Finally On The Water

We’ve been lucky through our first two lake weekends of the summer. Excellent weather both times: hot, but not oppressive, and free from rain. Excellent company both times, kids relatively well behaved each weekend.

This past weekend was a little extra special, though. L finally went tubing.

To reset, despite being our most athletic, most daring kid, L has had issues on boats and water. It all goes back to a ride she took on a friend’s boat four years ago. She got a little freaked out by the speed. She was just three at the time, so that was understandable. When we got our boat, she hated even going for slow rides. That first summer she cried almost every time we forced her to go. While she eventually made peace with the boat itself, she wanted nothing to do with tubing. The only time she would tube was if we put her on in the no-wake zone and puttered along at idle speed. We gently pushed her to join a friend or older relative for a fast run, but she always said no.

We figured eventually she would cave, and that finally happened this weekend. Two of our guests were classmates and soccer teammates of hers, so maybe that’s what did the trick. But Saturday, when we were figuring out the order for the older kids, she informed me that she was going, too.

I took it fairly easy on her and her partner. No whipping them outside the wake, or taking the turns fast. Pretty much straight and steady. And she had a great time.

She took it to the next level on Sunday. One of our guests brought a kneeboard for the kids to use. After watching a couple other kids give it a shot, L was ready to try, too. It took four tries for her to get up and stay up, but then she did a complete lap pf the lake with no problems.[1] We’re so happy that she finally broke through this barrier!

She wasn’t the only one to kneeboard. Both M and C took turns and got up immediately. Both boarded exactly to their personalities. M kept the board straight and under control the entire time. She didn’t attempt any daring moves, other than to occasionally let go of the rope with one hand to wave. C was all over the place. The board would shimmy to one side and then the other. We couldn’t tell if she was trying to spin it, or if she was just giggling so much that she couldn’t control it. She aimed it at the wake and then cut back. She looked like she had been boarding for years.

So naturally the girls want us to buy a wake board now.

L also kept catching fish like a fiend. She caught 12 our first weekend of the summer. Last weekend she caught at least 8 more. She even knew what kind of bait to buy. We walked into a store Saturday morning and she told the kid behind the counter that she wanted some nightcrawlers. Obviously her grandfather got to her, because S and I don’t know the first thing about fishing.