SHE DID IT!

Natasha surfed all by herself! Wahoo! Just look at the great big grin on her face!
We had been STRONGLY encouraging Natasha all winter to give surfing a go all on her own this year. She was very hesitant and reluctant to try. We added a little incentive to do it by telling her that if she learned to get up on her own we'd take her to ride one of her favorite horses, Shilo. With her serious horse obsession, that incentive seemed to be enough.

She's been surfing since last summer with Shane, so she's been able to "feel" what it's like. The first night she tried, Shane got in the water with her and helped her get her feet positioned correctly and get the board in position for me to drive. She tried several times that night, and was soooo close.

After a few days of thinking about it she was ready to try again. And this time SHE GOT RIGHT UP! The very first time she was up you could see on her face that she was so surprised and so she let go. In the meantime...Shane was still floating a ways away in the water and so Natasha had to try and get up all on her own! Up she popped! This time she held on and what a big grin she had the entire time! It was a huge sense of accomplishment for her and I was really excited that she would try! She's already trying to schedule that horseback ride.

Kylie is next up...she thinks she'll be ready here soon. She's already asking Shane if we can borrow our friend's children's wakeboard. When she gets out on the surfboard with Shane they really ham it up. They're out there posing and singing to the music! It's like 2 peas in a pod.

As for Brinley, well, she still has a few years until she can surf solo, but in the mean time she's going to live it up anyway. We call her the "waterbaby" because she gets in the water every chance she gets. She loves surfing and tubing, but she lives for the swimming!

Fun times...if only summer could last all year long.