Another hockey birthday

I meant to write about my awesome birthday celebration last night, but then I fell asleep. Before 10 p.m. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my advancing age. I'm totally blaming it on all the fresh air and exercise I got yesterday skating with AJ's class.

As birthdays go, this one was totally awesome. (Does that phrasing make me sound old, too? Perhaps I should throw in a "like" or two, and maybe a "tubular" reference to seal the deal.)

The first grade classes at AJ's school skipped gym class Friday, and instead spent two and a half hours playing outside at the ice rink. I volunteered to go along and help tie skates, and since it was such a nice day, Jeff and Sydney came along, too. We weren't sure what exactly the teachers were planning, but brought our skates along, just in case. Good thing we did.

I'm pretty sure Jeff earned "Coolest Dad ever" status, or at least "Coolest Dad of the Day" honors. He is such a kid magnet.

What is it about chasing adults, and being chased by them, that kids find so much more fun than playing against themselves? Jeff and I became the targets of grinning little skaters, doing their best to come just close enough to get our attention, before racing away as fast as the could go. All but one were easy to get. The only one I couldn't catch up to was AJ.

The goal became gool (How do you spell the safe zone when playing tag?) and it was amazing to see how many kids could squeeze into the net at one time.

Later, Jeff had at least 20 kids playing a modified version of Marco Polo. AJ's teacher thanked us repeatedly for coming along and spending so much time on the ice. I'm fairly certain we made her job easier by keeping the kids so busy. And thankfully, no one got hurt.

Sydney initially didn't want to go on the ice with all the other kids, but eventually she decided to venture out of the warming house, and then there was no stopping her. Quite honestly, Sydney was able to keep up with many of the kids out there. AJ's friend Hanna and another girl quickly invited her to play with them, and at one point, I heard Hanna say, "You're the best four year old skater ever."

Oh yeah, Sydney was loving the attention!

Hanging out with the big girls (L-R) Sydney, Addie, Hanna, Alaina, Avery

For my birthday dinner, we checked out the Osaka Hibachi grill. AJ was pretty fascinated by it all (though, at the end, wished he'd ordered shrimp like me, rather than chicken.) He was quite proud that when the chef flipped a piece of broccoli to each person gathered round the grill, AJ was the only one who could catch it in his mouth "without cheating and using hands".

Sydney, meanwhile, did not appreciate the show in front of us. The loud clanging of spatulas was scary, and when the chef lit the grill on fire, Sydney just about took off running. She did, however, appreciate the noodles and the strawberry smoothie that came with her meal.

Later, at home, my birthday present was a Zumba workout disc for Xbox. There will be no photos posted of that. If you need a picture in your mind of what I looked like attempting to follow the dancers on the screen, just imagine Elaine on Seinfeld flailing her arms and legs around. It wasn't pretty, but it was fun.

And it was exhausting. THAT must be the reason I fell asleep so soon. It has nothing to do with age.