Sparkles!!

(i will get put up christmas/newyears updates eventually..)

last night we went roller skating!!
it was supposed to be 99 cent skate day, but because of MLK day we sadly missed out. (theres always next monday!)


The day started with more Valentines crafts! (the night before we made Valentine cupcakes..its never too early for cupcakes!) For Christmas, Darcy got Skylee a book about a cupcake. Her favorite page is "After mixing just the right amount of flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, and milk and the right amount of toasting in the oven...cupcake was born." So we mixed our ingredients together, and 18 cupcakes were born!

Around 4, Chloe picked us up, and after a brief stop at Starbucks, we headed to Sparkles roller rink. There was not a parking space in the whole lot; I was shocked. After fighting traffic and forever-long lines inside, we finally got our skates! Skylee had no clue what to expect. She simply heard the word "sparkles" and got lost in excitement.
Our friends Tyler, Jen, Trevor, Maddie, Tiki, and her two kids met us there, and we set up camp at a little table.

At first she wasn't so sure about the skates. We practiced skating around the arcade (which had DDR!!) and back and forth from our table to the rink. Chloe and I each took one of Skylee's hand and slowly took her onto the rink! We did a lap around the outside and then ventured to the middle to practice little steps in our skates. (To be honest, I was terrified at first. It took a few laps before I felt comfortable enough in my skates to help Skylee. hee.) Skylee enjoyed it, but she was a little scared. So we decided to take a skate break!
Sparkles also has a HUGE indoors playground. Skylee was pumped. She played in the playground for at least an hour and made a little friend. I never caught the girl's name, but they were adorable. They constantly held hands. :) At one point they were wandering around a little checking everything out, and Skylee ventured to the skating rink ready to venture on barefoot and all, but her little friend pulled her back. What a good friend.
Caleb arrived after work around the time Skylee was exploring the playground.
Tiki kept an eye on Skylee for us (still lost in imagination in the playground) while Caleb and I skated together.
He is a pro-skater! Never ceases to amaze me with his skills for EVERYTHING.
Around 7 we gathered our belongings ready to leave, but Skylee said she wanted to skate with daddy. So the three of us got our skates back on and skated in the dark for another hour. (with lazer lights!)
By 8, Skylee could skate on the rink just holding my hand (still a little wobbly) and around the arcade (with carpet) slowly by herself.
We were so proud, and I think she was very proud of herself, too. She never gave up!
After a short stop at REI on the way home where Skylee and I got to try on shoes and jackets (she LOVES trying on clothes/shoes. Such a little girly girl.), we gorged ourselves on spaghetti and curled up in bed for storytime.
She fell asleep in my arms; what a perfect day.