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. 

Enchanted Rock

We had been hearing about Enchanted Rock since we moved to Texas. It's a huge, granite dome that is located a few hours north of us. People told us it looked a lot like Southern Utah or Moab, so we couldn't wait to go explore! 

First mishap of the day was our GPS taking us on a 45 minute "scenic route". Nothing wrong with taking a scenic route, but this scenic route took us the wrong way!!! Not cool! I was so bugged! Brett, of course, couldn't be happier to be alive and had no problems that it took us 3 1/2 hours to get to our destination instead of 2 hours. His ability to be patient through some things that absolutely drive me nuts is amazing. I am lucky to have such a great guy. , but then I realize what That meant We were so excited to explore this great place! 

This is my "bugged" face

The ride there was pretty scenic. It was a beautiful February day

That Dome up there is Enchanted Rock. It's the closest thing to a mountain in these parts

Enchanted Rock up close-- 425 ft tall

A cute little friend right at the beginning of our hike!

Love this picture of all the people included. Shows everyone's personality perfectly. I also had to laugh at the people "repelling" in the background. Seriously. If they could only see the mountains in Utah. This is a great place to start, though!

Boys on a big rock with Makenna on the ground in the middle. You can see her head poking up.

Rock Jumping! Ready......

Set......

Go!!! Action shot!!

Here is my smiley face, now that the crabbiness is gone

Connor was in his element her and was very reminiscent of family trips taken to Moab

This rock doesn't look very tall, but it was giving this mom some heart palpitations! Brett kept telling me "they were fine."

Each one wanted a picture of themselves at the top.

Kenna did have a little bit of a hard time getting down.

Everyone's shadow waving

It's hard to tell, but the incline is pretty steep down. 

Beautiful sky

Me and my babe

The kids found a cave to explore! Lots of people were going through it, so we knew it was safe. A guy was sitting a top the rocks who knew a lot about the cave and  had been through it once just barely. (You can see his shoes at the top of this photo.) He suggested going through the cave with a flashlight or headlamp. We didn't have either of those, but Brett asked if his cell phone flashlight app would be sufficient. The guy said that would be great. I stayed out and waited for the kids and Brett to go through because Lady would not like going through that cave.

The entrance

The kids entering the cave

There is more to the story about this cave. Brett went back a few months later with the scouts. He knew they would all want to go through the cave, so he came prepared with flashlights and had the boys bring their own flashlights. 

When he got home he told me he wished he hadn't brought the flashlights to go through the cave. Dumbfounded, I asked why. He said there were TONS of spiders everywhere, all over the cave!!! Ignorance truly was bliss for him!

Still smiling after a long day hiking!

We have really loved exploring the great state of Texas! The hiking ain't Utah, but it satisfies the need to get outdoors and climb a little!

Hiking in Texas!

I hesitated to even put the word "hiking" in the title of this post. Hiking in Texas, is not really hiking. It's mostly on paved trails and no type of elevation change at all. Texas does not have mountains, but it does have hills. Our family loves to hike, so we were bound and determined to find some great places to "hike". 

We heard about this neat place called Freidrich Wilderness Park. The park is 180 acres of natural, untouched land, and was donated by a woman named Norma Freidrich. She donated all this land with the condition that the land remain in its natural state. Its actually pretty cool, nestled in the middle of the sprawling metropolis of San Antonio.

One GREAT thing about Texas is the awesome weather. This was a hike in early February. Temperatures were in the mid 60's and it was a beautiful day!

Cute kids with the sun peaking through the trees

Makenna found a leaf shaped like a heart. 

I love how my children are so observant to their surroundings when we're out in nature.

This is one of the steepest inclines on the "hike" and the kids were loving it!

Everyone enjoying themselves

Look at that moss!!!

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

What do you think this rock looks like? A dino head? That's what Mick thought!

Love that February sunshine peeking through!

This was a fun little area for the kids to play in

Connor poses with his goofy grin! Love that kid!

I love this picture because it captures everyone. I also love it because Brett is photo-bombing in the back!

I love my family and I'm grateful to the opportunity to explore new places and appreciate God's creations in different parts of this glorious country.