The Ice Rink is Alive and Well - sometimes

In terms of having a backyard ice-rink, January wasn't the greatest of months.  Too warm.  Too many days of upper 30s and even lower 40s.  Luckily, though, the nights were still cold - usually in the teens.  What that meant was that the ice rink was frozen in the morning and late evening.  It also meant that it wasn't frozen between about 2pm-7ish.  So there wasn't tons of after-school skating going on.  But we have managed to play and skate on many Saturday mornings, including two times that our friends came over to join us.  We just played last night, too, for our FHE activity.  It's just so fun.  I've never played hockey before this whole ice-rink thing, but it's great!  In a couple more years I'll be the worse player in the family, I'm sure.  Even Emmy is getting a little in to it - although as she says, "I hate hockey.  But it's kind of fun."  Girls.

Ben has been able to have 3 Mens' Hockey nights (on Fridays), plus a couple of Monday morning games with the Elders.  The Elders have probably used it at least three other times without us - we've been out of town, unavailable, etc.  We always tell them they are welcomed to come in our gate and skate.  The missionaries just love it.  The Young Men have come over twice for their activity night.  So, really, I think we've gotten great use out of our rink.

 Here is Ben with the latest group of missionaries.  I don't know their names (two new missionaries just arrived and the other two serve in a different ward) - except for Elder Jacobson (back row, black shirt). My girls LOVE him - almost (as much?) as Elder Koyle.

Lucy loved watching them play for a bit.

February is looking pretty good so far for the rink.  :)