Hi all. My kids are 3, 6, and 13. My 13yo daughter figure skates and she told me last week that she thinks I should build a rink in the back yard. I've got the other two in skating lessons/hockey so I figured they'd enjoy it too. I asked a few friends who have done this before and they all tried to talk me out of it. I know it's late in the season to get started, I know it's a lot of work, I know they won't wear their rink skates on my ice, etc. I also heard "the first year is just practice" so I figure even if it's a slushy mess, it'll be good practice for next year, and it'll be fun.
So I built it, nice and small for my first year (16' x 24'). Had to borrow a friend with a pickup truck to help me get the wood. He thinks I'm crazy and tried to talk me out of it too. I don't care, my 3yo asked me if he could eat dinner out on the rink and it wasn't even frozen yet, so I know this is going to be fun.