Candlepin Bowling

Today we tried something new--we went bowling! Once again inspired by a fellow blogger's idea, we wanted to find out if the girls are old enough yet to enjoy this sport. The answer: Yes and no.

First we had to get our shoes, which are pretty adorable in these little sizes. The kids were so excited to go bowling that Kate didn't even complain that they didn't have pink shoes available.Candlepin bowling is mostly played in New England and Eastern Canada, and it is a little different than the more popular "ten-pin" game that is played everywhere else. The ball is much smaller (less than three pounds!) and it doesn't have finger holes. The pins are also smaller and lighter, and you get to roll three balls per frame. Finally, the pins are not cleared between rolls, so they fly around and knock down more pins with each ball you roll.Mom grew up with ten-pin bowling, so the ball seemed really small to her!

But it was the perfect size for the kids, and they found it pretty easy to handle the bowling balls.

Our girls had never even seen bowling before, so they tried a few different ways to get the ball moving. Mama suggested rolling it between their legs.......and this worked pretty well. Notice the "bumpers" in our lane gutters--these were suggested and provided free by the alley, because the kids are so small. All four of us ended up using them a lot!Kate tried a few different methods, but her most successful one was the seated roll.

Typical of most little folks, her ball took so long to get to the pins that she could get a drink and chat with her sister, then wander back to the lane to see how she did.

Regardless of how long it takes, knocking down pins is always fun.

Although sometimes it took just a little bit too long for everyone....

Over the course of an hour or so Emily developed a great approach, and she bowled very well for a first-timer.

In fact, (and this maybe says more about the moms' bowling ability than Emily's), she bowled so well that she even won the game!

So we learned that Kate is still too young (even for candlepin), but Emily is old enough to have a good time bowling. Mom and Mama had so much fun that we are thinking about going back sometime without the kids, and finding out if our skills improve after a few adult beverages. Anybody want to join us?