just skating by

coordinating schedules to plan a playdate is always so dang difficult.  so we were particularly excited when we were able to pull it together and meet up with our friends kelley, dailygluttony and lilcee with kids in tow for a super fun outing here:

with the exception of mini cee, whose daddy knows his way around the ice pretty well, this was the kids' first time on ice skates.  the rest of us were a little concerned about how we'd manage to keep the kids upright while staying on our own two feet - which made this sign a little disconcerting.  ha!

but we soldiered on.  with our gear on and our bags safely tucked away into the tiny lockers, we headed out cautiously onto the ice.

oh, and the rink had these little walker-stand thingies that the kids took out onto the ice for balancing.  these things were a serious life (and back) saver.

she struggled a little at first to get her bearings and get used to the feel of the ice under her feet.  i didn't get a whole lot of pictures for fear of falling right on my ass, but these are funny:

it didn't really take her very long to get the hang of it, though.  we did quite a few laps before she decided it was time for a break.

while she hung out with mini cee and had a snack, lilcee and i took the opportunity to skate off by ourselves to burn off the calories we were going to ingest at lunch.

we went for one more round before making our final exit off the ice.  she was pooped.

future olympians!  especially kelley's li'l d.  he really got the hang of the skating thing in no time, and even went back the very next day.

as we were pulling our skates off, we found that our timing was perfect - they'd cleared the ice and brought the zamboni out for a little clean-up.

lunch was at a place i'd been wanting to try forever - slater's 50/50.  their signature item?  burgers made with half ground beef, half ground bacon.  that's right.  and i was stoked to see that there was a create-your-own option.

we made our own appetizer platter, too:  bacon mac & cheese balls, deep-fried pickle chips, and sweet potato fries.

lilcee and dailygluttony opted for the 50/50 - the beef/bacon patty topped with a fried egg, avocado mash, pepper jack cheese and chipotle adobo mayo served on a brioche bun.

mini DG's sliders looked like boobs.  haha!

the fries were served with bacon ketchup.  and if you wanted, there was bacon salt to sprinkle on, too.

my burger creation was truly a work of art.  a 1/3-lb. beef/bacon patty topped with house-made bacon country gravy, bacon cheese, fritos (yep, you read that right), and a chunk of SPAM.  you were expecting me to put bacon on there too, weren't you?  i thought that might have just pushed it over the top.  and i still crack up at the bean's face in this picture.

what better way to cap off such an indulgent meal than with a bacon brownie a la mode?

i don't remember what sparked this, but it made for a cute photo.

and the sweet group hug as we parted ways.

as exhausting as they can be, playdates like these are the best.  THE BEST.