did a great job on this. Check it out below! Jaime and Will are using the Tech Decks to ride up and down the ramp.

Will has created other things before for skateboarding (NOT Tech Decks, actual skateboarding). He built for himself a funbox once. He's also made himself a rail out of a wooden board and a long plastic tube.

Just now Will has informed me that he's just put together a Tech Deck rail. He made it out of an old broken hanger piece and cardboard. It's not bad. Here's a picture below of his new creation.




Here is a picture of Will's new creation beside the ramp he got for Christmas.


From left to right, the ramp will created, the ramp and rail he got for Christmas, and the rail Will created tonight.


And just for good measure, here are some pictures of one of Will's Tech Decks. It's the one Will uses most.



Boy do I love my camera! The pictures are so much better than the pictures my VC took!

-Courtney-

Some Recent Projects

Will, being all interested in skateboarding, asked Dad to help him make a "funbox". The word "funbox" is in skateboarders language. If you're not a skateboarder you probably won't know what it is. I just know because Will told me what it was. A "funbox" is something you grind on. Well, Will and dad made the funbox tonight. They used old wood peices that we had. Will even got to use the electric saw----well, actually he was nervous and Dad made him use it. I'ts not all fancy or anything but Will is proud of it. He can hardly wait to try it out. Me? Naa, I can't ollie that high. (An ollie is a jump on a skateboard.) Will keeps saying to practice more and I guess that's how you get really good at it. What he doesn't understand is I'm not that interested in skateboarding, though. Well, that was the boy's activity.

Us girls, (Mom, Court, and I) made paper snowflakes and taped them to the front window. They look really neat. I think Mom was the best at them....not that Court wasn't good at them.....but Mom just thought of really good ideas. Don't ask me how. We made a million (exaggeration) snowflakes but she always had a new idea. Me? I just did the same cuts over and over with an extra snip here and there. But they all turned out good. It was a fun project. Will made a few only.....probably 4 or 5. I'm not sure. I was bored so I also made a long paper chain out of colored paper. I used all of the staples and almost a whole roll of tape. Today (Wednesday) Mom hung it up over the window. We don't do decorations for Christmas so it was a nice change from the normal. That was our Tuesday through Wednesday project.

That about sums up our recent projects. Lots of fun!!! Mom just vacuumed up all of the paper scraps that we dropped when we were making snowflakes so if I make more snowflakes I have to do it in my room. But we had fun and I can hardly wait until Christmas even though we aren't getting much.


-Jaime Robinson-

Roller Blading

Of the many things I enjoy doing, rollerblading is one of my favorites. My dad, who skates very well, taught me and Will to skate when we were only about 4 and 5 (Will's the younger of us two in case you didn't know), so now we both enjoy skating as well. Jaime was a late comer, and when she was about 7 or 8 maybe, possibly 6, Will and I showed her the basics and got her started. She picked it up very quickly and has improved a great deal over the years.

Once in a while we head over to the skating rink to rollerblade for an hour or two (sorry I don't watch the time). We usually go when our friends, the Wassenburgs and the Lockwoods go. We kids skate and talk, while the parents are content to just sit together and converse.

I love thinking when I skate, speeding around the rink with thoughts racing through my mind... Half the time I'm not even thinking about what I'm doing; I'm just......skating I guess.


Tips for Rollerbladers:

I know I'm not the best person to go to for tips, but I do have some experience on the subject.


Tip #1 Buckle skates are not the best skates to use, even for beginners. I advise you to skates with maybe a buckle and laces. They're usually better quality than the all buckle skates.

Don't get hockey skates unless you don't like making your ankles somewhat sore. They usually don't have much padding inside which can result in your getting blisters.

Also do not get skates that are almost completely made of plastic (they're bad quality and they can also give you blisters). Rather get skates with more material than plastic. AND MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT SIZE!!!

Tip #2 Wheels. If you prefer not to slip every five seconds, make sure to get rubber wheeled blades. Again, they are better quality. Trust me on this.

I used to have the worst skates with the worst wheels. The skates were practically all plastic, as well as the wheels. I slipped around all the time. I believe that the rubber wheels grip the floor a lot better than the plastic cheapies.

Tip #3 Posture. When skating, do not stand straight up, nor bend over too much. Rather slightly bend your knees and keep your arms close. No flailing! It really does help in keeping your balance.

Tip #4 Roller blades or roller skates? If your just starting, you might want to stick with roller blades. They're a lot easier to skate with especially when your just starting. Many people seem to think that roller skating is easier, but it really isn't. At least, I don't believe it is.

Roller skates are much harder to keep your balance with, because, first of all, they (or most of them it seems) have plastic wheels. Also, they are very easily tipped backwards and forwards since there are only 2 wheels on each side.

Inline skates (or roller blades), on the other hand, are not tipped so easily. Don't get me wrong. You can fall on roller blades, but they don't tip so easily. Also roller blades are, for the most part, made with rubber wheels.


I think ice skating is also pretty cool, although I've only been ice skating twice in my life: once for my birthday and once when my uncle, Mike, took us kids.

Uncle Mike's pretty cool. He's best uncle I've ever had. He just got married a short time ago to a lady named Cheryl. Well, I'm going to wrap this up, tie on a bow, and stick it right here. Lol just playing!

-Courtney-