Star Struck

The von Trapp Family Singers . . . I mean The Jungbauer Family Skiers made their debut tonight at a private "celebrity" event following a 3-event ski tournament at Cindonway Shores. Accompanied by a small core of other Lake City Skiers, we put on a small showcase of barefooting, jumping and show skiing.

It was a momentous day in the history of the Jungbauer Family with all four of us on the water.

As many of you know, my passion for water and skiing quickly rubbed off on Steve when we met. When Sarah was born, she bonded with the boat as much as she did with us. (She slept soundly to the gentle rumble of the boat's motor and awoke only when the engine stopped.)

A soon as she could hold her head up, Sarah was driving the Nautique.

Her first word was "DOWN." She rarely had to use it, of course, but she was prepared if we were ever stopped by the patrol for not having an observer when we skied.

So what happened?

For YEARS we gently encouraged our girls to ski. It was fun at first, but they quickly lost interest.

Perhaps it was the early years when we had to fabricate our own equipment . . .

(Yes, Sarah is wearing snow boots inside of her water skis.)

Or maybe it was too many hours in the boat starting at 5 am . . . .

Whatever the reason, even though they both learned to ski by three, their apparently recessive "ski genes" have just now started to express themselves.

It started with Rachel this summer when she surprised us and asked to join The Lake City Skiers. At first, Sarah thought it was stupid and wanted nothing to do with it.

Well, the rest of the story is obvious. We saw the transformation coming and Sarah quickly discovered her genetics and now she is also on stage with The Lake City Skiers!

Even Steve has a renewed passion for the sport, so next year you may see some more new faces on the LCS team.