Monday, September 30, 2013

end of summer skatepark fun...

After Ashlyn got to spend a day hanging out with Olivia Landon said it was only fair that he get to hang out with her too.  Actually, I believe his exact words were "hey, that's not fair!  I want to hang out with her too...and by myself... without Ashlyn!"  Thankfully, Olivia agreed, so he packed up his scooter and spent an afternoon at her house.  He came home and told me all about how they jumped on the trampoline, played basketball and built stuff out of LEGOs.  Landon said it was "awesome"!
photo IMG_0194_zps27f570e3.jpgphoto IMG_0196_zpsdb39f2ec.jpgphoto 9664c02e-b434-4dc8-a541-c5df9053ef68_zps49b5b494.jpg
Ashlyn was super bummed that she didn't get to hang out with Olivia that day but she got her chance just a few days later.  The kids had been asking to go to the skate park ever since Ashlyn got her board.  I wanted them to be a little more comfortable with skating before we visited the skate park.  They continually practiced out front in the driveway, improving their balance a little more every day.

Ashlyn and Landon asked Olivia to come with us and thankfully she wanted to come because I certainly don't know anything about the skate park!  Having been there many times before, Olivia was able to give them a little lesson in skate etiquette so they'd know what to do and what not to do.

When we got there Ashlyn and Landon were a little nervous...
photo IMG_0204_zps04de2d37.jpg
They stood back and watched timidly...
photo IMG_0218_zps8de605f0.jpg
Olivia helped them down into the bowl and they practiced skating around.  It was still pretty early in the day so there weren't a ton of other skaters there. 
photo IMG_0208_zpsb279c90f.jpgphoto IMG_0209_zpsbaa4ac71.jpg
Despite being a little nervous and unsure they had a really good time!  photo IMG_0213_zps3db73d92.jpgphoto IMG_0219_zpsf8075ddd.jpgphoto IMG_0216_zpsbaa088c6.jpg
I think Ashlyn and Landon's favorite part was watching Olivia do tricks.
photo IMG_0217_zps41936121.jpg
The kids thought it was really cool when I told them that their dad was one of the people who got the city of Walnut Creek to build a skate park.  He and his friend Brandon worked for the city and got the first skate park approved.  At the time they had wood ramps that were built by a local skate shop and they were housed in the back of Heather Farms park.  The summer program in the city brought in dozens of kids each day and it gave them a place to skate and kept them off of the sidewalks and streets.  Chris earned some cool dad points that day!
photo IMG_0224_zps7e5edf26.jpgphoto IMG_0222_zps361b8b53.jpgphoto IMG_0221_zpsc9d7523f.jpg
It always makes me so happy to see them smile.  photo bb41fdf3-833a-41fa-8536-e2e9a1dfd360_zpsa80354ec.jpg
Happy Monday!

No comments: