Anything you can do I can do better

So it's no secret, as much as I love water, boating, etc., I am not a water-sports girl, and rarely even dip my toes in the lake. I have an allergic reaction to lake water, and despite the fact that I practically lived in the water as a child, I've grown wiser with age (or more chicken). I've found the side effects are just not worth the fun of getting in the lake. So, I have learned to adjust to the steamy, hot summer days and just ask that we go really fast on boat rides! This mild summer has been perfect for me (sorry for the rest of you).

Anyway, I hope my girls are better than me at everything they do in life, and water-sports are no exception. We got things started this summer by Kayla skiing for the first time! I'm so thankful that she even had the opportunity to try it at such a young age. I hope that she can enjoy it for many years to come, and I'm sure Maren will be bringing on the "friendly" competition in a couple years.

She used a ski board (ski's that are connected in the front as a board), and on her first time out we sent Aaron with her on his knee board. Fortunately he's strong, because dragging himself through the water was no picnic! All in all, it was awesome. My biggest disappointment is that I had put the camera down to encourage Kayla, and I missed her pump her fist and then give me the thumbs up. I was shocked that she took her one hand off the rope to do it, so at least I have the image forever in my brain (hopefully). Here's some documented proof of the day.

Kayla and Dad swim out to get ready. I love that you can see Kayla's little pink toe nails as she's kicking through the water (see our vacation blog entry for more details on that one!)


Kayla receives instruction from Dad


I got this!


Check out my lean (we were trying to get her to move across the water, not happening!)


Now I'm just chillin'


And she takes the turn like a champ!


As we were gradually able to increase our speed, Aaron was able to get up on the knee board and have a little more fun. We couldn't hear her, but you could see Kayla "barking" at Aaron as he'd come across the wake to spray her. It was hilarious! She even held strong when we had to whip around and retrieve Aaron when we lost him off the knee board. I was very impressed for a 3 and 1/2 year old. She definitely didn't get it from me!

Aaron sets himself up to spray Kayla...


No, Dad. Don't do it!


Here is comes...


Don't spray me, Dad!


We tried again later in the week and she almost got up on her own without Aaron being in the water with her. I was so impressed by her composure. She would sit out in the water bobbing around until we could get back to her with the ski's. Lord only knows what she'll be attempting next year!

It's all good! We get a big smile and a thumbs up at the end of the ride.

Celebrate good times

I'm sure everyone has a different idea about what vacation means to them. Typically for us, it means time spent at the lake. We kicked off the week with the 4th of July, and had more fun from there. If you'll remember, around here it was a rainy 4th; not your ideal lake weather. But I think we all made the most of it. Kayla watched as daddy backflipped of the "high dock" in the rain.


We had just gotten a wake board so we had to try it out, right? Derika, Kayla, and I braved the rain to watch Aaron and Isaac give it a go. Derika was an even bigger trooper because she stayed out for the whole event. I pulled the "mommmy" card and bailed after a few rounds with Aaron. Ultimately the wake board got a big thumbs down, and we decided to exchange it for a new tube.

I can't neglect to mention the backdrop to this story. Day 1, Aaron, excited to try out his new toy, gets into the water to try getting his feet into the wake board. When it became apparent he was going to drown himself in the process, we inquired as to whether he'd tried them on in the store. He assured us he had, but later revealed that he hadn't tried on the exact one he bought, just the display. So what did we find, but an "M" on the boot. No, that didn't stand for Mandy, Mommy, or Man-boot. It was a medium, and let's just say we don't typically go for medium anything for Aaron (go big or go home, we always say). Well, at least we can say we tried.

Kayla was begging to have her fingernails painted, to which I typically show her mine, tell her that mommmy doesn't even have hers painted, and move on. Well, since I was actually painting my own toes, Kayla was pushing to have hers done. Just when she'd gotten distracted by something else, Aaron reminded her that she wanted her toes painted. I decided that he'd just volunteered to do it, and here's the evidence:


Kayla and Layla celebrate the holiday


Maren shows off her patriotic spirit for her first 4th of July


Great Papaw takes Maren for a walk



The girls show off their "sister" shirts, and declare our first vacation as a family of four, a success.


Fireworks are held at the lake the weekend following the 4th of July. It's a lot of fun to go out on the boat and see them shoot up over the water. This is the first year we allowed Kayla to stay up and come with us to watch them. This was also her first time to see fireworks at all. With the time change a few years ago, it is so late by the time it's dark enough to start them, that we haven't felt like keeping her up.


But this year she came out with us, and seemed to really enjoy them. Though she didn't appreciate how loud they were, she was impressed and excited to see the show. Here she shows just how to avoid them seeming so loud.