Makenna and Her Cute Friends

We do have other children, besides McKay!!! Ha! Most of our posts lately have been about McKay and his recovery from his rattlesnake bite. Here are some more fun pictures of what we've been up to lately with Makenna!

Makenna has several great friends that are her same age. We are so blessed to have such great families around us here in Texas!

Christine, Abby, Delaney, Kenna and Riley

We have spent a lot of time at the pool this summer! Brett and I have been training for an Olympic distance triathlon and swimming is our weakest event in the sport. Every time we went to swim laps, Makenna wanted to come with us. Instead of playing in the water, she came to swim laps, too! I was so impressed with her endurance! What a trooper!

Chillin' pool-side.

Texas summers are sort of like Utah winters: when they're extreme, you stay indoors. This is what Makenna and her cute friend decided to do one afternoon:

Spies!

(<<<Que James Bond music>>>)

Pretty incospicuous, no?

Such cute friends!

I found this note on the top of Makenna's practicing chart the other day. What a gem this girl is! She has the best attitude about practicing...most of the time!

It says, "If you are happy and positive about the piece you are playing then you will get it right!" The wisdom of a child, right? 

Sometimes my kids amaze me.

If I have learned one thing over the last few weeks and months, it's that kids are pretty amazing. I feel that I underestimate mine so often. I am so grateful for their love, patience with me, and positive attitudes. I pray that I can be a better mother to them each and every day. 

Rediscovering Long-lost Cousins

When Brett was young, he was super close to his cousins and had great relationships. Since they've all grown up and gotten married and moved all over the country, they haven't been as close or been very good at keeping in touch, which happens to all of us.

Well, this summer Brett was assigned to a clinical rotation in Blackfoot, ID. His cousin Ty and his wife Annie just happen to live up in that area. So we decided to try to re-connect. We hadn't seen these guys in close to 10 years. After so much time passing, who knew how things would go, right?

 WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!! 

I can't believe we haven't been in contact with these guys for so many years!!! What a tragedy that we haven't gotten together until now! If we lived in Blackfoot, I'm sure we would totally be best friends!

Ty and Annie treated us like royalty while we visited them. We got to have a wonderful Sunday dinner and a very fun Sunday afternoon and evening visit. It was so great to catch up.

The next day the Tanners invited us to go out on their boat in a lake that Annie's family actually made!! It's called Jensen Lake. It's fed by the Snake river and is actually pretty cool. It even has a slalom course! If you've ever been driving north on I-15 through Blackfoot, you've driven right by it. It's awesome and beautiful. It has grassy areas where you can set up a blanket and have a picnic and has a "shore" were kids can wade in.

The morning started out overcast and cloudy, but it was still warm outside.

Mickey "skiing"!

Kenna "wake-boarding" or "skiing"

Con hanging out on the boat

By the time Connor got out to ski, the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining. It was going to be a beautiful day.

Connor skiing 

Belle, Makenna, Addy and McKay

Hanging out on the "beach"

I'm kicking myself for not getting more pictures of our wonderful weekend. Thanks, Tanners for all the fun! We love you guys!

The Most Fun We've Ever Had at This Place......

We got free tickets to go to Lagoon this year from the place where Brett spent the summer doing a clinical rotation!! The kids were so excited! Brett had a rotation up in Blackfoot, ID and he really enjoyed himself up there. They really enjoyed him, too! So much, that they offered him a job!! But, they knew he couldn't take it because of our commitment to the Air Force. Brett was flattered and maybe when we're done, they'll be a job for us up there. Who knows. Thank you for the tickets! We had a wonderful time!

I took the kids to Lagoon last year without Brett and decided that ALL day was too long. With only a year passing by, it was a little too soon for me to think about going back. But since Brett was coming, and the kids were so excited, we decided to try it again, but to only go 1/2 day. We decided to do Lagoon this year for about 6 hours. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a virtually line-free day!!!! It was PERFECT!!

All smiles as we entered the park!!!

Our first ride: The Haunted Mansion

McKay and Makenna loved this buzzard. They thought he was hilarious!

Getting ready to ride the White Roller Coaster (or Historical Death Trap, as I like to call it).

Excited about the thrills that await!

We rode the Colossus 3 times in a row. It was almost too much for me, but the kids loved every second!

This little guy brings me so much joy. This was our last ride of the night and he chose to ride the Sky Coaster over the park with me. We had a very nice talk about school and making friends. It was a nice, bonding time.

Tour of Utah, baby!!!!

What an exciting day this was!! My dad and I, and a few friends, had been anticipating it for quite a while! I'm talking about the Tour of Utah!

The Tour of Utah is part of the UCI- the International Cycling Union and is called the "toughest stage race in America"due to the heat and altitude. (And let me tell you, it was HOT this year! I was sweating out on the grass watching them!) The race consists of a "prologue" and then 5 days of 100+ miles (or more) of racing. It is totally nuts!! Professional cyclists come from all over the world to ride in this race and we couldn't wait to see them.

