Luckily her mother and father, Andy Chodorow and Susan Lehtinen, grew up skating on ponds in New York and Massachusetts and had enough experience between them to hold her up on their first lap around the rink.

Those first few sessions on the ice were slow going ("We weren't all that good at stopping," admits Andy), but even as they shuffled along, the family could see something special in the sport: the beauty of the effortless glide and the chance that they might one day execute it themselves.

Since the family already skied and roller-skated together, some of the basics came easily. They already had a feel for the rhythmic weighting and unweighting of the skates that's at the core of the sport. Joining the local skating club also helped; the club reserved time at the rink, giving the family time on an uncrowded rink as well as access to good, less-expensive skates through a skate swap program.

Even as the family's skating improved, they could see how far they had to go. They had developed ways to cope with skills they didn't have--Susan stopped by hitting the wall, Kristina dug in her toe pick, Andy simply quit accelerating until he slowed to a stop--but it was obvious that to advance, a few lessons were in order.

"Even if you're a pro, it's hard to teach your kids yourself," says Susan. Kristina readily agrees. "I'm more willing to try things when I'm not with my parents."

Lessons soon elevated what started as a simple family activity into a shared passion. One year ahead of her parents in lessons, Kristina is now firmly established as the family expert. "I like giving them tips on how to do different things," she says.