Up in two...or was it three?

At the beginning of the summer, Emma decided she wanted to learn to water ski. (I was beyond excited. This child is/was scared of EVERYTHING. To see her come out of her shell made me jump for joy.)

Of course, the moment the words came out of her mouth, I grabbed my phone and called Daddy Brooks. He was as excited as I was. We all know how to ski and have been doing it since we were younger than Emma. (Word is, Honey was able to get up on her first try. Pure legend, if you ask me. I've seen her get her hair wet ONCE, other than a shower, and that was this weekend!)

So, the next time we were in Hot Springs, there were a pair of kid skis waiting for Emma. (The brand is Ho Skis...really. HO SKIs? And, it's proudly written in large bubble letters on EACH ski.) The skis even came with a How-to-ski DVD. Emma watched it and wasn't too impressed.

So, that time, she opted out of skiing. We didn't push her too much, but were all anxious for her to try. The weekend of the Burton family reunion came and she decided it was time. We loaded up the boat and Travis got into the water with her. As they were getting her skis on, she decided she wasn't too excited about it. She started crying and wanted back in the boat.

Like any impatient forceful loving mother would do, I begged her to try it just once. So, she did and she fell. Water got in her eyes (OH THE HORROR!) and she said she was done. Travis pleaded with her to try it just ONCE more. She agreed.

After much delay on her part ("my skis are slipping", "I have sunscreen in my eye", "my life vest is choking me"), she said she was ready. Daddy Brooks pushed the throttle and Emma popped up out of the water. Unfortunately for her of all the instructions she was given by 800 different people, no one thought to tell her "Once you get out of the water, stand up." So, Emma skied about 200 yards with her booty dragging the water.

At that point, she was done. She was ready to go back and play in the pool. Honey was one of the few (there were 19 of us total and not everyone could go out on the boat at once) that stayed behind.

This worked to our advantage later in the afternoon. Honey was "dying" to see her ski, so Emma agreed to give it another shot. Same routine. Travis in the water. Emma getting nervous. Except this time, she said she was ready, Daddy Brooks hit the gas and....

Notice Travis in the background. That's one PROUD Daddy!

OH YEAH! She popped right up and did AMAZING! Jon, Travis and I took turns getting in the water with her to help her start off. She skied for so long that eventually, she was falling because she was so tired.

I was so SO proud of my girl. The cheering that was going on from the dock and the boat could be heard around the cove. Everyone was so happy for her.

As for Emma, well... she's already counting down the days until she can get back to Hot Springs and ski all over the lake!