This year a part of Stage 2 rode right by our house. RIGHT BY the entrance to our neighborhood. It was AWESOME!!! But so, so fast. One second they were here, and the next, they were gone.

One side of the street of our little cheering squad waiting for the riders to come

Connor and his friends. Those orange things are called "clappers". A Xango truck came out about 30 minutes before the riders came by and gave us all sorts of swag to play with.

McKay is thrilled to be cheering them on. What will I do with that boy and his faces?

They came and they went. We ate some lunch and then headed over to the Riverwoods in Provo to watch the finish. We went a little early to check out the booths and have fun in the atmosphere.

Kenna with her "cool" face. I'm teaching the kids young that road biking is way more fun than mountain biking! Ha!

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The Subaru tent gave us free cow bells

Anxiously awaiting the finish!!!!

Front row seats to the finish. We were so close, we could feel the wind as the group rides by. We were a little too close for comfort, and you can hear me say, "HOLY COW!" as they pass and the wind make me take a step back.

There were a few crashes that day

Connor by the "coolest car he's ever seen."

We had so much fun!

I do have to say, this guy was super nice and so kind to give Connor an autograph. If you don't know who this is, you don't follow cycling as a competitive sport at all. This guy is one of the most famous cyclists of all. You've heard of Lance Armstrong, right? Well, Lance wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for this guy. They have been on the same team for years.  This guy can crank it on the flat sections and he pulls Lance for miles and miles. Levi does all the hard work, and Lance gets all the glory. It was a pleasure meeting him! He was super nice!

Can't wait to see the next professional race! It was so awesome and fun to follow! All my kids are hooked on biking now! What a fun sport!

Conquering Our "Dreads"

Think of something you absolutely dread.  It could be anything: Cleaning, exercising, waking up early, budgeting, vegetables, public speaking, diapers. Anything!

Now imagine pushing through that thing and conquering it. You actually do it. It's a great feeling! And while the getting there isn't always pleasant, the end is so worth every ounce of dread.

I conquered on of my dreads this week.

One of my dreads is being in the heat with no shade. No reprieve. No shelter. One reason may be is because I sweat like a man and I can't control it. I'm pretty self-conscious about it, but my hubby and my friends still love me, so that is that.

Anyway, when the kids asked if I could take them to hike the "Y" I thought, "Oh great. Why did they have to ask to hike that hike? Hiking practically straight up a mountain in the heat of the summer with no shade does not sound the least bit fun to me." Instead of complaining voicing that concern to my children, I said yes. And we did it. We started about 10:30 am. That's the earliest we could make it after piano practicing and jobs had been done. Next time we go, we will start before the sun is up. Anyway, I digress. Here's the proof.

The kids are all smiles before we start

Happy to be starting

Nothing like an apple on the way up

The first switch back and we're already breathing hard. Some were starting to complain. Others were just happy to be outside and happy to be together.

It's hard and it's hot right now. Hence, Connor's grin grimace.

I asked Connor if he does that on purpose and he said, "Yes, it's part of my coolness."

I think it was at this point that Makenna asked me, "Mom, why are you so sweaty?" It reminded me of the time when this person:

LaFonda

Asked this person:

Napoleon

"Why are you so sweaty?"

He was practicing some sweet dance moves, I was hiking in 90* weather. Ok. Maybe it was only 80*. But it was still hot. I told Makenna I was sweating because that's how our bodies show that we are working hard, and I was working hard. She was ok with it.

Here is cute little Mickey. No, I did not chose his outfit, he did. And no, it does not match. It's  purple and blue striped with red and blue plaid. No, it doesn't match. But at least he's got his BYU hat on. I was so proud of this little guy. Even though he is the smallest of the group he was in the lead most of the time and didn't complain once!

About half way in those who were complaining decided to stop and the trek became much more enjoyable. We saw TONS of lizards; the kids loved that. We also saw a snake and the kids thought that was awesome. We heard cicadas as loud as you've ever heard them up there. It's amazing how much your perspective changes once you stop complaining.

Connor and his happy grin

We can finally see they "Y"!!!

Connor's conquering pose! We did it!

McKay's conquering pose

Makenna's "phew!" pose

The view was amazing from up there. The kids were so proud of themselves! I was too!

How blessed I am to have 3 wonderful children!

We are done!!! Slurpee's for all to aid in the cool down!

My hat was soaked and the top part of my shirt was soaked from sweat. But, we had a great time. I loved doing something hard with my children. I loved encouraging them. I loved beholding God's beautiful creations with them. I loved being with them even through the sweat. I'm glad my body functions and that it can cool itself down when it needs to. I am grateful to be able to walk and hike. I am truly blessed. Enough said.