Neon paint, loud music and stinky feet, oh my!

Can you guess what happens inside this building?

I don't have pictures of the outside, just the inside this time.

You see this vibrant green and yellow wall?

I chose this color scheme for my dining room!!

No, ok, really, I didn't.

There are glass-block windows throughout.

Is that a dated look?

Does it bring anything certain to mind?

This is NOT a bar.

Kids flock here.

And some scary adults who aren't parents...in tiny shorts...

Oh, my god, that reminds me. The other day, the boys and I were driving down a road in our small town, and remember how I told you that there's lots of farm land around here and corn fields? Well, we passed one of the usual little farms between subdivisions, and I called out to the boys, "Look guys, there are the mules!" and realized as I said it that maybe now wasn't the best time to bring attention to the mules. Ummm....yep, a total R rated moment on the side of the road. One mule was ON TOP OF the other.

So, we had to have a little talk about animals and mating. That was fun.

Did you know that mules are the progeny of a horse and a donkey? AND, that mules can't reproduce? Or something like that. Isn't that weird?

So I guess they were just, umm...having fun.

Ok, so, I was off on a tangent here or as my Latin teacher used to call it, a non sequitur.

Back to the mystery building. This picture features a broken window.

Ummm, hmmm, not sure I want to know what happened here.

Something went through this window.

A crackberry? A cell phone?

A brawl between parents?

A large "Big Hair" do on a Texas mom?

Here's the ceiling. Have you figured out where we are yet?

Ok, here's a big clue. The carpet. Niiiice, huh? Makes a fashion statement for sure.

And, the biggest clue of all...here's what's on Remy's stinky little feet.

And Donny's. (It's official, his feet are larger than mine!!)

If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm sorry, but I need to let you know you're retarded.

I know that's not the PC term, so I apologize, but seriously.

It's a roller skating rink!!

Now, my boys have only been skating a handful of times in their life, so they were very excited but also a little nervous, because they know about falling.

They weren't ready to join in those hokey dances in the middle or any of the races, so they watched from the side whenever those happened.

These are the shoes they wore before they put on the skates. Remy's favorite color is red (although this pair looks a little pink, don't tell him that though!) and Donny's really into the Longhorns right now. HOOK EM HORNS!

Here are MY shoes. And they didn't come off. I didn't skate this time.

Why didn't I skate, you ask? Because of my thumb. It's still sore and messy, but at least I have graduated from the scary lobster claw bandage to a much sleeker Scooby Doo bandaid.

You see, I can skate...but I know I'm going to fall, because I do every time, at least once or twice. And, if I fall while I have this thumb problem, I'm going to re-open the injury and it's going to really, really hurt. Even now if I bump my thumb against anything, I screech in pain. And I bump it a lot. I'm a total clutz.

Did I tell you about the time I fell off the stage during my 8th grade play Bye, Bye, Birdie? Hmm...no? Story for another time perhaps. It involved blood, tears and embarrassment. And a poodle skirt.

Anyway, back to the kids. They're much more exciting than I am, playing with my camera on the sidelines, texting my hubby and trying to figure out my new toy (more on that later).

Donny's starting to get the hang of it. He's moved away from the wall even!

Remy, however, hasn't let go of the wall once. He's glued to that thing.

And still manages to fall a little. He's extremely athletic, but slightly clumsy at times too.

However, his big brother, who he had been fighting with in the car just minutes ago, comes to his rescue and skates with him for a while, to help him get the hang of it and give him a pep talk.

At one point, Remy decides he's done. He doesn't want to skate anymore. We'd been there for about 15 minutes. He took his skates off. I told him he didn't have to skate, but that he was going to be disappointed with himself for giving up so easily.

I was reminded of this post I read recently on OhMommy's blog, Classy Chaos, about perseverance. I reminded Remy that learning to swim was hard at first. And, that learning to ride a bike was hard at first. I told him that with practice, it would get easier. I told him he didn't have to go back out there, but that we were staying for Donny to skate, and that I knew he could do it, if he didn't give up. I told him that he would be proud of himself if he didn't give up now. He huffed and puffed, stormed off for a while, then came back and put the skates back on.

And, he skated the rest of the time, getting better and braver with each passing minute. Donny stepped up again and gave him some pep talks out on the roller rink. They played games where they would meet up at certain spots. And, the next time Remy passed Donny, they gave each other a High Five. It was a moment that made me proud. I love my boys.

And next time we go to the roller rink, I'm totally gonna skate.