odin and i went to the local hockey rink for "open skate" so we could skate together. he skated in his first race around the rink with 4 year-olds and "under" and won! sure, he was only "competing" with one other 3 year old who didn’t seem so interested in racing around the pylons, but odin sure enjoyed rounding the pylons, hearing the big kids yell, "go odin! go odin! go odin!"

the winner gets a treat from the snack bar, which is certainly an incentive a three and a half year old can understand.

i’m rethinking my decision to not bring my camera to the rink ;-(