Brave Girls!

We just spent a long weekend in the Smoky Mounts with some great friends. It was a truly wonderful time. We went tubing down the river, which was our third time doing this, and as usual it was a blast. But what I am really proud of, is the other activities that we did. Caroline and I went zip lining for the first time, and Justine went for a horse ride up and down a mountain. Caroline was very excited to zip line when we were planning our trip, but when the time came to actually do it, she started backing out. I don't want to teach my girls to chicken out on something just because they get a little nervous. So I told her, nope, we are going to do this. I am nervous as well, but it will be okay and we will be glad we did it when its over. Caroline ended up going 2nd down the mountain. I couldn't watch her take off, just stepping off a platform, but I did look after she took off. Her eyes were closed so tightly, I yelled to her to open her eyes and enjoy the view. She did eventually open her eyes, and when I zipped and joined her at the bottom, she said, "let's do it again!" Justine said no to zip lining from the beginning, so she went horseback riding. I was a little concerned because neither Ben or I would be going with her and there would be no guide. The horses were trail horses and knew the path. My concern wasn't so much the horses but for Justine, she had only been on a horse once before and I was just concerned with her lack of experience. We ended up getting a guide for her and she did wonderful. I will admit that I didn't realize it would be on a mountain with a drop off right next to her. But she went, and she had a wonderful time and it was the highlight of her trip. I am just really proud to have such brave

daughters. I love to see their independence and self confidence grow with each new adventure they take on.