Swinging the canal... continued...

OK, I've been needing to write about a great 4-wheeler trek we took yesterday... But tonight we had an adventure that can't be put off blogging about! Ever since the "canal incident" our girls have wanted to try out that "swing". (Incidentally if you didn't read the comments on the post "walking the canal", I mentioned that when Shelby took an "apology card" and a new pole that they had crafted... (in exchange for the lost one) to the nice people who built the rope swing... the "missing" pole was there! Someone must have found it and brought it back... possibly BEFORE the whole "walking the canal" incident in the first place! BRILLIANT!) But anyway on to our canal story... so this evening seemed like the perfect time to take the girls there... we loaded up on our bikes and headed down to the canal. Shane was the first to try it out of course... Not a problem for him at all... And he assured us that as long as we kept our feet up it was a piece of cake...

Tayler went next... understandably she was a little bit hesitant, but made it across without any problems - and continued going back and forth again and again.

Next was Saige's turn... she took a minute to go... forgot to keep her feet up... and crashed into the platform on the other side. But our Saige isn't one to quit (she's been para sailing AND surfing AND on Wicked at Lagoon... so rope swinging is nothing for her!) she gave it another try and had no troubles after that.

Kenna really wanted to try... but I was worried that she wouldn't be able to hold on by herself... so I suggested having her go on Shane's back... (why I thought she could hold on better there I'm not sure... because that was NOT SAFE!) She loved it and said she wanted to try it herself... in a minute.

Up to this point no one has even ASKED me if I wanted to try... and I'm watching them thinking, " ...Gosh, that doesn't look so hard... I can do that!" (And yes there was a little tug in me remembering that I had said in the last post that I wouldn't be trying it because we should accept our age... yadda yadda yadda... but I thought this would be my chance to prove that I am the ULTIMATE "cool mom." So I grab on to the rope and tell Tayler that she better get this on film because I may never do this again... (Those words are DEFINITELY true.) So anyway... my whole family is like, "Oh, Mom you are awesome it will be so easy... you'll love it... all you have to do is pull your legs up... just use your stomach muscles... yours are WAY tougher than ours... !"

Well... apparently NOT!

Now that is "grace on a rope" right there! And Tayler caught me in my full glory... just like I asked her to... Truly I don't know what happened - but I can guarantee that my stomach muscles will NOT be sore tomorrow!! Shane grabs me out... and is like "what was that". I just burst out laughing... the kids didn't say much about it... except "good try mom..." (They didn't even laugh... I think they were nervous I was going to flip-out.)

So I guess it's time I concede... I am not a rope swinger... never have been... probably shouldn't have tried rope swinging (for the first time ever) tonight... I shouldn't feel bad about my lack of rope swinging abilities... I have a lot of other talents... Like...

...catching my FIVE-YEAR-OLD in my soaking wet pants... as she sailed back and forth... and back and forth... and back and forth.... across the canal that I couldn't get over once!

And THAT is why Shelby and I have been friends for 28 years... neither of us can get our butts across that canal... dry...! Serves me right for trying to show her up!! My girls want to go back tomorrow... I won't be trying it... I don't want to strain my stomach muscles!! :)