Chloe Surfs too!

Chloe:  Today I had my first surfing lesson!  I was so excited.  First my brother and I practiced catching waves by doing a little boogie boarding.  That used to seem exciting until we went surfing. To start off the lesson, we put the board on the ground and practiced getting up from your stomach on to your feet. You have to put your hands next to your chest, push up, and bring your feet up to the middle back of the board.  At first I was confused about why you don't stand at the middle of the board, until I actually tried it.  When we first got into the water, we just practiced catching waves and paddling to shore instead of standing up on the board.  Then once we got the hang of it, we tried standing up.  It was so difficult.  At first I was very discouraged that I couldn't stand up.  But once I stood up I was so proud.  Now that I had mastered standing up, I had to master keeping my balance on the board.  I stayed up once pretty easily, but then it took a long time to mater staying up.  I had a couple wipe-outs which made me somewhat sad, but then I realized it happens to everyone.  And, I had just started, so it was normal.  During the whole time our instructors had helped us start, chose our waves, and told us when to stand up.  Now my instructor told me to try it by myself.  I was so excited.  It was hard at first with no help, but I eventually got the hang of it.  In a little bit I realized I had gotten so tired.  Surfing is a very tiring sport, so I took a break.  While I was waiting to get my energy back, I thought how satisfied I felt.  I was very happy with myself. Overall, I was very happy I learned how to surf and I very much enjoyed it.

Steve: Just for the record, Carol and I had a lesson too.  But we didn't catch on nearly as quickly as the kids.  I, especially, seem to have no aptitude.  But we're going to keep at it!